Book Review: Dark Places by Gillian Flynn

Author: Gillian Flynn
Release Date: June 10th 2010
Publisher: Phoenix
Pages: 424
Format: Paperback
Buy on: Waterstones, Barnes and Noble
Add to: Goodreads, Leafmarks

Rating: 5 stars

Libby Day was just seven years old when her evidence put her fifteen-year-old brother behind bars.

Since then, she had been drifting. But when she is contacted by a group who are convinced of Ben's innocence, Libby starts to ask questions she never dared to before. Was the voice she heard her brother's? Ben was a misfit in their small town, but was he capable of murder? Are there secrets to uncover at the family farm or is Libby deluding herself because she wants her brother back?

She begins to realise that everyone in her family had something to hide that day... especially Ben. Now, twenty-four years later, the truth is going to be even harder to find.

Who did massacre the Day family? 

My Thoughts:

Dark Places is one of those books that linger in your brain for a while. You keep thinking about it again and again until your brain bleeds from the feeling of: That was fucking amazing.

I think this is my favorite book of the year, highly disturbing and dark with a pitch of macabre and thrilling detailing of the most chilling events.

It all starts with Libby Day a survivor from the Day family massacre back in the 80's. All these year she lived off the money people donated to her because they felt sorry for her, but money run out and she is in need of those, although, not too willing to either hear her lawyer or do something about the situation.

One day she is being contacted by a guy who participates in the Kill Club. A group of people who research various murders throughout time and they believe that her brother – who is in jail for her family's murder – is innocent. At first, Libby seems reluctant enough to go there and see what all this is about, because she is sure that her brother did it but soon enough those people will make interested because they are willing to pay for any information she can provide -and she needs the money- and also because they have some interesting theories about the real killer. And that's where the awesome story takes starts.

I was thrown in a world so complex and twisted and macabre that I could not believe what I was reading. Everyone seemed like the perfect killer. The story was told in alternative points of view, from present day Libby to deceased mother and brother back in the 80's before the murders. What unraveled in front of me was a mystery so mesmerizing that had me turning the pages like crazy.

The book covers everything from Satanism and sacrifices to drugs, to child molestation, to teenage pregnancy. It covers the theme of abuse and how a troubled teen can hide so much rage inside of him but at the same time be the most quiet and shy child out there. How someone can be completely paralyzed from fear that cannot even defend his own self and can easily be manipulated to do things he doesn't want to do or seem right to him. I love the fact that people who are afraid, are not actually afraid to point fingers to people they consider to be somehow weird and turn someone innocent into a murderer, a child molester etc etc, I like how the book shows you that nothing is what it seems to be and judging by fear is the worst one can do.

The characters are all really complex even the supportive ones play a role in the story and while reading this book you need to be really careful of details because they play a huge role in the development of the story. Libby was unique to me. The complexity and development of her character was truly fascinating and the same applies to her brother Ben. I felt like the characters reached their goal in the end and found peace.

The writing was magnificent. I could not put the book down, I felt every agony, every fear and every confusion in this book because every scene was so vivid, like I was in the book. You wont see the ending coming thats for sure, it was so unpredictable and jaw dropping that I was asking where it was coming from and did not see it. It gave a great closure to the book.

If you love mysteries and suspense then Gillian Flynn is the author for you and its sure my new favorite author.

Book Review: If I Stay by Gayle Forman

Author: Gayle Forman
Publisher: Dutton Juvenile
Publication Date: April 2nd 2009
Series: If I Stay
Pages: 201
Rating: 3 stars
Buy on: Amazon
Add to: Goodreads

Just listen, Adam says with a voice that sounds like shrapnel.

I open my eyes wide now.
I sit up as much as I can.
And I listen.

Stay, he says.

Choices. Seventeen-year-old Mia is faced with some tough ones: Stay true to her first love—music—even if it means losing her boyfriend and leaving her family and friends behind?

Then one February morning Mia goes for a drive with her family, and in an instant, everything changes. Suddenly, all the choices are gone, except one. And it's the only one that matters.

If I Stay is a heartachingly beautiful book about the power of love, the true meaning of family, and the choices we all make.

My Thoughts: 

I was avoiding this book mainly because it was being compared to Lovely Bones and then some people were saying that it will appeal to Twilight fans. I loved twilight ,dont get me wrong ,but I didnt want to read something similar, or worse, a fan fiction.

When I started If I Stay, I couldnt really get into it. Maybe its me, but the writing seemed to me simple and more like 5th grade-ish. Like a kid trying to write a composition. Seemed to me that the emotions were flat and didnt give me the excitement I was expecting – the excitement I expect from every book – to connect with the main characters. I thought of giving it up and I am glad I didnt because then the twist came and the writing transformed to something astoundingly amazing and lively.

I was captivated by the beauty of the words the author was using, how the sentences were so alive and gave me goosebumps from the horror and amazement of what I was reading. Memories blended with the present creating a serene (almost) and yet gloomy atmosphere. If Lovely Bones was all about death, If I Stay was all about the celebration of life and the choices we make and how things can change within a millisecond.

Although the writing was beautiful and the characters well crafted and lively and the plot down to earth (if you exclude the paranormal element), I still felt like something was missing. Mia seemed cold to me, like literally, she felt nothing, or she was trying to suppress the feelings that overwhelmed her. Towards the end of the book, I think Mia had an epiphany of some sort and she started feeling everything and then the book became an emotional roller coaster because from 0 feelings you go to a crazy amount of feelings and all the things that you were reading all this time come down to crush you and yes, you tear up.

And now, in order to make an excuse for the rating of If I Stay, I will say that this book confused me a lot when it comes down to how it is written. I didnt know if it was like that on purpose or its just me so I decided to compromise and give it a decent rating.

Efterpi