This story had so much potential to be a thoroughly riveting read, but it misses the mark on so many levels and lands at ‘a decent enough read’.
The central character is Luca, a girl who lives on the island of Parris with her elder sister, Whitney, and their parents. Parris has a dark history filled with many unexplained deaths of young women and girls, including Luca’s best friend Polly.
Luca is convinced that there is a curse on the island, and is worried that one day it may come for her…she isn’t far wrong, as early on in the story, her sister’s battered body is found (N.B. this isn’t a spoiler - the blurb mentions Whitney’s death). Unsatisfied with the Parris Police Department’s handing of her sister’s death, Luca decides to investigate things herself with the help of her new neighbour, and friend, Naomi.
The book tries to deal with many subjects - obviously the unexplained deaths of all the girls, specifically the murder of Whitney; but it also deals with Luca’s sexuality and her mental health. Unfortunately it doesn’t actually deal with any of the topics fully - Luca's sexuality and mental health issues seem to be ‘add-ons’ that are mentioned occasionally, with the main part of the story being about Luca’s investigation into her sister’s death. However, even that part feels rushed - the story is flowing along at a decent enough pace and then there are massive leaps and it seems to rush to a conclusion (an unsatisfactory one, at that).
Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t a terrible book - it is still worth a read, but it just doesn’t quite live up to its promise.
The central character is Luca, a girl who lives on the island of Parris with her elder sister, Whitney, and their parents. Parris has a dark history filled with many unexplained deaths of young women and girls, including Luca’s best friend Polly.
Luca is convinced that there is a curse on the island, and is worried that one day it may come for her…she isn’t far wrong, as early on in the story, her sister’s battered body is found (N.B. this isn’t a spoiler - the blurb mentions Whitney’s death). Unsatisfied with the Parris Police Department’s handing of her sister’s death, Luca decides to investigate things herself with the help of her new neighbour, and friend, Naomi.
The book tries to deal with many subjects - obviously the unexplained deaths of all the girls, specifically the murder of Whitney; but it also deals with Luca’s sexuality and her mental health. Unfortunately it doesn’t actually deal with any of the topics fully - Luca's sexuality and mental health issues seem to be ‘add-ons’ that are mentioned occasionally, with the main part of the story being about Luca’s investigation into her sister’s death. However, even that part feels rushed - the story is flowing along at a decent enough pace and then there are massive leaps and it seems to rush to a conclusion (an unsatisfactory one, at that).
Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t a terrible book - it is still worth a read, but it just doesn’t quite live up to its promise.