What do you think?
Rate this book
Please Don't Tell
Joy killed Adam Gordon—at least, that’s what she thinks. The night of the party is hazy at best. But she knows what Adam did to her twin sister, Grace, and she knows he had to pay for it.
What Joy doesn’t expect is that someone else saw what happened. And one night a note is shoved through her open window, threatening Joy that all will be revealed. Now the anonymous blackmailer starts using Joy to expose the secrets of their placid hometown. And as the demands escalate, Joy must somehow uncover the blackmailer’s identity before Joy is forced to make a terrible choice.
In this darkly compelling narrative, debut author Laura Tims explores the complicated relationship between two sisters, and what one will do for the other. It’s a story that will keep readers turning pages and questioning their own sense of right and wrong.
What Joy doesn’t expect is that someone else saw what happened. And one night a note is shoved through her open window, threatening Joy that all will be revealed. Now the anonymous blackmailer starts using Joy to expose the secrets of their placid hometown. And as the demands escalate, Joy must somehow uncover the blackmailer’s identity before Joy is forced to make a terrible choice.
In this darkly compelling narrative, debut author Laura Tims explores the complicated relationship between two sisters, and what one will do for the other. It’s a story that will keep readers turning pages and questioning their own sense of right and wrong.
352 pages, Hardcover
First published May 24, 2016
About the author
Laura Tims
2 books264 followersLaura Tims is the author of PLEASE DON'T TELL (2016) and THE ART OF FEELING (8/25/2017), both from HarperCollins. She's a mental health advocate, an arts & crafter, and lives in San Diego with a bunny named Noodle. Find her on Twitter @laura_tims.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 208 reviews
Read
July 12, 2013I wrote this! WEIRD.
April 27, 2016
3.5 stars
People are always turning silence into a knife to stab themselves with.
What if you blacked out at a party and the person you absolutely hated died? You wanted him dead. You’ve definitely thought about ridding the world of him. He deserved it. But could you really have been capable of murder?
This is a dark story revolving around a complex sister relationship and the depths one will go to protect her sister. It is about the fear of not knowing what you are truly capable of.
Joy and Grace are twin sisters. Joy is 18 minutes older making her feel a responsibility to protect her younger sister. They are very different from each other. Joy is the loud, wild one who sneaks out at night. Grace is the quiet overachiever who keeps to herself and never thinks she’s good enough.
Joy was at a party last night and she blacked out. She knows Adam Gordon is dead. She also knows that after what he did to her sister..she wanted him dead. She just doesn’t remember if she killed him...
Unfortunately for Joy, someone claims to remember what she can’t, and has no qualms about blackmail...
The story alternates perspectives between Joy in the present and Grace in the past - each a distinct voice. They intertwine in such a way that it’s clear the connection these two sisters have. Each twin’s perspective providing a more revealing portrait of the other. The difference in timeline helps to show the changes their relationship went through from the before and the after of the events.
One of my favorite things was how Laura Tims took this thriller and embedded these deeper themes within. Feeling the responsibility to protect another or even be protected by another can result in feelings of guilt, blame, and regret. I found the exploration at what those can do to a relationship really fascinating.
It took me a moment to process my thoughts on this one. I enjoyed the complex sister relationship between Joy & Grace. I even loved the dark concept of blacking out at a party not knowing if you killed someone or not, but knowing you very well could have because you hated them that much and felt they deserved it. Super scary to even think about..and it brought up a lot of questions. Did Joy really kill Adam? What did Adam do to her twin sister, Grace, to make Joy hate him so much? The concept was great, the execution could've been better. The story falls on the predictable side taking some enjoyment out of the reading.
If you enjoyed Delicate Monsters by: Stephanie Kuehn or Damage Done by: Amanda Pantitch, you might want to pick this one up!
Also... trigger warning (but also a spoiler so don't click unless you need the fair warning):
People are always turning silence into a knife to stab themselves with.
What if you blacked out at a party and the person you absolutely hated died? You wanted him dead. You’ve definitely thought about ridding the world of him. He deserved it. But could you really have been capable of murder?
This is a dark story revolving around a complex sister relationship and the depths one will go to protect her sister. It is about the fear of not knowing what you are truly capable of.
Joy and Grace are twin sisters. Joy is 18 minutes older making her feel a responsibility to protect her younger sister. They are very different from each other. Joy is the loud, wild one who sneaks out at night. Grace is the quiet overachiever who keeps to herself and never thinks she’s good enough.
Joy was at a party last night and she blacked out. She knows Adam Gordon is dead. She also knows that after what he did to her sister..she wanted him dead. She just doesn’t remember if she killed him...
Unfortunately for Joy, someone claims to remember what she can’t, and has no qualms about blackmail...
The story alternates perspectives between Joy in the present and Grace in the past - each a distinct voice. They intertwine in such a way that it’s clear the connection these two sisters have. Each twin’s perspective providing a more revealing portrait of the other. The difference in timeline helps to show the changes their relationship went through from the before and the after of the events.
One of my favorite things was how Laura Tims took this thriller and embedded these deeper themes within. Feeling the responsibility to protect another or even be protected by another can result in feelings of guilt, blame, and regret. I found the exploration at what those can do to a relationship really fascinating.
It took me a moment to process my thoughts on this one. I enjoyed the complex sister relationship between Joy & Grace. I even loved the dark concept of blacking out at a party not knowing if you killed someone or not, but knowing you very well could have because you hated them that much and felt they deserved it. Super scary to even think about..and it brought up a lot of questions. Did Joy really kill Adam? What did Adam do to her twin sister, Grace, to make Joy hate him so much? The concept was great, the execution could've been better. The story falls on the predictable side taking some enjoyment out of the reading.
If you enjoyed Delicate Monsters by: Stephanie Kuehn or Damage Done by: Amanda Pantitch, you might want to pick this one up!
Also... trigger warning (but also a spoiler so don't click unless you need the fair warning):
March 21, 2016
(Source: I received a digital copy of this book for free on a read-to-review basis. Thanks to HarperCollins and Edelweiss.)
This was a YA story about a set of twins, and a dead guy.
Joy came across as pretty messed up in this story, but she was fiercely loyal to her sister, and it seemed like she really believed that she would go as far as murder to protect her.
The storyline in this was about this guy called Adam dying, and Joy worrying that she was the one who killed him, especially due to the blackmail notes that she kept receiving ordering her to do something or the police would find out that she killed Adam. The pace in this was pretty slow though, and I felt like I spent most of the book just waiting to find out what really happened, and why Grace had such a problem with Adam anyway.
The ending to this was okay, but overall the book dragged for me.
6 out of 10
“It must have been me. Whether I was sober enough to remember it or not.”
This was a YA story about a set of twins, and a dead guy.
Joy came across as pretty messed up in this story, but she was fiercely loyal to her sister, and it seemed like she really believed that she would go as far as murder to protect her.
