Good Girl: A Memoir by Sarah Tomlinson

A special thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Oh Sarah...  I really wanted to like your book so much more than I actually did. I kept waiting for something to happen, some epiphany but nothing really happened.

Her accolades and experience are impressive.  I'm sure she's a gifted writer, in fact I would actually like to read some of her music reviews which are probably fantastic, but I really didn't care for her style.  Her story is told so rapidly, like one giant conversation that makes your head spin.  You know when you haven't seen someone for a long time, and you talk incessantly, cramming in a lifetimes worth of conversation into one evening?  That's how I felt reading this.  I didn't feel like she had found her voice or her place in life, perhaps that is why she wrote the book like this?  I just craved more detail from her not the staccato storytelling.

I was also waiting for a proper conclusion; I thought that the ending would mark something monumental but there was no build up and it just ended.  It was as if her goal was to cover off as as much as possible without going into any detail.

Those Girls by Chevy Stevens

A special thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Life has never been easy for the three Campbell sisters. Jess, Courtney, and Dani live on a remote ranch in Western Canada where they work hard and try to stay out of the way of their father’s fists. One night, a fight gets out of hand and the sisters are forced to go on the run, only to get caught in an even worse nightmare when their truck breaks down in a small town. Events spiral out of control and a chance encounter with the wrong people leaves them in a horrific and desperate situation. They are left with no choice but to change their names and create new lives.

Eighteen years later, they are still trying to forget what happened that summer when one of the sisters goes missing and they are pulled back into their past.

This time there’s nowhere left to run.

Set in western Canada, this emotional thriller is in a way a strange coming-of-age story that also explores the bond between sisters. The main characters, the Campbell sisters, are forced to flee their home only to encounter more violation and torture at the hands of their rescuers. There are some very disturbing details, and a darkness that swallows up not only the girls' innocence, but parts of them as well.

At times the narrative is incredibly difficult, not only by way of imagery, but because of the extreme violence that Stevens takes on (rape, murder, abuse). Some readers may find the writing powerful based on the connection and empathy towards the girls and their resilience, but I did not. I found it incredibly disturbing and violent.  

Those Girls is an unforgettable portrait of desperation, loyalty, and evil.

CHEVY STEVENS was working as a realtor when she got the idea for her novel Still Missing, in which a real estate agent is abducted while holding an open house. Still Missing was a New York Times bestseller and the winner of the 2011 International Thriller Writers Award for Best First Novel.

Stevens currently resides on Vancouver island with her husband and daughter.