The Tenth Girl by Sara Faring

The Tenth Girl

by Sara Faring
Published: Imprint, 2019
Pages: 460
Genre: Thriller, Young Adult
Amazon, Goodreads

“Isn’t it kind of beautiful to experience primal fear? To feel your pulse quicken because a pile of well-laid stones catch shadows and carry sound in unusual ways? How often are we so bored and anesthetized by our routines - in our safe surroundings - that we lose all sense of what’s magical about our existence.”

About the book

At the very southern tip of South America looms an isolated finishing school. Legend has it that the land will curse those who settle there. But for Mavi—a bold Buenos Aires native fleeing the military regime that took her mother—it offers an escape to a new life as a young teacher to Argentina’s elite girls.

Mavi tries to embrace the strangeness of the imposing house—despite warnings not to roam at night, threats from an enigmatic young man, and rumors of mysterious Others. But one of Mavi’s ten students is missing, and when students and teachers alike begin to behave as if possessed, the forces haunting this unholy cliff will no longer be ignored... and one of these spirits holds a secret that could unravel Mavi’s existence.

Review

The Tenth Girl is a haunting, psychological thriller that combines historical fiction, Patagonia mythology and the paranormal.

The plot is what drew me into the novel: a haunted boarding school in remote South America where, several years earlier, a mysterious illness killed off almost all of the staff and students.

In 1978, the Vaccaro School is reopened and is where Mavi takes a job as an English teacher for a fresh start. Once she arrives, she discovers a sinister building with odd rules; no one is allowed out of their bedrooms at night as it’s unsafe. Mavi attempts to take her job in stride but can’t ignore the change in the other teachers and students… they begin acting like they’re possessed. This, combined with stranger rumors of “The Others,” leads Mavi on a mission to save those she cares about, but the truth could change her very core.

The writing is very eerie and disturbing. The author does a stellar job of painting vivid, hair-rising depictions of this creepy boarding school that obviously holds very dark secrets. The unique setting, 1978 Argentina, and the touch of mythology really makes the book unique.

At its core, the story is about forgiving yourself in order to set yourself free from the guilt and shame that can trap us all and learning to live your life. This revelation is one example of how this book shocked me. I went into The Tenth Girl thinking it was a creepy ghost story but it completely turned me around, upside down and inside out. Along with the general weirdness of the storyline, the novel has substantial character development that requires readers to consider the inner wall he or she may be hiding behind as well.

The promised HUGE twist at the end is one that readers will not be able to guess. It definitely gives me vibes of this one popular horror movie but I don’t want to say the name of it because of potential spoilers. 

The Tenth Girl is crazily original, and I guarantee it’ll be something you’ve never read before. There are mixed reviews for this book; it seems like you’ll either love it or hate it. I really enjoyed it, though I must admit the pacing drags a bit in the middle but then picks back up towards the end. There's also some saying that the mythology incorporated into the novel isn't accurate which that, along with the slow pacing mentioned earlier, leads me to give this a slightly lower rating.

WWW Wednesdays (2/5/20)

In this weekly meme, I will answer three questions:


What are you currently reading?

What did you recently finish?

What do you think you'll read next?


This meme is held by samannelizabeth.wordpress.com. Just answer the three questions below and leave a link to your post in the comments for others to look at. No blog? No problem! Just leave a comment with your responses. Please, take some time to visit with other participants and see what others are reading.

What are you currently reading?

I'm currently reading The Tenth Girl which is a creepy ass paranormal mystery set at a remote boarding school in Argentina.

What did you recently finish?

A Curse So Dark and Lonely - I'm not much one for retellings, but I loved this book. It had great character development. Check out the full review here. My rating: ★★★★★

The Girl the Sea Gave Back - This book had a lot of potential but I fell like it fell flat. The world and characters needed to be fleshed out. My rating: ★★

What It Seems - I got this ARC from Netgalley. It was a great read that shows readers the importance of finding your truth and not being afraid of showing the world who you are. Read my full review here. My rating: ★★★★★

What do you think you'll read next?

Next I'll be picking up A Heart So Fierce and Broken, the follow up to A Curse So Dark and Lonely. I also want to dive into The Cure for Dreaming, which I recently purchased.

What does your WWW Wednesday look like? Let me know in the comments below!

Top Ten Tuesday: Books on My TBR That I Predict Will Be 5 Stars

Top Ten Tuesday is a book blog meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week's topic is Books on My TBR That I Predict Will Be 5-Star Reads. My list is a mixture of new releases and novels I've had on my TBR forever. 

Burn Our Bodies Down by Rory Power - I absolutely LOVED Wilder Girls. It was creepy and sinister and completely unexpected. Power's new novel, Burn Our Bodies Down which comes out in July, focuses on Margot, a young woman who wants to know her past. She finds a picture pointing her to a town called Phalane. I guess some weird shit happens once she gets there. The description is intriguing, and I'm really looking forward to getting my hands on a copy.