The storyline in this was about this guy called Adam dying, and Joy worrying that she was the one who killed him, especially due to the blackmail notes that she kept receiving ordering her to do something or the police would find out that she killed Adam. The pace in this was pretty slow though, and I felt like I spent most of the book just waiting to find out what really happened, and why Grace had such a problem with Adam anyway.
The ending to this was okay, but overall the book dragged for me.
6 out of 10
May 13, 2016
“Love is a wonderful thing, my dear, but it leaves you wide open for blackmail.”
----Jasper Fforde
Laura Tims, an American author, pens her debut YA thriller, Please Don't Tell that narrates the story of a young teenage girl who after probably killing the boy who destroyed her sister's life becomes a victim of blackmailing from a stranger who knows what she did to that boy and that stranger will go at any lengths to use her for his/her own purpose.
Synopsis:
Joy killed Adam Gordon—at least, that’s what she thinks. The night of the party is hazy at best. But she knows what Adam did to her twin sister, Grace, and she knows he had to pay for it.
What Joy doesn’t expect is that someone else saw what happened. And one night a note is shoved through her open window, threatening Joy that all will be revealed. Now the anonymous blackmailer starts using Joy to expose the secrets of their placid hometown. And as the demands escalate, Joy must somehow uncover the blackmailer’s identity before Joy is forced to make a terrible choice.
In this darkly compelling narrative, debut author Laura Tims explores the complicated relationship between two sisters, and what one will do for the other. It’s a story that will keep readers turning pages and questioning their own sense of right and wrong.
Grace and Joy, the twin teenage sisters, want to rock and roll this summer, they have so much plans to get high, to fall in love, to commit mistakes and to regret, to live the life on the edge. Little did they knew that the girl who lived cocooned and safe in her own self would find the boy of her dreams, yes, Grace did find Adam and Joy did enough to bring them closer. Their affair turned fatal, when Adam destroyed the life of Grace that made her detach from the social life and so did her relationship with her sister, Joy, too became distant. One night at a party, Adam is found dead and Joy is pretty sure that she is the one responsible as she was badly drunk. Later one day, Joy starts receiving blackmailing letter threatening her to expose what she did to Adam, her only option is to keep herself as well as her sister safe thus she agrees to the blackmailer's needs and demands. But for how long can she be able to follow the blackmailer's instructions of deadly tasks?
The author's writing style is quite good and edgy and is laced with enough thrill and suspense to keep the readers arrested into the heart of this story. The narrative is articulate although it lacked a bit of emotional touch thus it will become difficult for the readers to connect with the story emotionally. The pacing is quite slow, compared to the fact that this story contains a lot of layers, the readers will find it difficult to keep themselves glued to the book.
The mystery, in the beginning, turns out to be quite challenging and layered with so many issues, both from social as well as personal front. But gradually, the mystery lacks depth and it will becomes easier for the readers to predict the climax which is not so dramatic or jaw-dropping, as it seems like in the beginning of the story. Whereas the book excels in the field of sister relationships, where one becomes exceptionally protective over the another and the lengths that they could go to protect that person. The book opens with a sweet relationship between the twins sisters, but their equation eventually changes with the onset of the blackmailing, and it turns quite complex.
The characters are quite well-developed, although their demeanor lacked emotional growth. The story is told from the perspective of the twin sisters, one narrating the story in the present timeline, whereas the other one narrating it in the past. The author has strikingly portrayed this time jump from one chapter to another and the readers will feel at ease while moving from this shifting POVs. Joy is the wild, carefree one but her love for Grace is irrevocable and deep and so her loyalty towards her. Grace is the meek one, who likes to achieve in her studies and like to keep to herself. The supporting characters are also quite well-etched out.
In a nutshell, the story is compelling and enlightening that will provoke the thoughts of the readers about so many social issues.
Verdict: For a long, lonely afternoon, this book can give you an intriguing company!
Courtesy: Thanks to the author's publishers for giving me an opportunity to read and review this book.
----Jasper Fforde
Laura Tims, an American author, pens her debut YA thriller, Please Don't Tell that narrates the story of a young teenage girl who after probably killing the boy who destroyed her sister's life becomes a victim of blackmailing from a stranger who knows what she did to that boy and that stranger will go at any lengths to use her for his/her own purpose.
Synopsis:
Joy killed Adam Gordon—at least, that’s what she thinks. The night of the party is hazy at best. But she knows what Adam did to her twin sister, Grace, and she knows he had to pay for it.
What Joy doesn’t expect is that someone else saw what happened. And one night a note is shoved through her open window, threatening Joy that all will be revealed. Now the anonymous blackmailer starts using Joy to expose the secrets of their placid hometown. And as the demands escalate, Joy must somehow uncover the blackmailer’s identity before Joy is forced to make a terrible choice.
In this darkly compelling narrative, debut author Laura Tims explores the complicated relationship between two sisters, and what one will do for the other. It’s a story that will keep readers turning pages and questioning their own sense of right and wrong.
Grace and Joy, the twin teenage sisters, want to rock and roll this summer, they have so much plans to get high, to fall in love, to commit mistakes and to regret, to live the life on the edge. Little did they knew that the girl who lived cocooned and safe in her own self would find the boy of her dreams, yes, Grace did find Adam and Joy did enough to bring them closer. Their affair turned fatal, when Adam destroyed the life of Grace that made her detach from the social life and so did her relationship with her sister, Joy, too became distant. One night at a party, Adam is found dead and Joy is pretty sure that she is the one responsible as she was badly drunk. Later one day, Joy starts receiving blackmailing letter threatening her to expose what she did to Adam, her only option is to keep herself as well as her sister safe thus she agrees to the blackmailer's needs and demands. But for how long can she be able to follow the blackmailer's instructions of deadly tasks?
The author's writing style is quite good and edgy and is laced with enough thrill and suspense to keep the readers arrested into the heart of this story. The narrative is articulate although it lacked a bit of emotional touch thus it will become difficult for the readers to connect with the story emotionally. The pacing is quite slow, compared to the fact that this story contains a lot of layers, the readers will find it difficult to keep themselves glued to the book.
The mystery, in the beginning, turns out to be quite challenging and layered with so many issues, both from social as well as personal front. But gradually, the mystery lacks depth and it will becomes easier for the readers to predict the climax which is not so dramatic or jaw-dropping, as it seems like in the beginning of the story. Whereas the book excels in the field of sister relationships, where one becomes exceptionally protective over the another and the lengths that they could go to protect that person. The book opens with a sweet relationship between the twins sisters, but their equation eventually changes with the onset of the blackmailing, and it turns quite complex.
The characters are quite well-developed, although their demeanor lacked emotional growth. The story is told from the perspective of the twin sisters, one narrating the story in the present timeline, whereas the other one narrating it in the past. The author has strikingly portrayed this time jump from one chapter to another and the readers will feel at ease while moving from this shifting POVs. Joy is the wild, carefree one but her love for Grace is irrevocable and deep and so her loyalty towards her. Grace is the meek one, who likes to achieve in her studies and like to keep to herself. The supporting characters are also quite well-etched out.
