Girl in the Woods

May 23, 2012 karen rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: books-claiming-to-be-just-like-secr, littry-fiction

i have been trying to write this review for almost an hour. in between i have eaten peanut-butter and jelly on english muffins (and now on space bar and several letters) and have drifted off-topic numerous times, and erased tons of irrelevant crap. much irrelevance remains, but the short version of this review is:

i enjoyed reading this book, but it is not good.

this is a perfect rebound book for proust - after a long relationship, you just want to have a silly fling with someone stupid - to jus...more

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Aug 05, 2009 Max rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: first-reads, 2009, queer-undertones

Oh goodness. I feel like Dismantled is intrinsically flawed. Which is sort of a shame, because it’s a strong concept, with much potential for strong commentary on art, guilt, youth, sexual fluidity. Unfortunately, the novel reads one-dimensionally, as if the characters and plot live only to serve McMahon’s themes. Four college friends ten years ago created an anarchic secret society (the “Compassionate Dismantlers”), which blew up in all their faces when their charismatic but dangerous leader Su...more Oh goodness. I feel like Dismantled is intrinsically flawed. Which is sort of a shame, because it’s a strong concept, with much potential for strong commentary on art, guilt, youth, sexual fluidity. Unfortunately, the novel reads one-dimensionally, as if the characters and plot live only to serve McMahon’s themes. Four college friends ten years ago created an anarchic secret society (the “Compassionate Dismantlers”), which blew up in all their faces when their charismatic but dangerous leader Suz died. Now, she might be haunting two of the original members in the form of their daughter’s imaginary friend. All this sounded hokey and contrived to me; I can’t imagine any youthful anarchist naming their group so lamely-- indeed, the name of the group seems more an excuse for the novel’s title and the group’s manifesto, which gives name to the novel’s six sections.

McMahon’s pacing is not to be faulted. Somewhere around the halfway point, the story really takes off, indebted (like most contemporary genre fiction) more to the Hollywood thriller than classic literature. Chapters play out in quick five-page bursts, trading off between parallel scenarios with well-placed cliffhangers. But ultimately, I didn’t buy it.

Suz is supposed to be this amazingly charismatic, enigmatic wunderkind with whom everyone falls in love, but her actions are made up of the worst kind of rote, art-school cliches. She’s never believable as a character, and the rest of the cast tend to follow suit. Tess is sexually and socially repressed. Henry is a guilt-ridden alcoholic, and their daughter is a “precocious, wise beyond her years” type, ridden with heavy-handed OCD tendencies. They all have very obvious arcs, and never feel like anything more than humorless inventions, serving plot mechanics and the seriously heavy-handed theme of art as destruction vs. art as creation.

It’s all rather ridiculous, of course, but the whole thing is treated with serious importance, so that the writing comes off as sophomoric, much like the work of the sort of pretentious college-age, liberal-arts-studying libertines the novel seems to romanticize. Creepy flashes of intrigue and the fact that the whole thing ends economically and strangely are no salvation for a pervasive awareness of the novel’s contrivances. (less)

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Jun 03, 2011 Heather rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: suspense-for-mystery-aisle-haters, twisted-secrets-tangled-truths

There’s a simple truth about me when it comes to books. If you tell me that something is a lot like The Virgin Suicides or The Secret History, then I’m going to read it. I don’t care if the books don’t live up to what they may or may not be imitating. I’m just happy to have more books that are a lot like two of my favorites. So, while reading Dismantled, I was pumped about its comparison to The Secret History. Since I haven’t read the latter since 2000, I couldn’t do a minute-by-minute compariso...more

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Feb 21, 2013 Amity-noël rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: recommend-to-people-i-don-t-like

I am not completely done with this book but I am going to review it. I HATE it. And this isn't hate in the way I hated seeing Mila Kunis's butt in whatever that stupid movie was. This is hate as in this women has written five books, yes five now and as much as I enjoy her writing I would rate this as number six because whatever she writes next cannot POSSIBLY be this bad. I don't write out the plot of books because newsflash if you are interested and you want to know the plot you are already onl...more

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Jun 28, 2012 Kelly rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that Jennifer McMahon has the most disturbing covers in the book business.....real pictures of creepy children staring out at you. It's like a whole shelf of "Children of the Corn" and "Village of the Damned" at the bookstore. I told you before that I read "Island of Lost Girls" on vacation and did not want to do anything else but read. I was so anxious to read "Dismantled", McMahon's latest. Wow! It did not disappoint!

