“All imperfections glare in the spotlight.”
-Mindy McGinnis, This Darkness Mine
For all appearances, Sasha Stone’s life is perfect: she’s first chair clarinet, at the top of her class, and has a loyal boyfriend. Her path to Oberlin is still in place, at least until Isaac Harver comes into her life. When she’s around him, she’s trouble; when she learns that she absorbed her twin in her mother’s womb, she’s convinced it’s her sister’s heart that’s in love with him. Sasha quickly begins to lose control on the perfect life that she had–will she be able to get it back?
I’m reviewing this a bit out of order because ever since I read this book, I needed to write something about it. It’s….weird. Mindy McGinnis also wrote Female of the Species, which I absolutely loved, but this book was very different from that, for me. While the writing is strong and well-done, the overall effect of this book is odd, which you can definitely see by looking at the other reviews.
Though the plot itself is odd (and at times violently graphic), there’s a message underneath the text, showing how terrible people can be to others. In fact, I would argue, the main character has almost no redeeming qualities. As you learn more about Sasha, the more you dislike her. She might be one of the least likable narrators that I have ever read, which most likely contributed to the fact that I feel so mediocre about this book.
The plot of this book is twisty and shocking, and the less you know about it, the better. There were parts, however, where I went back a few pages to re-read, because I thought: “did that really happen?” Every time, it did. It made the plot confusing at times, because some of the twists were jarring, but this didn’t take away from the quality of the writing. The writing is extremely well done, I just didn’t connect with the characters or the plot, taking away much of my connection to the narrative.
Overall, if you’re looking for something weird, dark, and shocking, this book would probably be for you. For me, it’s probably not something I’ll ever revisit.
3/5 stars