In a nutshell, the story is compelling and enlightening that will provoke the thoughts of the readers about so many social issues.
Verdict: For a long, lonely afternoon, this book can give you an intriguing company!
Courtesy: Thanks to the author's publishers for giving me an opportunity to read and review this book.
February 24, 2016
I was lucky enough to get an ARC of this book at ALA Midwinter, where I was even luckier to have the lovely Laura Tims sign it for me. But I had no idea exactly how lucky I was that I had my own copy until I started reading… because I was literally underlining quotes from every single page and dog-earing at random. (Sorry, book!) It’s not an understatement to say I was floored by the writing. It’s bold, gripping, original, evocative, poetic, jarring. It’s light as a lullaby, beautiful as a song, loud as a scream. Sentences hum with electricity, with passion, with raw fear and rage.
PLEASE DON’T TELL is told from alternating perspectives—the narrators are twin sisters Joy and Grace, and the timeline goes from Joy’s voice in the present to Grace’s voice in the past. I loved this fragmented style of storytelling, because it kept me fully engaged and so, so invested in the story. Each sister’s voice was distinct, and Laura Tims does a great job of showing the complicated web of sisterhood, and how guilt and regret and doubt can tangle even the strongest bonds. Through Joy and Grace, she also explores what it means to be a girl and how that can be warped and change shape and lose importance entirely. It’s heartbreaking, but also vividly real.
I don’t want to say much about the plot, because I don’t want to give anything away. I will say that it involves the aftermath of a party where Joy isn’t sure exactly what happened—and the events that follow, which lead her to believe someone else does know, and is willing to use it against her. It’s complicated, twisty, surprising, dark, and wholly, entirely captivating. I couldn’t put the book down and I didn’t want to. Consider me a die-hard Laura Tims fangirl—this is one of the most unique and daring YA books I’ve read.
PLEASE DON’T TELL is told from alternating perspectives—the narrators are twin sisters Joy and Grace, and the timeline goes from Joy’s voice in the present to Grace’s voice in the past. I loved this fragmented style of storytelling, because it kept me fully engaged and so, so invested in the story. Each sister’s voice was distinct, and Laura Tims does a great job of showing the complicated web of sisterhood, and how guilt and regret and doubt can tangle even the strongest bonds. Through Joy and Grace, she also explores what it means to be a girl and how that can be warped and change shape and lose importance entirely. It’s heartbreaking, but also vividly real.
I don’t want to say much about the plot, because I don’t want to give anything away. I will say that it involves the aftermath of a party where Joy isn’t sure exactly what happened—and the events that follow, which lead her to believe someone else does know, and is willing to use it against her. It’s complicated, twisty, surprising, dark, and wholly, entirely captivating. I couldn’t put the book down and I didn’t want to. Consider me a die-hard Laura Tims fangirl—this is one of the most unique and daring YA books I’ve read.
March 31, 2021
Oh no! Please do not believe the Goodreads rating for Please Don’t Tell. It is so good. I practically read it in one sitting.
This story follows twins Grace and Joy. Joy and Grace aren’t really honest with each other anymore since last summer when Grace tried to break out of her shell and ended up getting raped. Grace was raped by Adam last summer. She is the smart twin and is currently having a semester out of school to complete a home-study project. Joy is the fun one, the one with bad grades and loads of friends. Joy has a problem now since thinks she killed Adam by pushing him off the quarry on his land. Adam is an a-hole and probably deserved what happened to him, but Joy can’t remember what happened at the party. Joy just knows she wanted to kill him and now he is dead. When blackmail letters start arriving for Joy she has no choice but to do what the blackmailer wants or face jail time for murder.
The tension in this story is real. This story starts off with Joy in the bathroom getting sick. It is day one after Adam’s death and Joy is scared. She is accompanied by her good friend Preston (Pres) who thinks she is just upset about Adam being dead. This story follows Joy to the funeral and then when she starts getting the blackmailer’s letters. In Grace’s POV we go back to the beginning of summer and see what motivated Grace to hang out with Joy and party with her. Both of these girls come to life as the story unfolds. I loved them both.
There are plenty of supporting characters in this story. The reader gets to know each of these characters with Joy and Grace individually and together. I felt like even though there is the mystery of the blackmailer’s identity this is still such a character driven story. I went back and forth picking suspects but in the end I was surprised and then again I was wrong. The author keeps a great pace while really digging into each twin and allowing us to see them as they really are, and not just how people perceive them.
The town goes through some shocking revelations after Adam’s death as Joy is forced to expose secret after secret. If I had one complaint it would be that we don’t see more of the parent’s/community reactions to these secrets. We only see what these high school students are going through. It is enough though to carry the story and kept me turning pages at a furious pace.
There is the question of believe-ability in this story. How did these kids know so much and figure out how to expose it? What the heck was Grace studying at home for a semester (and how did anyone allow that)? I prefer to allow the story to flow and not get hung up on details. I know this will be a show stopper for some people. Also, some may find the character focus to be a bit slow. I enjoyed every minute of this book though.
The one thing that really stood out to me in this story is that these characters are so genuine. Joy and Grace have pretended for everyone, but when it comes down to it they must be honest and face the ugly truth about themselves. Please Don’t Tell has hard truths about how being human is so damned hard and can be really painful. I really enjoyed this story and would recommend it to any YA fan.
February 3, 2016
A fast, intense, and honest read. I'm going to suggest that all of my students read this one.
June 11, 2018
Who are you when no one's around?
Sometimes it takes a little push to figure things out.
Would you laugh at the same joke with your friend around? Your crush? Your parents?
Would your eyes light up like Christmas lights when you hear the song you lie awake in bed listening to on repeat until you fall asleep humming the melody if you were in public?
Would you say something stupid to be honest to someone in need of a little truth in their world filled with lies?
Would you lie to yourself or others to help them?
Who are you when you're alone? And are you proud of yourself?
Sometimes it takes a little push to figure things out.
Would you laugh at the same joke with your friend around? Your crush? Your parents?
Would your eyes light up like Christmas lights when you hear the song you lie awake in bed listening to on repeat until you fall asleep humming the melody if you were in public?
Would you say something stupid to be honest to someone in need of a little truth in their world filled with lies?
Would you lie to yourself or others to help them?
Who are you when you're alone? And are you proud of yourself?
August 19, 2013
I was lucky enough to get to read an early version, and I loved this book! The characters were interesting and believable, and the twist kept me guessing until the very end. This is a pulse pounding read that I couldn't put down.
February 23, 2016
Oh my heavens this story had me on the edge of my seat the entire time I was reading it. I actually put it down three times so I would not read it so fast to finish. I really wanted to know the ending but I was so curious about the characters and what happened to them I had to slow down reading because I was on fire!
