Dances With Footnotes

[Janeylou]

So we've got 3 different timelines to work with in this one !!!

[Amanda]

I'm probably Saturday/Sunday. I'm absolutely slammed at work and had a migraine today so got even farther behind

[Kirsten]

I’m so sorry and I feel your pain!

[Janeylou]

Im about 35% in and enjoying it but shall wait till everyone else starts then join in discussion

[Kirsten]

I’ve just started and it’s pretty creepy. I’m surprised by the ghost! This is more of a paranormal mystery than I expected.

[Kirsten]

I’m very curious about (view spoiler)[how Sonia died, how the ghost is involved, and what her secrets are. I care less about Deb at this point. (hide spoiler)]I’m definitely sucked into the mystery.

[Janeylou]

Ive been sucked in also , ghosts, crime & mystery ..whats not to like

[Kirsten]

Jackie, this was a great choice! I’m racing through it. I do hope (view spoiler)[ that the ghost didn’t kill the girls, but I can’t guess who did. And I’m wondering if Margaret Eden isn’t a girl from the school after all. (hide spoiler)]

[Janeylou]

I havent a clue either . Fiona is.finding loads of stuff out , so still not sure how this is going to go

[Kirsten]

Okay, I have a theory. (view spoiler)[ Ravensbruck guard killed her—somehow her aunt and uncle were in touch with her, so Sonia ran away and back to school but the guard caught her. And it was Tim who killed Deb. (hide spoiler)]

[Janeylou]

Im hoping fiona comes across the diary.in one of those boxes

[Janeylou]

I need to stop now and read another book for spin & spell
Fortunately my cat book works for vampires

[Jackie]

Your comments are making me want to jump in. I have one more to read before I start so maybe tonight. So glad y’all are liking it!

[Janeylou]

Kirsten , did this book feel familiar to you . As soon as i got to the Helen part , i keep feeling " ive read this before" but know i havent. But there are so many books that are similar these days

[Kirsten]

It did not feel especially familiar, but I agree that it had a lot of familiar tropes in it.

I finished it this morning. I kind of couldn't put it down. It wasn't a great book, but it was super readable and I really wanted to know what happened. I had a fair bit figured out by the end, but in the "that makes sense" way, not the "that's so obvious way."

Do you think CeCe or Fiona could be described as having poor social skills that they need help with? I feel like I could justify that.

[Janeylou]

....Do you think CeCe or Fiona could be described as having poor social skills that they need help with? I feel like I could justify that....

Fiona, yes, but Id have though Roberta more so

[Kirsten]

Hmm... Okay. I'll choose one of them. I liked Roberta so much that I didn't see her that way. I think I'll do Fiona because she's definitely a clear MC.

[Janeylou]

Theres quite a few 'book club' discussion ideas at the end of the book we could use

[Kirsten]

Yes--I liked the one about the boarding school setting, so I'll throw it out there, in some version--

Was the shared trauma of the ghost part of what made the girls so close and resilient? And why did the teachers stay?

[Janeylou]

Well i imagine it was a lot harder for women to find teaching jobs in the 1950s esp in a more rural setting

[Janeylou]

...Was the shared trauma of the ghost part of what made the girls so close and resilient...

Definitely and not only with the current girls at the school , there was a bond with girls from the previous 30 yrs as well through all the notes they sent through the text books

[Kirsten]

Yes! I loved the textbook notes. I hadn't even thought about that, but that was such a cool way to make the community last, and for the girls to look out for each other.

[Jackie]

I’ve started.

[Jackie]

I read this several years ago, long enough that I remembered very little. I’m enjoying the story, especially the 1950 part. The girls had come from different backgrounds but they all had traumatic experiences that drew them together. I like the way they tried to look out for and protect each other.

[Jackie]

I liked the textbook notes too. Interesting that knowing the textbooks wouldn’t be replaced, they could pass along information about the ghost that way.

[Janeylou]

Christine & Jessica , have either of you started reading ? What do you think?

[MN Lisa, Mistress of Mayhem with a Method]

I just started. it's pretty good so far. a bit creepy. I can't figure out why Fiona is still obsessed. usually when they convict someone it provides closure?

[Janeylou]

Thats the journalists nose for you ..not everything is adding up !!!

