by Hannah Capin

YA Mystery/Thriller, 2022 by Wednesday Books, 320 Pages

What I Didn’t Like:

The prose can be a little difficult to get into. It’s repetitive and slow, which makes it hard to connect with anyone at first. Plus the sentences are choppy and have very little variety to their structure.
The time jumps are confusing. You go backwards and forwards in time often, which is jarring and frustrating. Even if there is a point to it, as a reader you only feel confused.
The focus on the boy in the story being the villain is … odd. Is he a good guy? No. Is he the villain he’s painted as? I’m not sure. It seems imbalanced, honestly.

This is one of those books you’d get more out of on the second read. There are things dropped like crumbs throughout the book, secrets to guide you on a path of understanding.
The friendship between the girls in Deck 5 is well written. They have a strong bond and that bleeds through everything.
The confusion and choppy prose DO have a point. The author is intentionally making you feel what Margaret feels, lost and unfocused. It’s a tool and it’s wielded in an interesting way.

Readers who like unique stories that try different styles which they haven’t seen before. This one’s use of lyrical language, repetition, and time jumps to make you relate to the character is unique.

The way this one is written will NOT appeal to every reader and, for that, it makes this one rather niche.