Joy and Grace are twins. Joy is the protector of Grace who is fragile. Joy was born first and no matter what happens she will always protect her sister. During the summer Joy and Grace go to a party at Grace's crushes house Adam Gordon. After that night something happened between Adam and Grace and Joy wants nothing more than to kill Adam.
Then on Adam's birthday he has a huge party down at the quarry when he is found at the bottom of the quarry and Joy thinks she has thrown him down the quarry. To make matters worse she was drunk and does not know whether or not she killed him. If that is not crazy enough Joy is being blackmailed by someone and she has to do things she would not normally do until she finds out who is black mailing her.
Did she really kill Adam for her sister or is she just an escape goat for someone else?
Joy and Grace are twins. Joy is the protector of Grace who is fragile. Joy was born first and no matter what happens she will always protect her sister. During the summer Joy and Grace go to a party at Grace's crushes house Adam Gordon. After that night something happened between Adam and Grace and Joy wants nothing more than to kill Adam.
Then on Adam's birthday he has a huge party down at the quarry when he is found at the bottom of the quarry and Joy thinks she has thrown him down the quarry. To make matters worse she was drunk and does not know whether or not she killed him. If that is not crazy enough Joy is being blackmailed by someone and she has to do things she would not normally do until she finds out who is black mailing her.
Did she really kill Adam for her sister or is she just an escape goat for someone else?
June 3, 2016
Neredeyse her genç-yetişkin romanında olduğu gibi yine ergenlik dönemindeki gençlerin yaşadığı trajediler, kırgınlıklar ve sağlam dostluklar işlenirken onların kimlik bulma arayışları konu ediliyor. Fakat kitap, türü arasında bir adım öne çıkabilecek kadar güçlü.
Detaylı yorum: http://thecenterwillhold.blogspot.com...
Detaylı yorum: http://thecenterwillhold.blogspot.com...
April 7, 2016
In PLEASE DON'T TELL, Laura Tims has managed to use an ingeniously twisted plot (a girl is being blackmailed over a murder she may or may not have committed) to explore a much deeper theme: the ties of love and friendship, and the extent to which any individual is responsible for another. (To paraphrase the way I described this book to someone else: come for the murder and blackmail, but stay for the poignant look at family/friendship dynamics!)
Told in alternating points of view - the first being Joy, a loud and vibrant junior, and the second her twin sister Grace, a quiet overachiever - the novel presents a before and after of two traumatic events, and how those events have completely reshaped the lives of our protagonists. Before, the sisters were inseparable; after, they are barely speaking to one another. Joy and Grace tiptoe around each other, each holding in volatile secrets, each fearing that her secret will harm the other. In reality, of course, those secrets would set both sisters free, and you find yourself screaming at non-existent people to just tell her already! It is the best kind of over-investment.
Tims has a great ear for snappy dialogue, and the central mystery is great. I found myself constantly second-guessing the blackmailer's identity, and constantly going back and forth in my mind about whether Joy really was a killer or not. The blackmailer's motives are cryptic, as each action Joy is pressed into performing both helps and hurts other characters in the novel in equal measure. At the end of the day, though, the great strength of PLEASE DON'T TELL is the psychological interplay of the two sisters, and the thoughtfulness with which Tims shows how easy it is to let self-recrimination cripple you both emotionally and psychologically.
Told in alternating points of view - the first being Joy, a loud and vibrant junior, and the second her twin sister Grace, a quiet overachiever - the novel presents a before and after of two traumatic events, and how those events have completely reshaped the lives of our protagonists. Before, the sisters were inseparable; after, they are barely speaking to one another. Joy and Grace tiptoe around each other, each holding in volatile secrets, each fearing that her secret will harm the other. In reality, of course, those secrets would set both sisters free, and you find yourself screaming at non-existent people to just tell her already! It is the best kind of over-investment.
Tims has a great ear for snappy dialogue, and the central mystery is great. I found myself constantly second-guessing the blackmailer's identity, and constantly going back and forth in my mind about whether Joy really was a killer or not. The blackmailer's motives are cryptic, as each action Joy is pressed into performing both helps and hurts other characters in the novel in equal measure. At the end of the day, though, the great strength of PLEASE DON'T TELL is the psychological interplay of the two sisters, and the thoughtfulness with which Tims shows how easy it is to let self-recrimination cripple you both emotionally and psychologically.
April 18, 2016
I was so lucky to grab a copy of this at ALAMW and even more lucky to meet Laura Tims and get her to sign it! I knew this was going to be my kind of book and I read it ASAP.
This book is important. It's a rape book. It's a sister book. It's a friendship book.
Read it.
(I also got sent a copy from Harper Collins for review!)
So this book is about two twins dealing with a secret. And blackmail. One twin was rapes and the other one is being blamed for killing a boy. A boy who hurt her sister. A boy she had ever right to want dead. But who's the killer? Who's the black mailer?
I loved the writing in this book. I loved the way the story was told, and I loved finding out how everything had happened. I will read anything that Laura Tims writes.
This book is important. It's a rape book. It's a sister book. It's a friendship book.
Read it.
(I also got sent a copy from Harper Collins for review!)
So this book is about two twins dealing with a secret. And blackmail. One twin was rapes and the other one is being blamed for killing a boy. A boy who hurt her sister. A boy she had ever right to want dead. But who's the killer? Who's the black mailer?
I loved the writing in this book. I loved the way the story was told, and I loved finding out how everything had happened. I will read anything that Laura Tims writes.
July 24, 2016
3.5 stars
Please Don't Tell was well-written and interesting throughout. It kept me guessing, but I was expecting a huge plot twist that I don't feel ever came. The foreshadowing in the novel is well done and to an experienced reader does not slip through the cracks.
It is obvious that Laura Tims is a young author, which isn't meant to sound like a bad thing. I do, however, see room for improvement. I feel like her later novels are going to be better as she walks through life and gains experiences and falls in love with new stories and new characters. I will be on the lookout for her future novels.
Please Don't Tell was well-written and interesting throughout. It kept me guessing, but I was expecting a huge plot twist that I don't feel ever came. The foreshadowing in the novel is well done and to an experienced reader does not slip through the cracks.
It is obvious that Laura Tims is a young author, which isn't meant to sound like a bad thing. I do, however, see room for improvement. I feel like her later novels are going to be better as she walks through life and gains experiences and falls in love with new stories and new characters. I will be on the lookout for her future novels.
March 8, 2016
A wonderful and chilling novel that revolves around complex sibling relationships, as well as different manifestations of guilt and blame.
The structure is a past and present point-of-view shift between Joy and her twin sister Grace, before and after the death of Adam Gordon. Both sisters are at least vaguely unreliable, especially since Joy was drunk the night of Adam's death, and Grace comes across as progressively more and more unbalanced.
This is a book that will anger you, break your heart a little, and keep you mostly guessing until the end.
