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Cartwheel: A Novel
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Cartwheel: A Novel
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Cartwheel: A Novel
Audiobook14 hours

Cartwheel: A Novel

Written by Jennifer duBois

Narrated by Emily Rankin

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

3.5/5

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Currently unavailable

About this audiobook

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY
Slate • Cosmopolitan • Salon • BuzzFeed • BookPage

Written with the riveting storytelling of authors like Emma Donoghue, Adam Johnson, Ann Patchett, and Curtis Sittenfeld, Cartwheel is a suspenseful and haunting novel of an American foreign exchange student arrested for murder, and a father trying to hold his family together.

 
When Lily Hayes arrives in Buenos Aires for her semester abroad, she is enchanted by everything she encounters: the colorful buildings, the street food, the handsome, elusive man next door. Her studious roommate Katy is a bit of a bore, but Lily didn't come to Argentina to hang out with other Americans.
 
Five weeks later, Katy is found brutally murdered in their shared home, and Lily is the prime suspect. But who is Lily Hayes? It depends on who's asking. As the case takes shape-revealing deceptions, secrets, and suspicious DNA-Lily appears alternately sinister and guileless through the eyes of those around her: the media, her family, the man who loves her and the man who seeks her conviction. With mordant wit and keen emotional insight, Cartwheel offers a prismatic investigation of the ways we decide what to see-and to believe-in one another and ourselves.
 
In Cartwheel, duBois delivers a novel of propulsive psychological suspense and rare moral nuance. No two readers will agree who Lily is and what happened to her roommate. Cartwheel will keep you guessing until the final page, and its questions about how well we really know ourselves will linger well beyond.
 
WINNER OF THE HOUSATONIC BOOK AWARD

"A smart, literary thriller [for] fans of Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl."-The Huffington Post
 
"Psychologically astute . . . DuBois hits [the] larger sadness just right and dispenses with all the salacious details you can readily find elsewhere. . . . The writing in Cartwheel is a pleasure-electric, fine-tuned, intelligent, conflicted. The novel is engrossing, and its portraiture hits delightfully and necessarily close to home."-The New York Times Book Review (Editor's Choice)
 
"Marvelous . . . a gripping tale . . . Every sentence crackles with wit and vision. Every page casts a spell."-Maggie Shipstead, author of Seating Arrangements

"[You'll] break your own record of pages read per minute as you tear through this book."-Marie Claire
 
"Jennifer duBois is destined for great things."-Cosmopolitan

"A convincing, compelling tale . . . The story plays out in all its well-told complexity."-New York Daily News

"[A] gripping, gorgeously written novel . . . The emotional intelligence in Cartwheel is so sharp it's almost ruthless-a tabloid tragedy elevated to high art. [Grade:] A-"-Entertainment Weekly
 
"Sure-footed and psychologically calibrated . . . As the pages fly, the reader hardly notices that duBois has stretched the genre of the criminal procedural."-Newsday

"Provocative, meaningful and suspenseful."-Chicago Tribune

"[Jennifer duBois is] heir to some of the great novelists of the past, writers who caught the inner lives of their characters and rendered them on the page in beautiful, studied prose."-Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

From the Hardcover edition.
LanguageEnglish
Release dateSep 24, 2013
ISBN9780804164863
Unavailable
Cartwheel: A Novel
Author

Jennifer duBois

Jennifer duBois is the author of The Last Language. Her first novel, A Partial History of Lost Causes, was a finalist for the PEN/Hemingway Award for Debut Novel and winner of the California Book Award for First Work of Fiction. Soon after its publication, duBois received a Whiting Award and a National Book Foundation 5 Under 35 Award. Her second novel, Cartwheel, was a finalist for the New York Public Library’s Young Lions Fiction Award and the winner of the Housatonic Book Award. And her third novel, The Spectators, was a recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts Creative Writing Fellowship and a Civitella Ranieri Fellowship. A graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and the Stanford University Stegner Fellowship, duBois teaches in the MFA program at Texas State University. She lives in Austin.