[Kirsten]

(view spoiler)[I felt like Fiona not having closure was a bit of a red herring, tbh (hide spoiler)]

[Amanda]

I thought I would have time today to start but still haven't. Fingers crossed for tomorrow

[MN Lisa, Mistress of Mayhem with a Method]

I'm through chapter 10. it's pretty good.

curious about Fiona and wanting dads approval
curious why Sonia doesn't seem to exist really
curious why miss london took the records


also should I be using spoiler tags??

[Janeylou]

I dont tend to use spoiler tags unless im going to be exposing somone or if its a major part of the book ( which i tend not to , just make comments )

[Jessica]

I started today. I will get caught up on chat tomorrow

[Amanda]

I am STILL not started. But I'm going home from vacation tomorrow so should get easier

[Jessica]

I am on Chapter 3 right now. Not a huge fan of "paranormal" and things of that nature but I am interested to see where this book goes.

[MN Lisa, Mistress of Mayhem with a Method]

Margaret Eden is an interesting character.

[Janeylou]

MN Lisa wrote: "Margaret Eden is an interesting character."

She is indeed .....

[Amanda]

I read a couple chapters this morning while packing up and liked it! Didn’t get far enough for remembering character names but did get intrigued right away. I’m doing audio, assuming Jackie is as well? Anyone else?

[Jackie]

I did the audio and enjoyed it.

[Amanda]

I also read this a couple years ago but didn't realize until I pulled up a the GR page lol. I do think I remember at least one major thing, but I'll hold off on guesses.

Im also really enjoying the 1950s part. I think what also made them close/resilient is that they all had been through something where family likely would've been helpful but instead were sort of "abandoned" to the school

[Amanda]

I finished. Even having read it before at some point I still was surprised by some things, so I think it's fairly good mystery writing. I'd read something else by this author for sure

[MN Lisa, Mistress of Mayhem with a Method]

This was really good. I wouldn't necessarily say a Happy Ending, but definitely a satisfactory one.

[Jessica]

I'm still reading. sorry I've been slow. I just got some rough news regarding my diabetes last week and kind of put me in a slump. hopefully this week will be better.

[Amanda]

Jessica, I'm so sorry to hear that. Take care of yourself first!

[Jackie]

Sorry, Jessica. Hope things improve for you.

[Kirsten]

I’m so sorry. Sending healthy vibes.

[Jessica]

thanks everyone!!! just had to start insulin and continuous monitoring last week and it's taking a toll. but I'm going to get healthier.

[Robin (Saturndoo)]

Hey Teams!

I'm not on either team, BUT I've had this on my TBR for a LONG time!

I REALLY liked this! I've read several books by this author and have enjoyed all of them--for the most part!

I read this one in a day! I couldn't break away from it 🤣 and wanted to know more! Although I don't want to see a ghost in a real life, I do love a good ghost story 😨

With the dual timelines--the 1950's being my favorite-- and multiple POVs, I thought I was going to get a little bogged down and confused--but I didn't-- it worked and the story flowed at an excellent pace with minimal confusion!

I also liked the mixed bag of genres that the author blended together nicely--the story line didn't get trapped and heavy handed in one genre--was hoping it wouldn't be a lot of romance🤢--and that was very minimal.

Without giving away anything, there were a lot of twists and turns that I wasn't quite expecting--especially with the relationships between Fiona and Jamie and his parents--a little odd and not always believable--but ok I rolled with it and moved on.

There was very good character development--so much so that I felt like they were real--like I knew them or at least have/had heard of them somewhere before. Fiona wasn't my favorite character--I couldn't always justify her actions. I loved CeCe, Roberta,Sonia and Katie-- I was able to connect with them more and their relationships with each other. Hands down(no pun intended🤦‍♀🤭) Mary Hand was my favorite!

Overall, I loved this book! I finished it yesterday and today-- I'm still thinking about it! I rated it 4.5 stars but will probably bump it on up to a 5 star read--I don't hand out 5 stars very easily🤣! I will definitely at some point reread this one! I highly recommend it!

Thanks for choosing this one and pushing me to get it read and off my TBR!

[Jessica]

Random question, was I the only one who got the playground rhyme "Mrs Mary Mack" stuck in my head when the book mentioned Mary Hand

[Janeylou]

It meant nothing to me but i just presumed it was something that was American