The structure is a past and present point-of-view shift between Joy and her twin sister Grace, before and after the death of Adam Gordon. Both sisters are at least vaguely unreliable, especially since Joy was drunk the night of Adam's death, and Grace comes across as progressively more and more unbalanced.
This is a book that will anger you, break your heart a little, and keep you mostly guessing until the end.
June 3, 2016
I read an early draft of this book in January 2014 and feel so lucky. PLEASE DON'T TELL is a twisty fun novel about sisters, secrets, and revenge. It is perfect for fans of Pretty Little Liars and Damage Done by Amanda Panitch.
February 11, 2021
See more of my reviews on The YA Kitten! My copy was an ARC I got as a reviewer for YA Books Central.
I can’t remember exactly when this book was first announced, but I’m pretty sure it’s been 2-3 years and I’ve been awaiting it since its announcement. I’M NOT USED TO WAITING THIS LONG FOR BOOKS. But my gut told me the wait would be worth it and I jumped on Please Don’t Tell as soon as a copy was offered to me. Good lord, was it worth the wait. If you’re a survivor of sexual abuse or assault, major trigger warning. This book is all about what happens when survivors are afraid or otherwise unable to tell someone about what happened to them.
From early on, it’s clear what Adam did to Grace: he sexually assaulted her. Whether it’s intended to be a surprise or not, it’s honestly in the novel’s favor that it can be figured out so early on. As Grace narrates the “before” and Joy narrates the “after” of Adam’s death, we see how he affected both of them and how the sisters’ relationship with one another broke down. Both of them are neck-deep in troubles at all times and it makes you want to take them to your bosom so you can make everything better for them.
Maybe what Adam did is so clear to me because I’m a fellow survivor. Grace is far worse off than I ever was–in addition to living with OCD and magical thinking before, she develops an eating disorder after–but we thought about what happened to us in the same roundabout ways.
Honestly, the title is so apt it hurts. Most of Grace and Joy’s harships come about because of those three words: “please don’t tell.” Whether they said it themselves or someone said it to them, they secrets they promise to keep put them on a one-way road to tragedy. Those words came from the mouth of the boy who sexually abused me and for some reason, twelve-year-old me did what he said for six months. Ten years later, I’m still dealing with how my life changed because of those words.
Though I concentrate on Grace above because she’s the one I have a personal connection with, Joy is no less interesting as blackmail drives her to find out what really happened the night Adam died and she deals with her own alcohol issues. Multiple blackouts, including one on the night of the party that makes us wonder if Joy really is the killer as the blackmailer claims.
Like I said. Both troubled.
In summary, Please Don’t Tell is an incredible read, but it’s going to hurt if you’ve personally been affected by the issues within its paces. The book took me a very long time to read because it hurt so bad even though the content itself was so brilliantly good.
It took me about half the book to figure out who was blackmailing Joy. That’s a bit unfortunate, but the full story of why and what happened to lead up to it is bound to surprise you like it did me.
Moreover, I’m troubled by Joy’s possible asexuality and how Levi disregards her when she asks him to stop hitting on her. On page 116, she tells him that flirting is “never ever going to work. Not with you or anybody else. Not for me.” Being asexual, my heart leaped a little in joy–but no other quotes further indicate asexuality and the word itself is never said. When Levi disregards what she said and continues to hit on her, she does nothing about it. Add in how aggressively she pursued and got with a past crush and I’m no longer certain of what the line meant at all.
This is very much personal disappointment, however. It’s unlikely to bother other readers the way it bothered me and I’m buying a hardcover of Please Don’t Tell for my personal collection regardless.
Come for the psychological thriller and mystery, stay for the strength of the characters. If someone has done to you what Adam did to Grace, I hope you have the strength to tell. What may come in the wake of what will most likely suck and suck horribly, but Grace and Joy demonstrate what happens when we don’t tell. Please Don’t Tell offers brilliant characters and a new perspective on sexual assault just when you thought it had been explored in every possible way.
*Joy's friend is biracial with a Black mother and white father
*supporting character Cassius is Black and lives with vitiligo; another supporting character is half-Vietnamese
*Joy has more than a bit of an alcohol problem
*Grace has OCD with magical thinking
*November's time in an asylum offers commentary on how we treat mental illness and people who get emergency treatment for it
I can’t remember exactly when this book was first announced, but I’m pretty sure it’s been 2-3 years and I’ve been awaiting it since its announcement. I’M NOT USED TO WAITING THIS LONG FOR BOOKS. But my gut told me the wait would be worth it and I jumped on Please Don’t Tell as soon as a copy was offered to me. Good lord, was it worth the wait. If you’re a survivor of sexual abuse or assault, major trigger warning. This book is all about what happens when survivors are afraid or otherwise unable to tell someone about what happened to them.
From early on, it’s clear what Adam did to Grace: he sexually assaulted her. Whether it’s intended to be a surprise or not, it’s honestly in the novel’s favor that it can be figured out so early on. As Grace narrates the “before” and Joy narrates the “after” of Adam’s death, we see how he affected both of them and how the sisters’ relationship with one another broke down. Both of them are neck-deep in troubles at all times and it makes you want to take them to your bosom so you can make everything better for them.
Maybe what Adam did is so clear to me because I’m a fellow survivor. Grace is far worse off than I ever was–in addition to living with OCD and magical thinking before, she develops an eating disorder after–but we thought about what happened to us in the same roundabout ways.
Honestly, the title is so apt it hurts. Most of Grace and Joy’s harships come about because of those three words: “please don’t tell.” Whether they said it themselves or someone said it to them, they secrets they promise to keep put them on a one-way road to tragedy. Those words came from the mouth of the boy who sexually abused me and for some reason, twelve-year-old me did what he said for six months. Ten years later, I’m still dealing with how my life changed because of those words.
Though I concentrate on Grace above because she’s the one I have a personal connection with, Joy is no less interesting as blackmail drives her to find out what really happened the night Adam died and she deals with her own alcohol issues. Multiple blackouts, including one on the night of the party that makes us wonder if Joy really is the killer as the blackmailer claims.
Like I said. Both troubled.
In summary, Please Don’t Tell is an incredible read, but it’s going to hurt if you’ve personally been affected by the issues within its paces. The book took me a very long time to read because it hurt so bad even though the content itself was so brilliantly good.
It took me about half the book to figure out who was blackmailing Joy. That’s a bit unfortunate, but the full story of why and what happened to lead up to it is bound to surprise you like it did me.
Moreover, I’m troubled by Joy’s possible asexuality and how Levi disregards her when she asks him to stop hitting on her. On page 116, she tells him that flirting is “never ever going to work. Not with you or anybody else. Not for me.” Being asexual, my heart leaped a little in joy–but no other quotes further indicate asexuality and the word itself is never said. When Levi disregards what she said and continues to hit on her, she does nothing about it. Add in how aggressively she pursued and got with a past crush and I’m no longer certain of what the line meant at all.