The Splendid and the Vile by Erik Larson - Larson writes awesome non-fiction novels that really makes you feel like you're actually there. His work is engaging and well-researched. Larson's latest work will be a profile on Winston Churchill. 

Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty - I really enjoyed Big Little Lies so I'm looking forward to reading more of Moriarty's work. This novel centers around nine people gathered at a remote health resort where apparently some stuff goes down.

The Girl in the Tower by Katherine Arden - The second installment in the Winternight Trilogy, I'm expecting The Girl in the Tower to be a fantastic, mystical read just like the first novel.

A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly - I've seen good reviews for this novel and, even though it's older (2004), I'm still looking forward to reading it. A sixteen-year-old who works at a motel finds a stack of burning letters which may hold the truth behind another young woman's murder.

The Cure for Dreaming by Cat Winters - Cat Winters writes in-depth historical novels with super interesting storylines and inspiring illustrations. I recently purchased The Cure for Dreaming, so I'll be picking it up soon.

You by Caroline Kepnes - There's a lot of hype surrounding this novel and, as most everyone knows, inspired the Netflix series. The novel is unique in that it's from the stalker's perspective so I'll be hopefully picking it up soon. I've been wanting to read it for several years now but it hadn't been at my local library and I hadn't gotten around to purchasing it yet.

Recursion by Blake Crouch - I read Dark Matter by this author and it completely blew my mind. Based on that novel alone, when I saw Recursion on sale at Amazon, I just had to get it. A Goodreads Choice 2019 winner, the story follows a New York City cop who is investigating a phenomenon in which victims are driven made with memories of a life they've never lived. I imagine it'll be just as crazy and mind-bending as his other work.

Little Darlings by Melanie Golding - I've seen good reviews for Little Darlings. From what I understand, a woman believes her child has been switched with a creature. It sounds dark and weird AF which is what I love.

Artemis by Andy Weir - I loved The Martin and have yet to read more of Weir's work. Artemis was a Goodreads 2017 winner. I know it's a sci-fi but that's pretty much it.

What does your list look like?

What It Seems by Emily Bleeker

What It Seems

by Emily Bleeker
Published: Lake Union Publishing, 2020
Genre: Thriller
Amazon, Goodreads

“It’s about feeling worthy enough to have something better.”

About the book

Adopted by her controlling foster mother at the age of eight, twenty-year-old Tara has seen little of the outside world. Lonely, punished for the slightest offense, her only distraction comes from watching the Feely family’s online videos. They’re an affectionate vlogging quintet and an internet sensation. Most important, they are Tara’s mental refuge. Then the opportunity arises for them to be something more. When Tara accepts an internship with the close-knit clan, they’re her escape.

Daring to run away, and defying Mother’s rules, Tara is welcomed into the loving fold. But the more Tara gets to know them, the more she realizes that not everything is as it seems. As secrets slowly surface, the image of the perfect family begins to crack. For Tara, it’s another trap.

To claim a life of her own, she’ll need a new escape plan. Because as the show’s popularity explodes, reaching even more fascinated viewers, Tara can’t shake the feeling that Mother is among their ranks. She’s watching. She’s waiting. She’ll never let her go.

Review

What It Seems is a fantastic, character-driven novel about stepping out of your shell and finding yourself as a person.

The story centers around twenty-year-old Tara, whose controlling mother physical and emotionally abuses her and forces her to provide their income: stealing and selling the stolen items online. Forbidden from conversing with others and locked inside her bedroom nightly, Tara’s only escape from her life is YouTube channel featuring the Feelys, a popular, seemingly perfect family. The Feely family puts out an ad for an intern, and Tara applies in hopes of breaking free from her prison. In order to pursue her dream, Tara will have to learn to speak her truth and come to terms with her past.

There are two aspects that I love about this book: shattering the perfect image that is constantly portrayed on social media and overcoming adversity to be who you were meant to be. Tara learns that the Feely’s life isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be, and she discovers herself through the process. 

The only part of the story that annoyed me was how long Tara held on to her secret; yet, this also shows how guilt and shame can really erect a wall around us and keep us from connecting to others. When I was little, I was PAINFULLY shy. At times I would be asked a question and I’d say whatever to stop the conversation from continuing, even though what I’d say wouldn’t be true or make sense. Even though it would have made Tara’s situation much easier to be up front at the beginning, her trauma made her clam up and unable to share her truths with those around her. 

I really enjoyed this book. There’s not much action as it is more character-driven, but it’s definitely worth the read. 

January 2020 Wrap up

Wow, it's already the end of the first month of 2020! I've had a pretty good reading month with a total of eleven read books. Let's go to it!

