thriller earnedvery chilly, twisty from me!
SUMMARY
Bel and Rose, land at the prestigious New Hampshire boarding school, Odell, when their mother dies and they are sent to live with their long lost, very wealthy grandmother.
Although the girls are twins, they couldnt be any more different, Rose is a responsible, quiet, studious rule follower while Bel is a bit of a reckless wild child in the making, Despite their differences, they have always gotten along well but that changed almost immediately upon their arrival at Odell,
In the first chapter of the book, it is revealed that one of the twins has been murdered and the other twin is being held for the murder.
The rest of the book backtracks and takes the reader through the events leading up to this horrific event, We get a front row seat to the deterioration of the sisters relationship, along with the choices, factors and decisions which brought them to this point.
The story is told from multiple points of view but mainly from those of Bel and Rose, the dorm head Sarah Donovan and transcripts of police reports enabling the reader to see the story from various angles.
WHAT I LOVED
I loved the setting an old New England boarding school with cool September mornings, snow storms, historic buildings and people with old money.
I can only imagine the upper crust accents,
I liked the twisty plot itself, There were so many small loose ends that I didnt figure out until they were tied up for me in the end.
I LOVE the cover,
I loved the Donovans kids, They added some light moments to the book, I particularly liked whenyr old Harper wanted to wear a princess dress to an Odell event, Such a real life moment for anyone who has ever tried to manage wardrobe for small children,
WHAT I DIDNT LOVE
At times I almost felt like I was reading YA, There was just so much emphasis on high school students and their social rituals that it just felt young at times,
Although a couple of the characters were complicated and well written enough to keep me wondering about their true intentions Zach, Rose, quite a few of the characters were one dimensional and I knew right off the bat if I liked them or not.
For example, I knew by the middle of the second chapter that I LOVED Sarah and HATED Heath, They could have used a little more complexity,
OVERALL
I loved reading this book and couldnt put it down, I highly recommend it for people who enjoy a twisty thriller!
"The only quiet woman is a dead one, "
Sylvia Plath
Michele Campbell, She Was the Quiet One
Trigger alert warnings: Student/Teacher sex, hazing, violence.
My review:
My review maybe more of a love letter to this novel, I adored it.
Anonymouse!
I wont say what I am speaking of with that word, . you'll just have to read the book,
So I have a weakness for campus novels, I also have a weakness for books about twin sisters, I read one book about twins last week which was a major let down,
This more than made up for that one! Oh boy did it!
And straight up, . to people who loved the novel "Good girls lie", . this book will probably appeal to you, I do not see how it couldn't,
The book takes place at a boarding school and starts with a murder, One of the twins has been killed, We, the readers, do not know which one,
The twins are orphans living with their grand mother who sends them off to this elite boarding school in New Hampshire.
Both girls have issues and both find themselves a bit over their heads to put it mildly!
Sarah and her husband Heath have been recently appointed as Dorm heads.
For Sarah this is not a great thing as she is an introvert and really does not like to be around "mean girls".
And there are many mean girls at this academy, . rich and spoiled mean girls,
Sarah's husband Heath is a golden boy, . not only he is handsome but also charismatic and outgoing, The students all love him, . maybe a bit to much
As the twins acclimate to their new surroundings there are secrets, hazings, lies, betrayals, . and many things that threaten that pull the girls apart and fracture their relationship,
We have no idea which girl was murdered, . at least not until more than half the book is over, Interspersed in the book are police interviews as the authorities work to figure out what happened, The popular school of thought is one twin killed the other, But is it as simple as that
I was addicted from page one, The plot is told from multiple POVS, Three actually. The twins. . Bell and Rose. And Sarah.
This book was seriously good and I read
it in one night, It is just pure fun to read, . though I will warn in advance many of the characters are not likable so if you need that in your books, you may want to skip this.
There are many different books that people read for different reasons, "She was the quiet one" is a fun and delicious book in the same way as Megan Abbott's "Dare me" or the above mentioned "Good girls lie" are.
We get immersed in the world of the twins and the writer does New England Prep schools very well with richly descriptive writings of the imposing buildings, the artful perfection of the campus grounds and the percolation of secrets rising behind closed doors.
I am recommending this book to anyone who likes campus novels and YA Mysteries as this is one of the best I've read all year.
Five are not something I give lightly but this book deserves them,
I really got attached to Rose, I commend the author for sketching characters that are complex and deeply woven with realistic personalities, There were no vagueness in any of these people which is a common complaint for me on many books, Some of the characters here do awful, even evil things but you do get a look into WHY, The author gets you into their heads and I really appreciated that,
This book stands as a great example of how to do campus novels well, It was an addicting ride and a book I highly recommend, .