One of McMahon's strong points is going...more

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Jul 22, 2011 noelle rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: do-not-own

a bunch of pretentious art students accidentally kill the pretentious art student leader of their stupid anarchy-themed art collective, "The Compassionate Dismantlers." (really???) ten years later they are haunted by her ghost, but not really. spoOoOoOoOoky.

if it sounds like i am making fun of this book, it's because i am! despite that, i actually did enjoy reading it. maybe that's because i've been devouring charlaine harris' southern vampire series, which is rife with extreme ridiculousnesses?...more

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Jun 12, 2011 Jenny rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2010

Holy cow... I had no clue what I was getting into when I started this book!! Dismantled was such an enthralling and utterly absorbing read! I absolutely loved this book and spent every free moment I could find reading more. Despite its 422 pages, it's likely one that could be read in a sitting (or a day) because of the way the story hooks the reader; (unfortunately, I literally don't have the time right now to read that much in one go so it still took me a couple days.)

Dismantled is a superbly w...more Holy cow... I had no clue what I was getting into when I started this book!! Dismantled was such an enthralling and utterly absorbing read! I absolutely loved this book and spent every free moment I could find reading more. Despite its 422 pages, it's likely one that could be read in a sitting (or a day) because of the way the story hooks the reader; (unfortunately, I literally don't have the time right now to read that much in one go so it still took me a couple days.)

Dismantled is a superbly written and well-plotted story about a 9-year-old girl, Emma, her parents, Henry and Tess, and a big secret from their past. More so, it's about Emma's childhood innocence, her efforts to keep her parents together, a chain of events seemingly started with a suicide, about family, guilt, fear, and a little bit of a ghost story too. Without giving anything away (won't tell more than what's on the back cover), Henry and Tess were once part of a group of 4 in college called The Compassionate Dismantlers. Initiated and led by their friend, Suz, the radical group embarked on missions to "stick it to the man" (my words, not in the book) -- to "dismantle" things because per their motto, "To understand the nature of a thing, it must be taken apart." Their acts of vandalism and other pranks transitioned from innocent to dangerous and, ultimately, Suz dies. Her death is hidden by the other members of the group and they all drift apart.

Ten years later, the story focuses on Henry, Tess, and their daughter, Emma. Something happens which I won't reveal, a former acquaintance commits suicide, and it sets off the events and tension that continue for the rest of the novel.

There were so many things I loved about this book! First, I wasn't quite sure how I'd like the ghost story aspect since I'm not all that into supernatural things. But the author did a spectacular job of including this element but leaving it subtle; she managed to simultaneously add it to the story while keeping the reader guessing about it which was fun and spooky at the same time! There were moments when I was a bit scared to go to sleep after reading... I used it as an excuse to continue on to the next chapter even though it was past time for bed just in case I could reach a good stopping point when I wasn't so spooked. ;)

The character development was also fantastic. The author excelled at showing the character, allowing the reader to learn about the characters through their actions, rather than telling the reader what to think. In that sense, Suz, the leader of the Compassionate Dismantlers, could be considered the main character. Though she's deceased, the memories of her are a large part of this book because of the long-lasting effects she has on the remaining group members. And although I despised her character, it's possible that others may see a different side of her because, again, the author doesn't tell the reader what to think. And seriously, what a strong, intense character she is.

Ironies of all kind consumed the book, increasing the tension. And the pacing was perfect. Though the story continued to progress, I had the opportunities to savor the writing and characters too. I can't fail to mention how significant the character of the daughter, Emma, was to the story. Her innocence and desire to be liked by her cool friend, Mel, play a large part in the craziness of the story! And she plays a part in the ironies I mentioned!

The ending surprised and gripped me, and suspense filled the last 50 or so pages of the book. I laughed at myself when my jaw dropped during one of the revelations near the end because of the sheer unexpected and cunning qualities that moment possessed. I'll admit the last couple pages just slightly disappointed me, but then making up for it, the last paragraph was the perfect ending and answered the one question I feared would go unanswered. And I loved the answer.

In many ways, Dismantled, was a portrait of a family, their struggles, and the child's efforts to keep it together. As you can tell, this book completely enraptured me! On a somewhat different note, I was able to have a copy of this book signed by the author, Jennifer McMahan, at BEA (after I had already signed on for this blog tour) and I wish I had read this book before that so I could have let her know in person how much I enjoyed this book!

