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May Book Review 2019: Into the Water

Reasons For Reading This Book

I keep having bad luck with my library not having the books I want to read. So, what ends of happening is I go over to the library and read the cover description of books in the Pop Fiction section until I find something I like or until I give up and just pick something. That is how this book was picked. It was not recommended to me and I had never heard of it before checking it out. This month I decided to read Into the Water by Paula Hawkins because I knew of the author due to her widely famous book The Girl on the Train only due to its being on the front cover and because in the moment at the library the description interested me and made me want to read it. I also find it necessary to mention that I did not read Girl on the Train, but have seen the movie. If you didn't already know I am attempting to watch all of Emily Blunts movies check this out.

Content of the Book

This book takes place in the small town of Beckford. This town has become known for its history of women drowning in the river that runs through the town. The book picks up following the death of Nel a single mother. Her death shortly follows the death her fifteen year old daughters friend. At the time of her death Nel was researching the death of the two other women who had drown. The question is did these women take their own lives, were they accidents or were they pushed/murdered? The story is told from the point of view of Nel's teenage daughter, Nel's sister, the detectives on the case, the husband and son of the woman who died years ago, the mother and brother of the teenage girl who drowned and by many more characters. As it always is with a small town, everyone has secrets its not until something bad happens that all the secrets are revealed. How will the cases be solved? Are the three deaths connected? 

What I Liked About the Book

I liked the way in which Paula Hawkins arranged the chapters of the book to switch between present (after the three deaths) and past (before Nel's death all the way to before the first woman's death). I have always liked books written this way. The way she did it did not cause confusion and actually helped to make some of the duller parts of the book more interesting. I will get more into the perspectives of this book in the next section, but one positive I found from this style of writing is that the book seemed to read quite quickly and the plot moved along at a equal pace. 

What I Disliked About the Book

I found that this book used the perspectives of too many character which resulted in confused and sometime caused me to focus more on what I already knew about that character and how they related to everyone else instead of focusing on their contribution to the plot. Another point that I want to make relating to the constant switch of characters is that this style doesn't allow you to get to know or fully understand any of the characters. I found that this to be true many times, I taught I knew the character well enough to guess how they would respond to a situation but ultimately guessed incorrectly due to not truly knowing the character. In comparison to other thrillers that I have read (there will be a list below) I found it to not be as thrilling and page-turning. For me this is not a book that made me want to take up late and read or put aside other tasks so that I could read it. If I'm being honest it become more of a chore to read and finish the book because it was that confusing, unenjoyable and dull. The ending of the book was not as grand and dramatic as I expected it to be. My expectations for the ending came from The Girl on the Train. When I read a book I like to find ways in which I can relate to characters or at least find a character that I like. This book did not check either of those boxes for me. 

Would I Recommend This Book

If this book is on your to read list I would just skip it and not waste your time. If you are choosing to read it because you liked The Girl on the Train then sadly you will be very disappointed with this book. This book does not have any of the redeeming qualities that The Girl on the Train had. I would not recommend this book to anyone. This book ranks quite high on my most hated book list. Instead I would recommend checking out some of the other books that I have read and reviewed.

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