3.75/5

This took longer to finish than I would have liked. It wasn't for lack of interest. It just happens to be an extremely busy time of year and my energy and availability are simply lacking. I loved this story. I felt that my impatience due to outside factors affected how much I really could have appreciated the writing. It felt long at times. But it always felt smart. Just a lot of information that I would like to tackle again during a more down time. So for now, I'm going to leave this as a 3.75 and remind myself to take on easier reads in times of stress and high activity.

I love that this book is about Tom Felton. Despite all of the amazing experiences he's had, all the incredible people he's had a chance to work with, Tom kept this book about him and how he related to these experiences and folks instead of dishing. It's not about Draco Malfoy, it's not about Harry Potter, and it very well could have been. Tom speaks of the people he's met and worked with with respect and adoration and of his experiences coming from a person who stayed down-to-earth for longer than you would have expected. I feel like you really get to know him and where he's coming from in this book. It's incredible how long Tom was able to keep his head given the life he's lead. Such a very full life from such a young age. Of course, like the muggle he his, Tom's life eventually became muddy and he needed help. He speaks of this time in a way that is completely relatable.

What got me the most in this book is how Tom talks about working as a child and working with children. His insights on the way adults interact with child actors are incredible and thoughtful. Very great read. As a Spice Girl millennial who was 13yrs old when the first Harry Potter book came out and with 4 children of my own who I get to share these stories with, I'm excited to pass THIS book on to my 13yr old little wizard to read.

Well done, sir!

It took me a while to build momentum with this one. Not because I didn't LOVE it, but because I knew that the best way to take in this type of material for me is to do it fast and in as few sittings as possible. I started off with the prologue, then didn't pick it up for 2 days. I read chapter one. Then put it away. A few days later, chapter 2. Put it down. Then I glanced at the book each time I passed it for a few more days, not daring to pick it up. Life has been stressful the past few weeks and when I'm stressed, I lack focus and without focus, books that make me think too hard about your own shit send me into a spiral. Finally, knowing I had some down time, I dove in, and I didn't stop until the last page.

Woah. What a well written book. You're mad at all the right people throughout. You feel the frustration that Jennette should have had with her mother as a child and you feel upset that she's not more upset and then you're a different kind of upset when you're reminded by her reflections so innocently put that she was a child in a fuckin' crazy ass situation. Her relationships growing up, her relationship with herself, you feel it all. This book will make you think about your own life and struggles so be ready for some self-reflection as you relate to this woman who deserved so much better. I hope to high hell she gets all the writing and directing parts she wants for as long as she chooses her career should last.

5/5. Highly recommend this read even if you don't know who Jennette is, even if you weren't as lucky as I was to have children bingeing iCarly and Sam & Cat for hours on end in the background of your busy mom life. I will forever view those episodes in a different light.

1.5/2 stars because the story itself is good. Some *spoilers* below (a few excerpts to demonstrate the writing style - not anything to spoil the story though)

I wish I would have read the reviews before jumping in on this. The story itself is not bad. I like the idea. However the writing is just so very distracting that I found myself at first re-reading sentences and paragraphs that didn't make much sense thinking I was missing something. When it kept happening I just gave up trying to understand it all and skimmed the rest of the book instead of taking a DNF. Considering it was less than 200 pages, I forced myself through it.

The writing style wasn't the only problem. The character development was lacking in a way I've never encountered before. It was so hard to understand what the characters were actually thinking. This should never be a problem in writing since it's a medium in which character thoughts & feelings can be so thoroughly conveyed to the audience. Still, I was constantly trying to figure out the characters intentions, feelings, and motives. You never really get to know them themselves or what they think of the other characters. Especially our two main characters. I felt like I understood the AI robot Paci more than the others.

Because of this, and because of the writing style, it was hard to become attached to anything enough in this book for me to want to continue the series. The story alone can't carry it.

Early on in the book I was pulling bits that didn't make much sense to me, or that bothered me (maybe more than they should have?):

*“The guy came marching up the engineered, sophisticated floating steps that led to the gallery. The gallery itself was cut right into the side of a hill. Sorry, she meant cliff. It had a stunning view through plateglass windows down into a ravine and the capital city beyond.
To get to it, you either flew your private cruiser to the helipad on top, or you used the directional floating stairs that led from the top of the ravine above.”

