A pretty accurate depiction of my reaction to page 5 can be seen in the bottom picture.
I was tempted to use this book as the basis for my shortest ever book review. I was just going to write:
God this book is good.
And leave it at that, perhaps maybe a massive BUY THIS BOOK! thrown in for good measure.
And you can stop reading now if you like because that really does sum it up.
Nothing else really needs to be said, and you really should just go and buy it, but seeing as you are still reading, you (and Lockhart) deserves a little more than that.
I have no idea where to begin, as I really do not want to give anything away, so here goes:
Meet the Sinclair family, “beautiful and privileged…cracked and broken“. Hidden behind their Kennedy-esque wide smiles and square jaws are lies, addiction and darkness. Every summer the family descends on their private island off the coast of Massachusetts, Beechwood. One summer something happens and the idyllic world they have cultivated for themselves threatens to crumble. And as the text itself reads: “perhaps that is all you need to know”.
I really don’t want to give away any of the plot, it is so precisely woven that I would hate to pick away at a strand and let even the tiniest bit unravel for somebody. I have read other reviews since reading that hint at things, and I’m glad I avoided them before reading, just the tiniest nod here and wink there would have ruined this for me and laid down lots of anticipations I didn’t want.
It is a book you just need to pick up yourself and dive into. It is incredibly readable and most readers will get through this easily in a couple of sittings (though it will more than likely just be the one).
I am SURE that this book has already earned its place on future “Must Read” teen lists (page 5 already has a cult following of its own), but this is very much a read for adults too. I hope it is already tripping off the recommending tongue as easily as John Green and, dare I say it, Donna Tartt. I hope it will be amongst those chosen few in bookshops that are forever faced out, and that never run low on stock. This should always be on hand to sell at a moment’s notice.
So just read it because it’s a brilliant piece of writing and ignore as many of the reviews as you can. Take your own trip around Beechwood and then come back with your own gobsmacked face to talk about it.
**The background I have chosen today is a hint to my next review**
Book info:
- ISBN: 9781471403989
- Published by Hot Key Books, out now
- Bought a copy