So I finished this book a week ago and it's honestly been on my mind ever since. This books seriously makes you think.
It's a dark thriller, very dark, with incredibly three dimensional characters and many mysteries that often go unsolved. I'm still asking questions at the end of the book, and often this is a bad thing but I actually really liked the effect. Not everything in life is summed up perfectly by the end.
The story follows June and the aftermath of her ex-best friend's 'suicide'. June and Delia hadn't talked for a year after one terrible night, but June is now convinced Delia was murdered, even if every scrap of evidence points towards the fact that Delia burned herself to death in her stepfather's shed. It's such a beautifully detailed plot, so engrossing.
What quickly became apparent to me was the brilliance of Lynn Weingarten's characters. June was the rabbit in June and Delia's friendship, so sweet and innocent and unknowing compared to the fiery Delia, who always seemed to have something going on. Delia herself was a very broken, damaged character, who never let on what she was really feeling/what she was experiencing. In a sense, she was the biggest mystery in this book. What I found really clever was Delia's intense fear of fire and the way that was used throughout the book. It became apparent that Delia was the fire, the wild one, the one that was always burning inside. She was scared of who she really was.
The character's interactions with one another and their relationships were also beautifully written and you never really got to find out that much about them. This was really effective in the whole mysterious feeling.
And the ending! Wow… really shocking, dark, twisted. It was amazing and utterly terrifying at the same time. I'll leave you to discover that one for yourself!
Recommended to all lovers of E. Lockhart, or lovers of very (very) dark thrillers.
• Buy this book at the Guardian Bookshop
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