This is very much personal disappointment, however. It’s unlikely to bother other readers the way it bothered me and I’m buying a hardcover of Please Don’t Tell for my personal collection regardless.
Come for the psychological thriller and mystery, stay for the strength of the characters. If someone has done to you what Adam did to Grace, I hope you have the strength to tell. What may come in the wake of what will most likely suck and suck horribly, but Grace and Joy demonstrate what happens when we don’t tell. Please Don’t Tell offers brilliant characters and a new perspective on sexual assault just when you thought it had been explored in every possible way.
July 8, 2016
REVIEW
This book. Oh my goodness. How do I even describe it? I truly don't even know how to put my thoughts into words. The very first page pulled me in. Please Don't Tell is written in alternating POV's by a set of twins- Joy and Grace. From the very beginning, their emotions resonated with me. Their voices, so similar yet different, echoed in my head without stopping. This is a book that you won't be able to ignore. Once you start it, you won't be able to stop, so make sure you plan accordingly.
Please Don't Tell is one of those books that you start reading, and your eyes greedily absorb each and every line. It's a roller coaster- with more downs than ups. Every time that I thought that I had heard the worst of it, I was wrong. It just kept going down and getting darker and darker until it was pitch black. There definitely are some issues mentioned that could be triggering, so please be careful while reading.
This book is so important to read. So so so important for boys and girls alike. It’s a book that you need to experience for yourself, and so I challenge you to go and read it. It might be a bit outside of your comfort zone, but it’s a book that you won’t regret reading.
If you couldn’t tell, I highly recommend this book and give it 5/5 stars. There aren’t many books that touch me in the heart like this one did, and so I can’t imagine giving it any less than 5 stars. Also, if you like this book, I recommend The Girl Who Fell by Shannon M. Parker.This review was originally posted on ReadWriteLove28
Read
April 26, 2016I dig creepiness and complicated sisterly relationships and revenge stories and diversity so unshockingly I dug this one a lot.
May 20, 2017
**rated down from 5 to 4 stars as it didn't hold up on reread
Grade: B+
One Word: Riveting
Joy and Grace are as close as identical sisters can be, or they were before Adam Gordon raped Grace. Now Adam's dead, murder or accident? Joy is receiving blackmail letters, from someone who saw her kill Adam. But her best friend, the awkward Preston, says he saw Adam slip and fall.
Wow. Laura Tims hit a home run in her debut novel. Her major and minor characters were rich, damaged, flawed, mostly sympathetic and unique. I ached for Grace, the quiet, perfect twin who saw only her flaws. I wished Joy could see her strengths.
Alternating chapters were narrated by Joy and Grace were glimpses into their souls, insecurities, fears and secrets. Tims' impeccable writing held my interest with perfect tension and pacing. While the mystery components of what happened to Adam and who was blackmailing were the central themes of PLEASE DON'T TELL, Tims touched upon issues of body image, self esteem, insecurity, rape and other problems many teen girls face by weaving them seamlessly into the narration without screaming Eating Disorder or Depression. Mental illness was handled without stigma or judgment.
THEMES: death, murder, mystery, rape, friendship, family, twins, siblings, self-esteem, mental illness
PLEASE DON'T TELL is a heartfelt mystery with engaging, life-like characters and a stronger plot.
Grade: B+
One Word: Riveting
Joy and Grace are as close as identical sisters can be, or they were before Adam Gordon raped Grace. Now Adam's dead, murder or accident? Joy is receiving blackmail letters, from someone who saw her kill Adam. But her best friend, the awkward Preston, says he saw Adam slip and fall.
Wow. Laura Tims hit a home run in her debut novel. Her major and minor characters were rich, damaged, flawed, mostly sympathetic and unique. I ached for Grace, the quiet, perfect twin who saw only her flaws. I wished Joy could see her strengths.
Alternating chapters were narrated by Joy and Grace were glimpses into their souls, insecurities, fears and secrets. Tims' impeccable writing held my interest with perfect tension and pacing. While the mystery components of what happened to Adam and who was blackmailing were the central themes of PLEASE DON'T TELL, Tims touched upon issues of body image, self esteem, insecurity, rape and other problems many teen girls face by weaving them seamlessly into the narration without screaming Eating Disorder or Depression. Mental illness was handled without stigma or judgment.
THEMES: death, murder, mystery, rape, friendship, family, twins, siblings, self-esteem, mental illness
PLEASE DON'T TELL is a heartfelt mystery with engaging, life-like characters and a stronger plot.
May 24, 2016
I guess I'm the odd man out on this book. I felt it was too long. There were no twists. The characters were not likable. I had a hard time grasping the difference between Grace and Joy's own voices. I know that they're twins but they sounded the same and I constantly had to re-look at the chapter heading to remind myself the view point I was reading from. November ticked me off because you think you would warn your closest friends from danger. Grace ticked me off because she still lied in her final letter to Levi. Adam was the worst and never really accounted for his actions. Joy just seemed suffocated by everyone and everything around her. I really did not enjoy reading this book.
April 4, 2016
Psychological thriller!! Wow, pacing just right as Laura Tims weaves a dark tale of violence and the ties that bind sisters together!! Hooked until the end!
July 11, 2018
"I'm no longer ice. I am fire. Finally Joy and I can burn up at the same time."
Nothing in this book really blew me away or knocked my socks off (okay- so I am not even wearing socks but that's besides the point.) The author had some fantastic writing for someone who debuted this book as their first and I really liked the premise she was going for with the book but by the end of it I was just...meh. It wasn't anything spectacular.
I really loved the complex sister relationship between Joy and Grace. I think throughout the entire story it was my most favorite thing. Seeing the past and the present, the way things build, it was all fun to see unravel through their POV. Seeing the break in their relationship and where it all went wrong satisfied me. But sadly I didn't connect with either of them. They were simply just two people I was reading about.
But if I have to be super honest, the book was very unrealistic. The events that take place, the death, the lack of police and investigations, the lack of parent involvement, it was just very unbelievable to me. I feel like all of the things taking place were just additions to a plot that wasn't there. I hope that makes sense. Like- the author wasn't 100% sure which direction she wanted to go in so in turn she lost site of her entire plot while adding all of these scenarios to the book. It just didn't make sense to the realist in me.
The story was predictive and consistently slow. The pace never really picks up the further you get into the story and I think that's why it took me so long to read said book. Not to mention there is a lot going on. Sometimes things got lost in translation and confusing and I think if the author had cut out a lot of what was going on, that didn't necessarily pertain to the story- it wouldn't of happened.
The ending was just okay to me, especially after the book dragged the entire time. I think I expected way more than what we were given. All in all, the book was good, the writing was great, but the plot and realism and the actual believing what was happening fell really short for me. It was just predictive and very easy to guess what was going to happen. At times I don't mind that, but when it's all throughout the book it gets boring after a while.