The Queen of Nothing by Holly Black: ★★★★

Thunderhead/The Toll by Neal Shusterman: ★★★★★/★★★

Deadly Waters by Dot Hutchison: ★★★★

One of Us is Next by Karen McManus: ★★★★

The Institute by Stephen King: ★★★★

The Chestnut Man by Soren Sveistrup: ★★★★

Hollow by Rhonda Parrish: ★★★

The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James: ★★★★★

The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones: ★★★★ (more of ★★★ and half)

A Curse so Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer: ★★★★★

The Girl the Sea Gave Back by Adrienne Young: ★★

A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer

A Curse So Dark and Lonely

by Brigid Kemmerer
Published: Bloomsbury, 2019
Pages: 496
Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult
Amazon, Goodreads

“Have you not figured it out yet? The curse torments us all.”

About the book

It once seemed so easy to Prince Rhen, the heir to Emberfall. Cursed by a powerful enchantress to repeat the autumn of his eighteenth year over and over, he knew he could be saved if a girl fell for him. But that was before he learned that at the end of each autumn, he would turn into a vicious beast hell-bent on destruction. That was before he destroyed his castle, his family, and every last shred of hope.

Nothing has ever been easy for Harper. With her father long gone, her mother dying, and her brother barely holding their family together while constantly underestimating her because of her cerebral palsy, she learned to be tough enough to survive. But when she tries to save someone else on the streets of Washington, DC, she's instead somehow sucked into Rhen's cursed world.

A prince? A monster? A curse? Harper doesn't know where she is or what to believe. But as she spends time with Rhen in this enchanted land, she begins to understand what's at stake. And as Rhen realizes Harper is not just another girl to charm, his hope comes flooding back. But powerful forces are standing against Emberfall . . . and it will take more than a broken curse to save Harper, Rhen, and his people from utter ruin.

Review

A Curse So Dark and Lonely is a YA retelling of Beauty and the Beast. I initially didn’t want to read this book because I thought it’d be the typical, run-of-the-mill YA fantasy that’d be centered on a terrible beast who learns how to love and him and a young woman ride off into the sunset. 

I could not have been more wrong.

What really surprised me in this novel was the focus on character development, not romance.

Harper is a timid young woman used to staying the shadows. She lives in Washington, D.C., with her mother, who’s dying of cancer, and her brother, who is forced to deal with loan sharks following the abandonment of their father. While on the lookout for her brother, Harper is taken by a stranger and transported into a literal fairytale. To save those around her and get back to her family, Harper must tap into her inner strength and project the confidence she didn’t know she had. I absolutely love Harper’s character. Strong, independent woman are among my favorite character types. 

Rhen is a prince who, after spending the night with a mysterious woman with secret powers, is cursed to find a woman to fall in love with him or turn into a terrible, vicious beast who kills everyone in sight. The young prince cycles through hundreds of seasons through which he terrorizes his kingdom and brutally murders his own family before Harper lands before him. The mage who cursed him then declares that this will be his last season, meaning he has to make Harper fall in love with him or be turned into the beast forever. Rhen comes off as arrogant and entitled, though slowly Harper learns that Rhen is in deep mourning for his lost family and is extremely loyal to his people.

What makes A Curse So Dark and Lonely pop is the development of Harper’s and Rhen’s relationship throughout the story. I found this book to be more of a character development than a romance, though there are romantic aspects through the plot. 

Grey was also a great addition to the storyline. He’s fiercely loyal and provides another dimension to the two main characters. 

The ending also reveled a big twist and concluded in a way that leaves readers SHOOK. 

I really enjoyed A Curse So Dark and Lonely. When I finished the book, I rushed over to the library to place a hole on the second installment. Looking forward to diving into it!

WWW Wednesday: 1//29/20

In this weekly meme, I will answer three questions:


What are you currently reading?

What did you recently finish?

What do you think you'll read next?


This meme is held by samannelizabeth.wordpress.com. Just answer the three questions below and leave a link to your post in the comments for others to look at. No blog? No problem! Just leave a comment with your responses. Please, take some time to visit with other participants and see what others are reading.

What are you currently reading?

I'm currently reading A Curse so Dark and Lonely which is basically a retelling of Beauty and the Beast. I wasn't sure I wanted to read it at first because I'm not a big fan of retellings, but I heard many good things about it so I decided to give it a try. I'm enjoying it so far!

What did you recently finish?

I made it a little over half way through Children of Virtue and Vengeance, the follow-up to the Children of Blood and Bone, but I ended up DNF'ing it. I felt the characters to be shallow and the writing dull. I recently finished an ARC, The Only Good Indians, which I did like and gave a good rating but I believed the author's sentence structure to be awkward at times. Click here to read my full review on The Only Good Indians.

What do you think you'll read next?

Here's what I'm considering reading next. I've had The Cure for Dreaming on my TBR for several years now. I just recently purchased it, and the illustrations are cool. I'll probably be picking it up soon. I'll also be diving into Bring Me Their Hearts and The Girl the Sea Gave Back.

What does your WWW Wednesday look like? Let me know in the comments!