Taken from my blog at www.takemeawayreading.com (less)

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Apr 24, 2011 Julie rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

"In order to truly understand something, you have to take it apart."

The above-statement is the maxim that drove the protagonists of this novel to form a group called the Compassionate Dismantlers, a sort hippy dippy "artistic" terrorist organization that the main characters founded ten years before the actual events of the book took place. (We get glimpses of the Compassionate Dismantlers, who they were and what they stood for, throughout the novel, through a collection of flashbacks, character...more "In order to truly understand something, you have to take it apart."

The above-statement is the maxim that drove the protagonists of this novel to form a group called the Compassionate Dismantlers, a sort hippy dippy "artistic" terrorist organization that the main characters founded ten years before the actual events of the book took place. (We get glimpses of the Compassionate Dismantlers, who they were and what they stood for, throughout the novel, through a collection of flashbacks, character reminiscences, and journal entries). The maxim is also a fairly fitting way to describe Dismantled, a book that is, perhaps, best appreciated by the reader willing to ignore the WHOLE, in favor of its more attractive and interesting parts.

The premise of the story, in and of itself, is one you've probably seen before, in other novels or films. There is an event in the past, that brings about the tragic and untimely death of one of the characters. Cut to the present, when "strange and mysterious" things begin happening to the other characters involved in the event, things that seemingly could only be perpetuated by someone who witnessed the event itself. This, of course, poses a not-entirely-new dilemma to the readers of Dismantled, as well as its protagonists: Is there someone out there who KNOWS what happened that fateful night, and is taunting the characters with that knowledge? Or are supernatural elements to blame?

On its surface, "Dismantled" looks like your typical "I Know What You Did Last Summer" meets "Hide and Seek" meets "The Sixth Sense" amalgamation. But there's a bit more to it than that. Where Dismantled succeeds most is in its plotting. McMahon clearly took her time mapping out this story, which is constantly turning everything you think you know about the characters on its head, and taking them in directions you probably wouldn't have guessed, no matter how many of these types of tales you have already read. If you are like me, after you have finished reading this story, you will find yourself constantly rerunning the various plotpoints of the novel in your head, "taking them apart," and examining them separately, to ascertain how each fits into the story's intricately complex structure.

Where Dismantled was a bit less successful for me was in its character development. I simply couldn't find anyone to root for in this story. There's the crass, and quite possibly sociopathic, Suz, who all the characters inexplicably seem to worship, despite her having no redeeming qualities whatsoever. You also have the severely disturbed Winnie, for whom a "good time" involves running around dressed up as her dead friend. Then there's the mopey, useless, and weak-willed Henry, and his estranged wife, the cold and acerbic Tess.

And don't even get me started on Tess' and Henry's child, Emma! I was at least hoping I'd be able to like the 9-year old in this story. But, alas, Emma take the Creepy Kid in a Horror Story chiche to entirely new levels of freakishness.

I suspect the lack of likeable characters in this novel might have been intentional on the part of the author. After all, if you don't trust any of the characters in a novel, any of them can be "guilty," right? And yet, it's always nice, when you are spending 400-pages with a group of characters, to have at least one, you don't continually want to toss in the lake. Beyond not being particularly likeable, I didn't find the characters in this story to be believable, either. Many of the characters' actions at various points in the novel seemed inconsistent with the people we thought they were in previous pages. At times, some of the choices the characters made in the course of the story were, at best, bizarre, and, at worst, flat-out inexplicable.

In summation, Dismantled is a riveting and intricately plotted mystery / possible ghost story. The author's unique take on a common premise will definitely keep you guessing and compulsively turning pages, until you reach the end. However, the story could have used a bit more "heart." Had the author traded in one or two shocking plot twists, for a bit more consistent character development, this pretty good story could have been a truly great one.(less)

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Feb 02, 2011 Christie rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I was so excited to be given this book which had arrived at the bookstore where I used to work. The manager there knew I was a huge fan of McMahon’s novel Promise Not to Tell, and so she passed this along.

Dismantled is the story of the Compassionate Dismantlers, four art students: Tess, Henry, Winnie and the charismatic Suz. The Compassionate Dismantlers believe that “to understand the nature of a thing you have to take it apart.” What they really believe, it seems, is that you can ruin someone...more

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Mar 21, 2010 Lori rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2010march

Any book compared to The Secret History is sort of set up to fail. I mean, look at The Little Friend. Donna Tartt couldn't even match her freshman effort.