Nothing in this book really blew me away or knocked my socks off (okay- so I am not even wearing socks but that's besides the point.) The author had some fantastic writing for someone who debuted this book as their first and I really liked the premise she was going for with the book but by the end of it I was just...meh. It wasn't anything spectacular.
I really loved the complex sister relationship between Joy and Grace. I think throughout the entire story it was my most favorite thing. Seeing the past and the present, the way things build, it was all fun to see unravel through their POV. Seeing the break in their relationship and where it all went wrong satisfied me. But sadly I didn't connect with either of them. They were simply just two people I was reading about.
But if I have to be super honest, the book was very unrealistic. The events that take place, the death, the lack of police and investigations, the lack of parent involvement, it was just very unbelievable to me. I feel like all of the things taking place were just additions to a plot that wasn't there. I hope that makes sense. Like- the author wasn't 100% sure which direction she wanted to go in so in turn she lost site of her entire plot while adding all of these scenarios to the book. It just didn't make sense to the realist in me.
The story was predictive and consistently slow. The pace never really picks up the further you get into the story and I think that's why it took me so long to read said book. Not to mention there is a lot going on. Sometimes things got lost in translation and confusing and I think if the author had cut out a lot of what was going on, that didn't necessarily pertain to the story- it wouldn't of happened.
The ending was just okay to me, especially after the book dragged the entire time. I think I expected way more than what we were given. All in all, the book was good, the writing was great, but the plot and realism and the actual believing what was happening fell really short for me. It was just predictive and very easy to guess what was going to happen. At times I don't mind that, but when it's all throughout the book it gets boring after a while.
December 17, 2017
Disclaimer: I received a free copy via Edelweiss for review purposes.
4.5
Trigger warning for rape.
After Adam Gordon hurt her sister, Joy gets the ultimate revenge: she kills him. Or did she? Joy can't remember the night, but Adam ended up dead and she had the motive. And someone saw her do it, or at least they say they did. Joy must do what the blackmailer asks and expose the towns secrets, or risk going to prison for the murder of Adam. But the demands get more and more intense, and Joy finds herself falling for Adam's half brother. Joy goes on the hunt for the blackmailer before things escalate even further.
Generally, I really enjoyed this one. I loved the exploration of the dark and complex relationship between Joy and Grace. Whilst I would have enjoyed a more healthy relationship between the two, I think it did a good job in portraying a complex, jealously ridden, and rivalry soaked relationship, whilst also exploring the undying love and devotion between the two sisters. Please Don't Tell also portrays PTSD from Grace's attack, which has an impact on all her relationships around her, including her sister. It was the strong characterisation that made this well worth the read.
I found that I rather enjoyed the suspense and mystery surrounding Adam's death, and the quick pacing, which made this a quick and easy read. Did Joy kill Adam? Who is the blackmailer? What did Adam do to Grace? The mystery and suspense was enough to keep me reading.
It was a bit predictable in the end, which is why it dropped half a star, but I thoroughly enjoyed this one. It's probably not the best YA murder mystery out there: I'd probably recommend Dangerous Girls over this one, but I think it's a solid debut, and I think I was perhaps in the right frame of mind to really enjoy this one.
4.5
Trigger warning for rape.
After Adam Gordon hurt her sister, Joy gets the ultimate revenge: she kills him. Or did she? Joy can't remember the night, but Adam ended up dead and she had the motive. And someone saw her do it, or at least they say they did. Joy must do what the blackmailer asks and expose the towns secrets, or risk going to prison for the murder of Adam. But the demands get more and more intense, and Joy finds herself falling for Adam's half brother. Joy goes on the hunt for the blackmailer before things escalate even further.
Generally, I really enjoyed this one. I loved the exploration of the dark and complex relationship between Joy and Grace. Whilst I would have enjoyed a more healthy relationship between the two, I think it did a good job in portraying a complex, jealously ridden, and rivalry soaked relationship, whilst also exploring the undying love and devotion between the two sisters. Please Don't Tell also portrays PTSD from Grace's attack, which has an impact on all her relationships around her, including her sister. It was the strong characterisation that made this well worth the read.
I found that I rather enjoyed the suspense and mystery surrounding Adam's death, and the quick pacing, which made this a quick and easy read. Did Joy kill Adam? Who is the blackmailer? What did Adam do to Grace? The mystery and suspense was enough to keep me reading.
It was a bit predictable in the end, which is why it dropped half a star, but I thoroughly enjoyed this one. It's probably not the best YA murder mystery out there: I'd probably recommend Dangerous Girls over this one, but I think it's a solid debut, and I think I was perhaps in the right frame of mind to really enjoy this one.
July 21, 2016
This book... was absolutely heartbreaking. I don't know what else to say about it.
"Just because someone's dead doesn't make them gone."
Joy - as the summary of the book shows - thinks she killed Adam Gordon, and she believes that fact because she had plenty of reasons to kill him. The fact that he's dead should calm her, should allow her to think clearly, to get her life back on track knowing he won't be there to ruin it, but none of this happens; instead, it seems like he died only to haunt her, through the guilt she feels over what happened - and that guilt, the fear she feels, forces her to do things she would never do otherwise.
"The thing about guilt is that it stops you from fixing anything. It makes you avoid the person you hurt because you can’t face them, and then you hate yourself because you need to face them."
Joy and Grace: twin sisters, always looking out for each other. When their parents need to know something about Grace, they'll go to Joy. When they need to know something about Joy, they'll go to Grace. However, recent circumstances make them both wonder if they really know the other - and themselves - at all.
"Sometimes you don’t understand how broken you are until you put all the pieces together, cutting your fingers on them, realizing that enough shards have disappeared so that you’ll never fit together like you used to."
The sisters will have to cut their way through secrets and lies in order to bring their lives back to some semblance of normal. This story is all about their journey past the horrors they've seen and done, and how they can make up for it all. This book holds a message to everyone who needs hope. Try reading this. Maybe it'll help.
"Just because someone's dead doesn't make them gone."
Joy - as the summary of the book shows - thinks she killed Adam Gordon, and she believes that fact because she had plenty of reasons to kill him. The fact that he's dead should calm her, should allow her to think clearly, to get her life back on track knowing he won't be there to ruin it, but none of this happens; instead, it seems like he died only to haunt her, through the guilt she feels over what happened - and that guilt, the fear she feels, forces her to do things she would never do otherwise.
"The thing about guilt is that it stops you from fixing anything. It makes you avoid the person you hurt because you can’t face them, and then you hate yourself because you need to face them."
Joy and Grace: twin sisters, always looking out for each other. When their parents need to know something about Grace, they'll go to Joy. When they need to know something about Joy, they'll go to Grace. However, recent circumstances make them both wonder if they really know the other - and themselves - at all.
