Alysa’s Comments (group member since Jun 27, 2015)

Alysa’s comments from the Nothing But Reading Challenges group.

We only had 3 sets for this month’s Adult BOM too, but I think everybody had a lot of fun reading and answering! I’m sure it’ll be the same with this one 🙂

We can haz DQ chapter breakdown pleez? :)

Cat wrote: "I just finished Lady of Devices
Gotta love a female engineer character, with double bonus for poker skills :)"

Ooh, I love that book! Lucky you, just reading it for the first time :)

Jessica wrote: "(Is this how this goes?)"

More or less, yeah.
But IMO, for this patriarchy, pitting women against each other is almost like a beneficial side-effect, while the main point of the “myth of magic” is the ability to blame women for men’s own worst qualities. The men actually seem to believe the magic is real. Self-delusion is how they absolve themselves of their poor treatment of women, and of their sexual attraction to teenage girls. To me that’s one of the few things this otherwise not-great book does fairly well: Self-delusion is how real world people absolve themselves of sexism, and this book’s world parallels that, just to an extreme degree.

DQs Day 3: Chapter 43 - end

10. There are lots of reveals in this section, from the relatively light David & Birdie being hypocrites to the very grim sexual abuse. How do you feel about Henry's solution for their escape? Do you believe his protestations of innocent intent?

It's really hard to say, because he's such an unreliable narrator! He admits to being a dark person, but not to having willfully killed anyone (depending on one's interpretation of whether or not he actually induced his mother's miscarriage, and whether or not that should be considered murder in any case, which I… am not going to even get into here!), but he's just so messed up. I don't think it's possible that he'd have intended to kill David but not kill his own parents -- I think if any murder was intentional, it was an all or nothing thing. He would have written his parents off as lost causes by then.
I was sort of coming 'round to the idea that he's not all bad and didn't intentionally kill, but after the flash-forward revealing how obsessive and manipulative he still is, I'm not so sure. If there's a sliding scale where 0 is is innocent and 10 is twisted psychopath, I'd say Henry is like a 6 or 7 maybe?

11. Great thrillers depend on readers being completely immersed in the story, and not noticing points where our assumptions of how the world works are challenged. This story is all predicated on no one from outside the cult of David investigating what's going on in the house. Do you find this aspect believable? Were you able to suspend all disbelief, or was there any particular plot point that snagged your attention?

To the question of no one from outside the house investigating its inner goings-on… I'd say it was believable. And it was the late 80s/early 90s, when people could keep themselves to themselves more, right? I'm not English and don't live in England, but in knowledge of English sociological history, there tended (or tends?) to be an element of Don't Get Involved In Other People's Problems. I feel like there have been a number of books and movies, more recently, that take place in the 20th century that examine this topic, or look at the lingering effects on yesterday's children/today's adults (much like this book, in fact).
As to my own suspension of disbelief in this book more broadly, I actually had a much harder time with Lucy's situation in France. I can get how she (and Phin) ended up there illegally, but not all of the legal ramifications of what happened to Lucy after that. France has a very formal marriage process, for instance, so I don't get how she could have been legally married AND legally divorced from Michael without anyone ever realizing that she didn't have proper documents. There's a mention of her being "known only as Lucy" in an article about Michael's death. But there would have to have been a surname -- even a fake one -- in various legal docs pertaining to their marriage and divorce, so I don't buy that at all.
And when she finally made it back to the UK, with her two kids, she got them enrolled in schools somehow without any legal identities since the fake ones they got from Michael (which all had different last names)? Or would she have reclaimed her birth identity by then, off-page, with no questions at all from any gov agency? I'd have liked more about that process, to assuage my curiosity.

12. The last chapter is a flash-forward. Did you like this last snippet? Do you like how the story was resolved?

Yes and no. I was happy for most of the characters because I'd grown fond of them, but I found the ending a little pat. "Yay great big happy family! And we all have money now! And Phin (now spelled with an F) really did become a safari guide in Africa, LOL!" seemed a bit much.
I think I might have liked it better if it was revealed that Henry had killed Phin -- maybe left him locked up and let him die, or something else that would have let Henry carry on with his sketchy protestations of innocent intent.

13. Overall, did you enjoy this book? Will you be reading more Lisa Jewell and/or this genre?

I enjoyed it. It's my 3rd Lisa Jewell book and I have rated all of them as 4 stars. From my review of The Girls in the Garden:
"This is my second book by Lisa Jewell, and the second time I've been pulled into caring about characters and families that feel quite real, for all that the novels' plots rely on unusual domestic situations."
From my review of The House We Grew Up In:
"By the time you get to the sort-of 'big reveal' near the end of the book, to find out more about a certain pivotal moment that happened in the past, it doesn't mean nearly as much as the rest of the journey."
I have more or less the same feelings about this book. I think Jewell's endings have tended to be… I guess, not as dark as they could be, because she's going more for an audience that wants... well, not a *happy* happy ending, but at least a *happy as possible given the tragic circumstances* ending.