And Jennifer McMahon doesn't even come close -- disappointing me doubly, since one of my favorite authors (Stewart O'Nan) wrote the blurb in question.

From page one till literally the very last one, Dismantled walks a fine line between suspense and ridiculousness. I have to admit that it didn't quite fall off the balance beam, but the fact that...more

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Feb 19, 2010 Diane rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The summer following graduation, four college friends spend the summer together in a remote cabin in Vermont. During their summer at the cabin, the group commits acts of vandalism, and other serious pranks. They even name themselves "The Compassionate Dismantlers". Rule # 1 for the group is: "to understand the nature of a thing, it must be taken apart".
The group is headed by Suz Pierce, a sexy but jealous, with a motive for revenge. When things get out of control, and Suz dies, the group disband...more

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Jul 10, 2009 Carolyn Waring rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I was entranced by this novel. Though I enjoyed McMahon's 'Promise Not to Tell' I was enthralled by 'Dismantled'. The beautifully drawn characters give this story of suspense a credibility that makes it believable.

The theme - secrets and their power to destroy - is carried throughout the book in a myriad of ways. The title says it all - how new and old secrets can literally dismantle individual lives, families and relationships, and long-held beliefs.

When McMahon's protagonist, an unhappy and e...more

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Jan 01, 2012 Tiffani rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery

I thought this was going to be a mystery, and I love mysteries, but I didn't love this. At the center of the novel are Tess and Henry and their daughter, Emma. Tess and Henry have a secret from their college days when they were part of a collective of five art students that called themselves the Compassionate Dismantlers. The Dismantlers engaged in vandalism and pranks, and it was fun and games until one summer night when it all went terribly wrong and one of the five ended up dead. Ten years la...more

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Jul 10, 2011 Mallory rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Jennifer McMahon writes novels that are difficult to classify and impossible to put down, and like Promise Not to Tell and Island of Lost Girls before it, Dismantled tells the story of a haunting, but the true ghosts in McMahon's fiction are the secrets and silences that the characters keep. And while mostly psychological thriller, this is still a book that makes you a little wary of things that could go bump in the night; you are certain the supernatural elements will be eventually explained, b...more

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May 17, 2010 Jennifer rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

From My Blog...

A suicide leading to an investigation that could destroy so many lives is just the beginning of the suspense thriller, Dismantled by Jennifer McMahon. Dismantled equals freedom, or so believed the group of friends, Spencer, Valerie (Winnie), Tess, Henry and Suz, ten years ago when the five college artists formed a group known as The Compassionate Dismantlers, led by Suz. What occurs after their college graduation at the cabin in Vermont remains a mystery that divided the group, ex...more

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Aug 01, 2009 Diane rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I picked this book up on a whim, having never read anything by this author before. I am glad that I did! I thought the book was really well written.

The story is about four college friends who spend the summer in a remote cabin together and form a group called the "compassionate dismantlers". They end up committing acts of vadalism and pull some other pranks. Suz is the head of this group but during one prank things go horribly wrong and Suz dies. The others go off with the intention to never sp...more

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Dec 23, 2012 Philtrum rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Ten years after four art students at a small New England college form a group that utilises petty acts of vandalism to highlight society’s ills, two of the students (now married and with a nine-year old daughter who has OCD and an imaginary friend) begin to suspect that the leader of their group (presumed dead) may be back to “haunt” them.

This was a fast, enjoyable read. With the repeated use of flashback and very short chapters, we learn what about what happened ten years earlier at the same ti...more

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Mar 03, 2011 John rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Extraordinarily reminiscent of Donna Tarrt's The Secret History, this sees a group of people ten years after they were a college clique called The Dismantlers, whose ethos was that "to understand the nature of a thing it must be taken apart". The end point of their destructive pranks was the semi-accidental murder of the instigator of The Dismantlers' exploits, Suz, the promiscuos star around which the others orbited, reflecting her light. At the time, the death was adroitly concealed from the w...more

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Oct 12, 2009 Amy rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I devoured this book in one day and could not put it down. I have never read this author before, but if this is any indication of her work, then I am completely hooked.

The book is about a group of four art students who form a group called the Compassionate Dismantlers. Their fearless leader, Suze, encourages them to commit petty crimes and vandalize with their motto being, "To understand the nature of a thing, it must be taken apart."