"Sometimes you don’t understand how broken you are until you put all the pieces together, cutting your fingers on them, realizing that enough shards have disappeared so that you’ll never fit together like you used to."
The sisters will have to cut their way through secrets and lies in order to bring their lives back to some semblance of normal. This story is all about their journey past the horrors they've seen and done, and how they can make up for it all. This book holds a message to everyone who needs hope. Try reading this. Maybe it'll help.
June 28, 2016
This was a YA book that had wonderful crossover appeal. Sometimes when I read YA, I start thinking to myself, “Wow, I’m way too old to be reading this.” However, this wasn’t the case with Please Don’t Tell and I loved the themes the author presented over the course of the story.
Please Don’t Tell is told in alternating points of view, hopping between Joy and Grace. On the surface, Joy is the wild and carefree twin while Grace is the do-gooder, overachiever. But there’s so much going on with the characters beneath the surface. I especially loved Grace’s chapters as she narrates the events that lead up to a character’s death.
There was a lot of darkness in the book and I loved the complexity of the characters. The author made each character three-dimensional, even minor ones. There is a hint of romance in the book, but it was realistically done. All the characters felt so real to me and I rarely find that quality.
The mystery wasn’t the strongest and I figured out the twist early on. However, I still enjoyed how everything came together as past and present collided. The resolution had the same realism as the rest of the novel. Highly recommend this book!
Rating: 4/5 Stars
Please Don’t Tell is told in alternating points of view, hopping between Joy and Grace. On the surface, Joy is the wild and carefree twin while Grace is the do-gooder, overachiever. But there’s so much going on with the characters beneath the surface. I especially loved Grace’s chapters as she narrates the events that lead up to a character’s death.
There was a lot of darkness in the book and I loved the complexity of the characters. The author made each character three-dimensional, even minor ones. There is a hint of romance in the book, but it was realistically done. All the characters felt so real to me and I rarely find that quality.
The mystery wasn’t the strongest and I figured out the twist early on. However, I still enjoyed how everything came together as past and present collided. The resolution had the same realism as the rest of the novel. Highly recommend this book!
Rating: 4/5 Stars
July 10, 2016
A confusing, pointless read with the usual "twin closeness" at the center of the plot. I have read countless other storied that center around the closeness of twins. This was not one of the more interesting ones. Yawn. Snore. Zzzzzzz.
May 24, 2016
this book is not giving me any feels... i'm done.
March 11, 2024
This book is definitely not recommended to read at all. The best way to sum it up, is that it sucks. There’s not much to like about this book at all. In my opinion, not worth a read.
The whole book is a massive trigger warning. Although it doesn’t really outright mention it for half the book, you know there’s the underlying theme about rape and sexual assault. Rape is mentioned firmly in chapter 12, so id just skip that whole chapter. There is also mention of photographs of the principal naked with a student that get passed out around school. And there is some mental health issues brought up, from disorders to suicide. So there’s definitely a lot of trigger warnings all mentioned in this.
Every single character in this book just friggin sucks. Genuinely, November is probably the only tolerable character and she’s hardly in it. Adam and Cassius are both pieces of trash, that’s a no brainer. Adam is the rapist, Cassius is a dickhead crybaby douche, and both of them are just terrible people. The two twins (joy and grace) who just so happen to be the main characters are just so crappy it’s awful. Joy is a little bit more tolerable, but she’s still just blah. Grace is absolutely terrible and just awful to everyone. Like there’s no redemption for a single person who was brought up as a character, they all suck bad.
And my biggest issue is that this whole book is just a joke. It bothers me how this was written, because there’s a lot of talk about all different things relating to mental health. From therapy, disorders, suicide, phrases, etc. But it does such a bad job portraying mental health but also seems like it was suppose to be a “good reflection” of coping and stuff. It’s just terrible all around, not well wrote at all.
I definitely would never recommend this book to anyone. Read at your own risk because this might be one of the worst books I’ve read recently. If I could give it zero stars I would but the only reason it got one is because zero isn’t an option. Don’t waste your time on this dumb book.
And I’m not even trying to be harsh or unfair. This book is just very poorly written and I think it’s toxic as heck. Do not pick this book up, that’s how strongly I’d advise against reading it. The author is a “mental health advocate” or whatnot but this book is a sorry excuse of anything positive about mental health. I think it’s very toxic and just terrible like author should not claim to advocate for mental health then write a book that victim blames, pretty much craps on people with mental health issues, and just pretty much bashes mental health. It’s a set back to mental health, this is a good example of how NOT to write a book around mental health it’s just that bad. I swear it’s terrible.
The whole book is a massive trigger warning. Although it doesn’t really outright mention it for half the book, you know there’s the underlying theme about rape and sexual assault. Rape is mentioned firmly in chapter 12, so id just skip that whole chapter. There is also mention of photographs of the principal naked with a student that get passed out around school. And there is some mental health issues brought up, from disorders to suicide. So there’s definitely a lot of trigger warnings all mentioned in this.
Every single character in this book just friggin sucks. Genuinely, November is probably the only tolerable character and she’s hardly in it. Adam and Cassius are both pieces of trash, that’s a no brainer. Adam is the rapist, Cassius is a dickhead crybaby douche, and both of them are just terrible people. The two twins (joy and grace) who just so happen to be the main characters are just so crappy it’s awful. Joy is a little bit more tolerable, but she’s still just blah. Grace is absolutely terrible and just awful to everyone. Like there’s no redemption for a single person who was brought up as a character, they all suck bad.
And my biggest issue is that this whole book is just a joke. It bothers me how this was written, because there’s a lot of talk about all different things relating to mental health. From therapy, disorders, suicide, phrases, etc. But it does such a bad job portraying mental health but also seems like it was suppose to be a “good reflection” of coping and stuff. It’s just terrible all around, not well wrote at all.
I definitely would never recommend this book to anyone. Read at your own risk because this might be one of the worst books I’ve read recently. If I could give it zero stars I would but the only reason it got one is because zero isn’t an option. Don’t waste your time on this dumb book.
And I’m not even trying to be harsh or unfair. This book is just very poorly written and I think it’s toxic as heck. Do not pick this book up, that’s how strongly I’d advise against reading it. The author is a “mental health advocate” or whatnot but this book is a sorry excuse of anything positive about mental health. I think it’s very toxic and just terrible like author should not claim to advocate for mental health then write a book that victim blames, pretty much craps on people with mental health issues, and just pretty much bashes mental health. It’s a set back to mental health, this is a good example of how NOT to write a book around mental health it’s just that bad. I swear it’s terrible.
April 17, 2018
This was really good that featured very dark and very intense relationships. Joy and Grace are twin sisters with a very complex relationship. Joy tries to act as a protector but feels she makes things worse for her sister who already went through a horrific trauma. The most intriguing part I found was how the author explored the link between eating disorders and sexual abuse. There wasn't too many major surprises, but I still really enjoyed how well the author wrapped up the story.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 208 reviews