I do wish that ending had been a bit darker instead. Maybe Lucy and Libby inherit the house after finding out that Henry killed Phin, and then Henry falls down some stairs or accidentally poisons himself or something. Or hey, let's go full-on Gothic and have Henry burn the house down in a fire so that the women can never discover Phin's remains in a trunk in the basement!
As it stands, I do NOT want to think about F/Phin's reaction if not only Lucy & Libby but HENRY show up on safari, what with Henry's decades of obsessively Single-White-Femaling him.

I should probably read thrillers/suspense a little more often, but I'm usually disappointed in them -- mainly by sexist crap if the author is male -- and there are just so many great Spec Fic books out there that my attention is diverted! I will probably read a few more Lisa Jewell books, depending on the specifics, and I did just pick up a random woman-authored Scandi-noir paperback from a book swap shelf. So, we'll see.

BONUS ANSWER: I think I figured out why I thought Lucy's phone received a text rather than her own calendar alert re "The Baby is 25" -- and why I (and many others) thought that Lucy might secretly be Clemency!
The book's MP on Goodreads shows a user question regarding an early description of the book, like way back when it was still in rewrites:
"Anyone else puzzled by this blurb up top?: Gifted musician Clemency Thompson is playing for tourists on the streets of southern France when she receives an urgent text message. Her childhood friend, Lucy, is demanding her immediate return to London. It’s happening, says the message. The baby is back."

I must have scrolled past that and subliminally lodged it in the ol' brainpan. :)

Lexi wrote: "Another one that everyone but me already read: World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War (3 stars). Not my favorite either - it just felt dated and overly long to me."

Good to know. I haven’t read it either, but maybe now I won’t...

Thanks! But I think I will just wait until my 2 things going on the following week — YA BOM The Amulet of Samarkand and BR The Women's War both start on 3/16.
I don’t think I will have much time before that anyway. #busyatwork

Jessi wrote: "Alysa wrote: "Jessi wrote: "Louise wrote: "I never thought about Lucy being Clemency! I just assumed she was the sister of Henry... interesting!"

Anything is possible!! I didn't think of that poss..."

Oh yeah, you're right -- it says it's a notification from her calendar. My copy is an eARC but I assume that's not been changed.
My bad! Could have sworn it was a text!

Jessi wrote: "Louise wrote: "I never thought about Lucy being Clemency! I just assumed she was the sister of Henry... interesting!"

Anything is possible!! I didn't think of that possibility either!"

I thought of it, and also have been finding it weird that both boys' sisters are barely mentioned at all in Henry's sections.
Lucy could be either one of them at this point. And we still don't know who actually sent her the text about "The baby is 25".

DQs Day 2: Chapter 21 - Chapter 42

6. Libby and her friends find a man's sock in the attic and continue to investigate and look for further signs of the intruder. Would you have continued looking? Why or why not?

Well my first instinct would probably be to assume there had been a random squatter, but probably not call the police about it just yet because the evidence is so thin -- just one sock?! But I would have wanted more back-up than just Miller before sneakily confronting the intruder on his next visit. Maybe I'd have called the lawyer for back-up, or at least some advice.


7. Do you think it was murder or suicide? If murder who do you suspect? Why?

I'm starting to think murder, but am not sure whodunnit. Probably Henry or Phin, but maybe not! I could be wrong about everything! Maybe it was Birdie!

8. What was your reaction to what Lucy did to Michael? Would have called the police or run like she did?

Michael had it coming. The book makes it pretty clear that she didn't mean to kill him, she was just reacting in the moment and wanted his violence rape of her to stop, and in her panic she grabbed out for the nearest object, which was the knife. But that being said, Michael had it coming. Given ONLY the circumstances of needing to get to England quickly, I think I would still have called the police. They would have to believe her about self-defense, what with all the evidence, and it'd have been great to have the asshole officially known to be a rapist. However, given the additional circumstances of potentially having her children taken away from her once her illegal status and ostensible homelessness came out, I'm not so sure. Being separated from one's children is just too awful a fear to face! So this whole thing was a very tough call!

9. What do you think about Phin and what happened at his apartment with Libby and Miller?

Adult Phin is definitely a weirdo creep, but I don't know why. Maybe teenage Phin was too, and we just don't get that from Henry's narrative because Henry is an unreliable narrator?

Bonus: Just what in the heck is actually going on here?

Hah, I don't know! But I think there's a good chance that Henry is an unreliable narrator. Or maybe adult "Phin" is actually Henry, and there's been some sort of Talented Mr. Ripley thing. Henry mentions his own lack of empathy, which can be a sign of sociopathy, but he might also just mean that as a teenager his empathy was underdeveloped and he's fine now?
It's also weird that both boys' sisters are, like, never mentioned at all in Henry's story. Adult Phin says that his is probably now living with their mother (in Cornwall, was it?) but we don't know if that's true. It only means that, if he's telling the truth, he's not the one who texted Lucy that "The baby is 25" at the start of the book. I had been thinking that maybe Lucy was in fact Clemency, but then what happened to Henry's sister?
In short, I D K. o_0
But I am loving the journey!