The book flash forwards to ten years later and Henry & Te...more

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Jul 06, 2009 Pam rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Does life imitate art or does art imitate life?

For the Compassionate Dismantlers, this is an absurd question as the two are one and the same. Suz, Tess, Henry and Winnie, all passionate art students, connect at a small college in Vermont, bonding over their mutual interests and talents. Dedicated to the messages behind their art more than the actual material itself, they begin a practical application of undoing the oppressions of institution and regulation. They consider themselves young radical...more Does life imitate art or does art imitate life?

For the Compassionate Dismantlers, this is an absurd question as the two are one and the same. Suz, Tess, Henry and Winnie, all passionate art students, connect at a small college in Vermont, bonding over their mutual interests and talents. Dedicated to the messages behind their art more than the actual material itself, they begin a practical application of undoing the oppressions of institution and regulation. They consider themselves young radicals, “freeing” people from the clutches of society by dismantling property, social constraints and even their own artwork.

However innocently their actions were at the start (although it is debatable that their fearless leader, Suz, ever intended to be benign), compounded, their pranks begin to take a dark turn, fast. When an intended joke pushes the group too far, Suz goes out with a bang, leaving the remaining members guiltily disbanded.

Nine years after the disintegration of the Dismantlers, Tess and Henry have moved on but not far away. They live close to the school with their daughter, Emma, a sensitive introverted nine year old with a rather particularly creepy imaginary friend named Danner. While they are not miserable, they seem to have lost the passion they possessed as young artists, creators and destroyers. They are struggling to find themselves, the selves that went missing the night everything came completely apart.

When Winnie’s ex boyfriend and longtime subject of Dismantler pranks, ends his life, things begin unraveling quickly. Strange things being to happen, a majority of them involving Emma and Danner. Someone is determined to dredge up the secret buried within the summer, a decade ago and they are not going to go away quietly.

McMahon’s style is a conglomerate of voices, primarily Tess, Henry and Emma with side notes by the other members of the group including journal entries by Suz. The story works from the outside in, gathering speed as the characters’ story lines weave together into the tighter whole. There is a linear progression but the story also jumps back to photographs, journal entries, small asides and all too vivid memories. Each narrative is beautifully, if eerily, constructed to flesh out the desires, passions, fears and shortcomings of the player.

Dismantled is so much more than a murder mystery. It is a dark observation and dissection of human thought from the lightest feeling of summer diversion to intense paranoia of a life not truly lived. I fell in love with the idea of each person as an artist as it allowed for great discussion of what constitutes art and how this is not always the same answer for each person, nor for each piece of art.

This is an incredibly addictive book both for its creepy suspense element and the well cared for beauty that brings a deeper understanding to the story than the usual two-dimensional thriller. I highly recommend the book but you’ll want to finish it before bedtime and you may also want to find yourself far away from a lake.(less)

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Jul 17, 2010 Terry rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

I always enjoy McMahon's books and I did enjoy this one; I really am giving it 2 and half stars. Although I'm not a fan of Jodi Picoult, I think fans of hers would really enjoy McMahon's mysteries.

After reading this book, her third novel and technically her fourth book, I noticed that her endings are kind of... well, downers. I am not against that at all, and, in fact, I kind of like an author who is willing to make her main character(s) realize they have made horrible mistakes, or, they have m...more

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Apr 05, 2012 Lindsay Heller rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: we-really-want-to-be-secret-history, 2012

I feel like maybe this deserves 3.5 stars. Certainly not four, but I think I liked it better than three. I think. The beginning of this book crept for me, as I really just wanted to know what had happened in the past and the present storyline was sort of annoying me. But, just because it wasn't the book I wanted it to be doesn't mean it didn't end up being a book I liked. I read the second half in one day.

This is the story of a group of art school kids; Henry, Tess, Val/Winnie, and Suz. Their l...more I feel like maybe this deserves 3.5 stars. Certainly not four, but I think I liked it better than three. I think. The beginning of this book crept for me, as I really just wanted to know what had happened in the past and the present storyline was sort of annoying me. But, just because it wasn't the book I wanted it to be doesn't mean it didn't end up being a book I liked. I read the second half in one day.

This is the story of a group of art school kids; Henry, Tess, Val/Winnie, and Suz. Their last year of school they banded together, forming a tight knit group that specialized in tearing down everything around them. They called themselves the Compassionate Dismantlers and were lead by charismatic Suz, who's radical ideas about life and art were unendingly inspiring to the rest of them. After graduation they decide to live in a cabin owned by Winnie's family where they eat, sleep, and create all together. But their summer of anarchy ends with Suz at the bottom of the lake and the rest of their lives shattered by secrets. Now it's ten years later and the past seems determined to resurface whether they're prepared for it or not.