"The guy must've remotely hacked the building security, because even as she reached the open door, it closed and locked."

"Her world came crashing down around her ears."

"She fancied her skin became green and her lips cracked open like someone splitting a belly with a knife."

"The soldier ran his tongue around his teeth. It served to shift his blocklike jaw to the left and right. It looked like a swinging blade."*

I realized I could pull pages worth of quotes to makes notes on so I gave up on that... I stopped thinking: I'm sorry, what? And just got it done (although it took much longer than it should have since I wasn't craving the read). I'd really like to know what happens in the rest of the series because again, I like the idea, so maybe I'll go read some summaries.

OK, I was expecting a twist. And the twist at the end was one I partially predicted but then it turned into a full on tornado and I was like Whhhhaaaaaaattt???? Fuuuuuuuck… I was flip flopping between 3 and 4 stars for this one, but after writing up this review, I’m going with 4 since I really did enjoy it, I looked forward to picking up to keep reading it every chance I could, then devoured the ending as one does and I’m sure will continue to do with an Alex Michaelides novel. I look forward to another!

Like most others, I was excited to read The Maidens after having enjoyed Alex Michaelides’ debut, The Silent Patient. I like his writing style and find it easy to follow, even with his twists and turns. I don’t have to think too hard, but it still feels smart, you know? We need that sometimes in a book.

Just to get this part over with, some reviewers commented on details pertaining to group therapy, psychotherapy and so on. They mention discrepancies, sexism and falsely blamed childhoods, etc. I am not an expert on this subject so I won’t weigh in heavily. I don’t think the author made it seem like the methods and theories in the book were concrete. They seemed to be more the beliefs of the characters themselves. I get that in fiction (jeez, even in non-fiction) we don’t always get things right. That’s fine. I’m not going to pretend this novel was a textbook on psychology that I’m meant to learn to understand people from. People in real life are fucked up and believe crazy things so obviously fictional characters can too.

Was I entertained? Yes. That’s all that matters to me.

WARNING: some spoilers below!

Onto the characters.

Mariana: I don’t really like Mariana. I don’t know why. She’s ok I guess, but she annoyed me at times with her insistence to constantly and knowingly put herself in harm's way. Like IRL, we wouldn’t be friends. Some of it I got, some of it I didn’t. However, given that she was grieving and was in protector mode and this American asshole was acting like a hot shot, I can see why she did all she did. I did not understand her relationship with Henry and her allowing him to take part in her group therapy session at HER HOME.

Henry: Is he a decoy? Is he there to show us that Mariana is brave in the face of a dangerous man? As I was nearing the end of the book I kept thinking: something cool is gonna happen with this character. Then, he shows up at the college and I’m like: here it comes…and just like that we were done with Henry. Ugh!

Elsie: She gives me Dobby vibes.

Zoe: Zoe seems like a jerk from the get go. You can tell there’s something off. But you think maybe it’s because she just lost her friend? She’s hiding something. The author is not trying to pretend she’s not. We just don’t know what.

Fred: I kept thinking that there was a reason Fred was so lanky, so clumsy, like that detail was important in some way. Or that there was a reason he was in love with Mariana, maybe obsessed. Another decoy. I guess his ending is OK. But Part 4, Chapter 15, we’re building up the tension, we don’t trust anyone, and Mariana just SUPER EASILY goes with Fred to his place for some wine he stole? I bet she went for the wine…she seems to like wine. His story seems incomplete. As does Clarissa’s.

Theo: LOVED the crossover with the characters and story from The Silent Patient. This made me very excited for more Alex Michaelides novels!

What’s his name and the Maidens: Fosca and the Maidens were super intriguing. I would love a spin off of that hot mess. We wrap their story up with one sentence that makes you go: yeah I figured. But I would still love a longer version of how that group started and the happenings therein. Not to mention we just gloss over the fact that he very heavily further damaged an already fragile and disturbed Zoe, an act which might just have thrown her over the edge given the timing of it all.

Anyone else?