Sunday Synopsis

Beware That Girl by Teresa Toten
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I rarely just think a book is "Just OK." I purchased this book because it was advertised like this: "For fans of We Were Liars, Gone Girl, and The Girl on the Train comes a powerful psychological thriller with a gripping pace and Hitchcockian twists."

Not necessarily true. I didn't hate the book, but I really found no parallels to Gone Girl or Girl on the Train, both of which I loved, except for the fact that both books have a psychopath in them. That's it. There were no Hitchcockian twists in this book, either. I was rarely surprised by any plot events.

Beware That Girl follows the lives of Kate, the poor scholarship girl, and Olivia, the rich, high society girl, who both attend a private girls' academy in New York. Kate is a street-smart liar who worms her way in to Olivia's life, a life full of money and privilege. Kate is outrunning her past which is revealed during flashbacks that can often be confusing. Olivia is basically doing the same running from her past as she had some psychological issues the previous year. Enter the mysterious Mark Redkin, a sexual deviant who has no remorse for the evils he commits. How these three lives merge is the basis of the plot.

I do admit wanting to know more and more and having a hard time putting it down because the author only gives little doses of information here and there, so you have to read quite a bit to feel satisfied that you know more than you did when you started. It tends to be repetitive.

Every other chapter is from a different character's point of view, Kate or Olivia, except those that are from both. But even if the chapter is from Olivia's point of view, it sounds like someone else is talking about her. There is an omniscient narrator which is difficult to understand since there are different points of view throughout the book.

The ending is quite disappointing. I don't want to spoil anything, but a complete resolution is not achieved. This is one of my pet peeves. There is a tragedy at the end, but it does not tell the reader who the real villain is. They all 3 are villains in their own ways. And of course, it is extremely far-fetched.

The description also says that this book is meant for older teens and up. It is so dark and demented that I would not recommend it to a teen, older or not.

If you get this as a bargain book, I would recommend it, but I wouldn't pay full price for it.

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