Any description of this book makes it sound as if the majority of it takes place in the past. I doesn't. The story is well and firmly placed in the present, with short flashback scenes and entries from Suz's journal thrown in to reveal the past. At first this annoyed me, but then I realized it was likely for the best. After all, the present is where the mystery unfolds. However, the past often seemed one dimensional, as if it was a story and not something the reader is invested in. This hurt the story. In fact, there was a lot of one dimensionalness. Particularly with Suz. I found that I didn't really understand her at all. I did understand that she had ideas everyone has at some point and at that age, roughly 22 I'd hazard to guess, that sort of action is appealing. I have no doubt she would seem fascinating, but as a reader I needed more of her. I needed to understand her. At times she came off as a cult leader someone might read about in the newspaper. Why would anyone go along with this stuff? Also, their naivety was implied, but never shown. I would have liked to feel it.

Mainly, I guess my problem with this book was that I didn't feel it, but I WAS interested. Unfortunately that doesn't often lead to lasting impressions. But right now, as I've just put it down, I'm happy. (less)

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Aug 22, 2011 Ken rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Tess, Henry and their daughter Emma live a comfortable life in a small community. By all appearances, they are a happy couple. Emma seems to have a touch of OCD, but she is getting by and has a best friend at school. A troubled past lurks beneath the surface, though, and it is about to change all their lives forever.

Ten years in the past, Tess and Henry were part of a small group of college students calling itself the Compassionate Dismantlers. Led by a charismatic student named Suz, the Disman...more Tess, Henry and their daughter Emma live a comfortable life in a small community. By all appearances, they are a happy couple. Emma seems to have a touch of OCD, but she is getting by and has a best friend at school. A troubled past lurks beneath the surface, though, and it is about to change all their lives forever.

Ten years in the past, Tess and Henry were part of a small group of college students calling itself the Compassionate Dismantlers. Led by a charismatic student named Suz, the Dismantlers lived by their credo that true art and understanding is achieved by taking a thing apart, dismantling it, destroying it. The Compassionate Dismantlers were responsible for acts of vandalism and destruction in the community, with only a thin veneer of social activism as justification. Gradually, the group began to go too far, until one day the results were irrevocable and deadly.

As the original group members are drawn by a mysterious summons back to the scene of their worst tragedy, they struggle to come to grips with what is happening. Has someone come back from the dead to exact revenge? Is someone who knows their secret toying with them? How does young Emma seem to know about things from her parents' hidden past?

I recommend this book, with some reservations. The first chapter is overwritten, trying too hard, all atmospherics and imagery. I almost gave up on the book before I ever finished the chapter. The narrative improves from there, though, and after a while, I was hooked. As you read, you'll wonder: is this a ghost story? A supernatural thriller? A mystery with very human and explicable answers? You'll want answers; this is a real page-turner.

By the time I reached the end, my feelings were a little lukewarm.
All the characters are unlikeable, with the possible exception of young Emma. You will despise them all for their weakness, meanness or dishonesty. Also, the author tends to repeat certain words over and over. For instance, when characters feel threatened, they "stiffen." Over and over again, until the word choice takes you out of the moment. More important, the final chapters of the book have to work a bit too hard to give the reader some answers, and there is an unfortunate reliance upon a left-field revelation that just felt too easy. (I can't better explain this without making this a spoiler!)

I do recommend this book for its page-turning, creepy tale. Despite my criticisms of Dismantled, I did enjoy it overall, and I would read another book by McMahon.
(less)

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May 08, 2011 Angie rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011, fiction, suspense, mystery

Dismantled had such promise, but was largely a disappointment. The fact that you did not know if the characters were being haunted by a ghost or a person, or if the strange events were caused by a guilty conscience, made for a thrilling and intriguing storyline. But what could have been a psychological play of the mind turned into sophomoric musings filled with clichés and unbelievable scenarios. Suz was an annoying, unlikeable character and her grating overuse of the word "babycakes" should hav...more

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May 08, 2010 Lauren Fidler rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: convoluted-plot, slow-starting, dirty-hippy, convoluted-love-triangle, unplanned-pregnancy

this book can best be summed up as the rough equivalent of maclean's hospital's summer stock re-envisioning of the seminal brat pack flick "the breakfast club."