Okay so I just finished this. WTF?


I think the author has her heart in the right place, but this book does not work. So many unfeminist tropes in a novel that purports to be feminist. So many problems with the writing. The 1st person POV was probably a mistake too, since the MC is rather dim, like, most of the time.

I do actually get why so many people actually loved it, especially teenage girls, but to me, giving this to younger readers is irresponsible. Like Twilight or something.
There are some good things about it -- like why are girls so mean to each other, or why the chief Mean Girl is so mean -- but most of them are far too subtle, and don't go anywhere near far enough for me. There are plenty of other books that cover the subject better, albeit with less outright "horror" elements (which are admittedly well done, as long as you can handwave the crappy worldbuilding that begets them).

I'm giving this 2 stars.

Libby seems intentionally bland, like an "everygirl" cipher that readers are supposed to relate to. I don't always like this technique, but I think it works quite well in this book.

Cat wrote: ""Any book that has been published is going to be a "good book" for someone"
The self-publishing industry has changed that proposition!"

Lol, too true!

I am amused at how most of us like the Henry parts best so far. Glimpses into the past, teen angst, rich people... :)

You don’t wanna look at my last spoiler, I promise!

OMG (view spoiler)[ I wish I could unread that sex scene (hide spoiler)].

DQs Day 1: Prologue - Chapter 20

1. What drew you to this book? Do you normally read in this genre? Have you read anything else by Lisa Jewell?

I've been looking forward to this one since it turned up on NetGalley last year! I don't read all that many mystery/thriller/suspense books, but this is my 3rd book by Lisa Jewell over about 6 years. I like her take on twisted family drama with compelling characters, and this particular book seemed like it might have a bit of a Gothic bent.

2. Soon after the book begins, Libby finds out that she has inherited a large, run-down but extremely valuable house in an exclusive part of London. Wow! What would you do if something like that happened to you?

Regardless of whether something bad had happened in the house, I would be pretty thrilled. I would first envision fixing it up and living in it, but in all honesty that balloon would probably burst after I had time to really consider the practicality of maintaining it, and of having two homes for no good reason (and realistically, I wouldn't be able to move to London). So then I'd sell it and roll around in the money. Or maybe I would convert it to rental spaces? Either way, I would need it to generate some money.

3. The story is told from three different perspectives: Libby, Lucy, and Henry. Which character’s sections are your favorite so far, and why?

I like them all! Maybe either Libby, who seems like an everywoman, or Henry, because the angsty-teenage-boy-with-latent-homosexual-tendencies speaks to me for some reason. Or maybe I just like reading about the past more than the present.

4. Lucy and her children are rather heartbreaking. And Lucy’s ex-husband is a real jerk. Do you agree with Lucy’s decision to go to him with her money and paperwork problems?

It's understandable, since her legal situation is so precarious and she apparently needs to keep a low profile, but I wish she'd have steered clear. Also, once assumes that there were lawyers involved in their divorce proceedings, so why she didn't/wouldn't go through said lawyers to secure some funds, at least, I'm not quite clear on. Wouldn't she have had to disclose some personal details during all that? Or maybe the laws are different in France, or maybe their marriage was never truly legally binging in the first place?

5. From Henry’s sections, we meet the characters David and Birdie. Are they as weird and creepy as they appear to young Henry, or do you think there is more here than meets the eye?

They actually don't seem especially weird to me, just a bit new-agey and opportunistic. Henry's parents seem weirder than the interlopers. I have some theories, but it's still too early to say.

I am a bit into “Spring” now and this book really... has so many inconsistencies. There is stuff that makes zero logical sense when you examine the details.

And also, romance in this context is, IDK, kind of gross and irresponsible. I am not diggin’ it.

Thanks again everybody for participating in my April BOM Takeover! Even if you have no idea what that is and just found this discussion afterwards! 😁

DQs Day 1: Prologue - Chapter 20

1. What drew you to this book? Do you normally read in this genre? Have you read anything else by Lisa Jewell?

2. Soon after the book begins, Libby finds out that she has inherited a large, run-down but extremely valuable house in an exclusive part of London. Wow! What would you do if something like that happened to you?

3. The story is told from three different perspectives: Libby, Lucy, and Henry. Which character’s sections are your favorite so far, and why?

4. Lucy and her children are rather heartbreaking. And Lucy’s ex-husband is a real jerk. Do you agree with Lucy’s decision to go to him with her money and paperwork problems?

5. From Henry’s sections, we meet the characters David and Birdie. Are they as weird and creepy as they appear to young Henry, or do you think there is more here than meets the eye?

We'll catch up :)
I'm still in the "Winter" section.

I wonder if this going to be like an M. Night Shyamalan Village thing where the twist is that the whole thing takes place in a small separatist community in, like, modern 21st century Ohio or something. o_0