Book Review: The Good Girl by Mary Kubica

As I was sitting in class with nothing to do, I turned to my comfort activity, reading. I eagerly opened my school issued Chromebook, searching for a good thriller. I wanted to be shocked, at the edge of my seat, and experience the aftershock that comes after reading a perfectly crafted thriller/mystery novel.

With limited options within eBooks, I decided to go for a fan favorite, The Good Girl by Mary Kubica. The synopsis had everything that I was looking for. A triple perspective novel detailing the kidnapping of art teacher, Mia Dennett, the plot sounded promising. And so, I began reading the book, foolishly believing the raving reviews talking about the plot twist that made their jaws drop. 

The premise of the novel is that an art teacher named Mia Dennett goes missing. Mia is the daughter of a successful judge and so the police are immediately on the case. The book is narrated by 3 people. Her frantic mother, Eve Dennett. Her kidnapper, Colin Thatcher. And lastly, the cop assigned to her case, Gabe Hoffmann. Together, their stories interconnect to figure out how Mia went missing, why she was kidnapped, and where she is. 

I have many complaints about the book that I will concisely explain here. 

1. The plot twist was lacking

A major reason I stuck with the book till the end was because of the promise of an astonishing plot twist. This supposed plot twist came during the last two pages, was extremely predictable, and did not justify, properly explain, or satisfactorily conclude the events of the book. 

2. The book contained discriminatory content

Every villain in the book was a person of color and as a first-generation Indian American teen, I was very hurt by seeing this. To portray the only person to color as an exotic villains and the actual abuser as a hero is something that didn't sit right with me. In contrast, every protagonist was of the same ethnic background. Also, Kubica consistently associates ethnic neighborhoods with danger. Why is a neighborhood filled with mostly immigrants considered to be a rotting place that's unsafe for everyone?

3. The book justified kidnapping and glorified Stockholm Syndrome

Kidnapping and abusing an individual are not okay under any circumstances, yet this novel almost seemed to glorify it. The kidnapper, Colin Thatcher kidnaps Mia to "save her" from the big bad villain of the book. He locks her, does not let her out of his sight, does not properly feed her, and constantly carries a gun to intimidate and scare her. Throughout the course of the novel, this character transforms from abuser to the main love interest. It is obvious that Mia develops a case of Stockholm syndrome, but this is supposed to be a great love story that we as readers are supposed to root for.

4. None of the main characters were worth rooting for or well crafted

The book has 3 main characters. The first is Mia, the woman that is kidnapped. I do understand that she goes through some very traumatic events and as a reader, I did want her to escape. However, she is very one dimensional and repetitive. The second main character is the kidnapper, Colin Thatcher. As I mentioned above, he is abusive and rude. His backstory is meant to make readers empathize with him, but no past can justify literally kidnapping another person. The last main character is Mia's mother, Eve. She starts off the book talking about how she barely knows her daughter or bothers to talk to her. After her daughter is kidnapped, she spends all her time crying, which is understandable, but then proceeds to have a short romance with the cop managing Mia's case. I found that to be very off putting.

5. The different timelines made no sense and did not contribute to the plot

The book has two timelines (which is made very clear). One timeline details Mia's kidnapping and the other is Mia's life after being rescued. After reading a couple pages, it's annoying to know that Mia's memories are fragmented, she thinks her name is Chloe, and she gets rescued. This takes away from the suspense of what happens to Mia and does not raise any questions, rather it confuses the reader since the timeline keeps on randomly switching. 

While I could go on and on, these were the main reasons that I did not like this book. I don't think anyone of any age should read a book as discriminatory and one dimensional as this one.

0 stars out of 5

Weekly Book Wonder: Unveiling Our Featured Book/Author

 Hello everyone! This week our featured book/author is The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes. 

Photo credit to Sperling and Kupfor Editore

Rating- ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Synopsis

This book is focused on the life of Avery Kylie Grambs, a high school senior living in poverty whose life drastically changes when she inherits a large fortune from a famous man who she is not related to. The man (Tobias Hawthorne) has 4 grandsons, all of whom had been trained to be exceptional and brilliant. Throughout the course of the book, Avery works with all four grandsons and her sister, Libby, to uncover the mystery of why she was given the inheritance and what kind of a man Tobias Hawthorne really was. She also struggles to adjust to the lavish, demanding, and wealthy lifestyle that her new status demands, which serves as a background plot.

My Opinion

I found this book to be quite interesting. It is a controversial book, with some people adoring it and others finding the plot to be dull and lacking. I found it intriguing, with a new plot twist appearing every couple of chapters. The writing was masterful and tactful, and I think that it was a well-done book. I found myself suspecting everyone, which is a trademark of good mystery novels.

Personally, I didn't particularly enjoy the Emily storyline. Though it was interesting and showed significant character development within the two love interests, Jameson and Grayson, I felt that it was a bit drawn out and excessive. The rivalry and discomfort between the two brothers could have been shown in a different way or explained earlier on in the story. I thought that it took away from the main mystery. 

The reason that I still gave this book 5 stars despite not liking a significant part of the story is because the mystery was intriguing and well written enough to the point where I can overlook the Emily storyline. Furthermore, every character was human. What I mean by this is that every character, even the protagonists, were given flaws, which made them more relatable and likable. I think that was a really important aspect of this book especially since they are shown to be very wealthy, making their humanity and flaws the only part of them that makes them relatable. 

Overall, if you like plot twists, mysteries, and main characters that you will keep rooting for, this book is for you!

Age Rating

This is a clean YA book, with all of the romance being limited and appropriate. The main characters are around 17-20 years old, but at least in this book, because so much character development is required for all the characters, the mystery is at center stage, not the romance. Nothing is too frightening, but the vocabulary, concepts, and pacing is appropriate for older readers. Therefore, I would recommend this book for readers that are 12+. 

Series

This book is the first in a series. The series is as follows:

1. The Inheritance Games

2. The Hawthorne Legacy

3. The Final Gambit

4. The Brothers Hawthorne

5. The Grandest Game (To be Released)

The first 3 books make up a trilogy and the main plotline/mystery is wrapped up in these three books. The fourth book focuses on the love interests in the trilogy (Jameson and Grayson) and their personal journeys after the events of the first three.