instead of the jock, the princess, the brain, the beauty, the rebel, and the recluse, mcmahon gives us the bisexual nihilistic arsonist, the borderline-personalitied poet sniper, the philandering closeted obsessive-compulsive frigid-artist-housewife, the extremely fertile yet slightly homicidal alcoholic sculptor, and the possibly schizo...more

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Oct 11, 2010 Julie rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I picked this up for a new book club that I want to attend. This book is like the scariest ride at the amusement park. It is something that lots of people relish and can't wait to ride. That is fine but, it is not my genre.I prefer the Tilt a Whirl.
The book starts off with this sad claustrophobic family buried away in the woods in New England. The parents are fractured over a weird group they belonged to as college students led by a maniac named Suz. Suz has tragically met her demise and we onl...more

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Jun 17, 2010 Kolleen rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: almost-5-stars, strange-but-good, ghost-stories

Dismantled is a book about four college friends who start a weird and controversial 'activist' group called the Compassionate Dismantlers, in which they take things apart in order to discover the way they work. These ideas are led by Suz, the group leader and the one that comes up with all these crazy ideas. One of the ideas goes to far, and during that time, Suz ends up dying and being thrown in the lake (no spoilers here! This much we know from the first few chapters). What we don't know is h

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Jul 11, 2009 Katy-Del rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: first-reads

I received this as a first read and I will be taking it to the library this weekend as a donation. It's deffinately good enough to share. (Was donated to the library July 11, 2008)

This was an excellent book. It started off slow, a character study of a family drifting apart. We know Tess and Henry were part of a tight knit group of artists that lived in a cabin in the woods after college, and that something terrible happened that scattered the members across the company.

Then their daughter and a...more

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May 30, 2010 Laura de Leon rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: review-copy, mystery, suspense, fiction

Immediately after reading Dismantled, I rated it 5 stars. I really liked it, and I came out with the creeps. The good kind, the reason why you read spooky books...

After thinking about it afterward, I lowered the rating to 4.5 stars. There were some details that didn't quite hold together for me on thinking back on the book. Still, my recollections were primarily positive, the book is beautifully written, and the roller coaster ride while reading it was fantastic.

I liked and disliked the characte...more

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Mar 09, 2011 Cassidy rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: horrible

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This book really irritated me. Suz was one of the most generic bad girl art student. Everything she said and everything she did was reminiscent of all the other bad girl art students. Suz does pranks and she inspires everyone to do what she does and thus they are liberated and so on and so on. This character has been written before. She is a pure cliche. Her friends are equally boring. Winnie is the self mutilated with no self esteem or self worth. Tess and Henry are average at best. They get ma...more This book really irritated me. Suz was one of the most generic bad girl art student. Everything she said and everything she did was reminiscent of all the other bad girl art students. Suz does pranks and she inspires everyone to do what she does and thus they are liberated and so on and so on. This character has been written before. She is a pure cliche. Her friends are equally boring. Winnie is the self mutilated with no self esteem or self worth. Tess and Henry are average at best. They get married after Suz disappears. Fast forward and they have a daughter Emma. This books misery lies in what happened to Suz. We know she is dead. My problem with Emma is not that she is dull. Maybe the only non cliche character but I feel the child had problems that were far past her being a unique child. As I read this I kept thinking this little girl needed help. Her OCD was so severe her parents ignorance was frustrating. Her imaginary friend was into levels that was unhealthy. This child had some underlying mental illness. It was like the author wanted to have a messed up little girl but it became to big to just ignore. Another thing that was unrealistic is all of the women in this book are either gay or bisexual. All of them. I have no problem with gay characters but I didn't understand why the author felt it was realistic for every female character to be gay or bisexual. The two male characters where straight. This just made no sense. Finally we have our climax. Suz is revealed to be alive (not really we are just meant to believe it briefly) We find out what happened to Suz ( which was very dull) then we find out Suz is really still dead. I finished the book because I was hoping for a valuable reward of what happened but I was disappointed. I have heard great things about this author but with this book it just flopped. I am reluctant to give her other books a shot because I was just very disappointed in this effort. Also if I have to read where someone says "baby cakes" a million times in each chapter I think I will give up before the end. (the last part will be understood for readers of this book. So one star just not worth the time.(less)

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title link	preview: Girl in the Woods
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