This was great reading up until the end. I understand Alice being the way she is, having us screaming at the pages to grow a goddamn spine. I understand why Barbara made such a choice. Daddy doesn’t care, Mommy’s addicted to opioids and wishing you ate less— and oh yeah, that you were your dead brother instead. Plus Élan next year for school. (Seriously, look into what went on there. Running away to be live off the land? I get it.)
That’s not the issue. I don’t have the qualms everyone else does. So maybe it is just me that’s missing something. There’s a bunch of things which just seemed straight up unresolved, left open ended or for us to assume. Really ruined what was an otherwise enjoyable book. A real page turner right up until that last twenty pages. I blazed through this one. But there was so much unexplained that it frustrated the hell out of me. Tell me if I’m missing something.
- I get planting the bag in JP’s car. I get putting John Paul’s initials in the mural. BUT! How did they know the authorities would be looking for him? Did TJ know he was going to be the only one missing from the scene? Did she see him get beat up and intuit he’d go on a bender? Maybe I missed that? It couldn’t have been they’d be looking for him because of the mural. The mural was covered up, it would only make sense if it wasn’t. JPM initials found painted in her room, search JPM’s car. Checks out. But how did TJ know they’d still search without that crucial thread?
- How did Barbara know about Élan? One driving factor as to her motivation to flee. TJ knew, she mentioned it in the beginning, apparently? She presumably told Barbara. Idk. We have to assume. Again.
- We also have to assume they planted the beer bottles at Hunt Mountain and submitted the anonymous tip. How did they get the bottles with his prints? Was he actually even up there?
Is that why Barbara said she was going to Hunt Mountain every night? Did her or TJ somehow know he was staying there? That’s why they’d search JPM’s car, even without the mural. If they hadn’t already, I mean. Once again we’re just left to put the pieces together ourselves.
There’s so much more I’m probably forgetting. This book has left me scratching my head. If a book sucks, it stands to reason that there’d be some mistakes like this. This book didn’t suck. It was well-written, kept me guessing and engaged. This is really the entirety of what ruined it for me. A 3.5 star read which would’ve been much higher if not for everything left unanswered.
by notarobotimanandroid