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Reviews for Cartwheel

Rating: 3.3561642009132417 out of 5 stars
3.5/5

219 ratings60 reviews

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  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I actually liked the book, and really enjoyed the character of Sebastian LeCompte, but wasn't too much of a fan on the ending; the writing nor the outcome.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    What an irritating book. Every single character is thoroughly unlikable, particularly Sebastien LeCompte - I felt like slapping him. For an author who looks so young, I found her style of writing to be surprisingly pretentious at times, using adjectives and nouns that were so unfamiliar to me that, had I actually cared, I would have had to look them up in the dictionary to find out their meanings. Perhaps this book was too "literary" for me. And yet - every once in a while - there would appear a sentence of such beauty and clarity that I would read it twice to appreciate it. On the whole, however, my opinion of this book is - UGH.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    An interesting crime mystery inspired by the Amanda Knox story. The storytelling alternates points of view through several different characters at a few points in time. The protagonist, Lily, is accused of murdering her roommate while studying abroad. The book pulls you through wondering whether she did or did not do it. I personally found the resolution of that point to be unsatisfying.Otherwise, the story telling is great and the characters are well developed.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I received an Advanced Reader's Copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Once I started reading 'Cartwheel', I was hooked! Even though this suspenseful book was loosely inspired by the Amanda Knox story (all details of that were constantly in the news), it was hard for me to put down. The characters were well-written. We got to know them in-depth especially their past and how they related to each other. The interactions between them were fascinating; I couldn't wait to read more about them. I would read every chance I got and I am seldom like that about a book. I finished this book a few days ago and I am still thinking about it. I definitely recommend this book.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    4.5 starsI received this ARC from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.Cartwheel by Jennifer Dubois is loosely based on the real life account of Amanda Knox, who was accused of murdering her roommate in Italy in 2007. (I knew very little about Amanda Knox and her trial, so the fact that this book was inspired by that story held no meaning to me).Cartwheel is set in Buenos Aires, where foreign exchange student Lily Hayes is accused of murdering her fellow American roommate Katy Kellers. The novel shifts through the perspectives of multiple people involved in this case: Lily, Lily's family, Lily's boyfriend and the prosecuting attorney. Through it all, the question circulates: did Lily do it?Even though the question of "Did Lily do it?" is central throughout the book, I don't think the fact of whether she did it or not was the main purpose of this novel. The novel is about the perceptions people have, and how each perspective is skewed by personal biases, the media and other influences. I was especially struck by how many people were set in their beliefs about Lily based on only minimal and incomplete information. And how they refused to change those beliefs even when new information was presented to them. And by how true that is in real life as well!I really enjoyed the character of Sebastian LeCompte (that name!), Lily's boyfriend. His dialogue was just great. I actually found him to be obnoxious and unlikeable most of the time. But he was still fun to read about! I especially enjoyed the scene where Eduardo, the prosecutor, questions him. Every time Eduardo asked a question, I was on the edge of my seat eager to see how Sebastian would respond.I wanted to give this book 5 stars, because I really enjoyed it a lot. I thought it was smart, well written, and thought provoking. I liked DuBois' writing style for the most part, but at the same time I felt it was just unnecessarily wordy at times. Like maybe DuBois was just trying a little too hard to make this an intelligent book. I've seen several reviewers comment about an overuse of the thesaurus, and I did feel that it was over descriptive at times while reading. I'm hoping that this is because I was reading an early copy of the book, and that more editing might possibly be done before its official release? I think with just a little editing in spots, this could be an excellent five star read!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I want to say first that I loved this book! I received this ARC from the publisher in return for a honest review. I read Jennifer Dubois's first novel A Partial History Of Lost Causes, and loved it. So I was so excited to get and read her next novel. No disappointment whatsoever. I love Dubois's intelligent writing style. All the characters are in depth and Realistically Portrayed. The theme of the story is loosely based on the story of Amanda Knox(which I know very little of). A College student goes to Buenos Aires to study abroad. Her roommate is murdered and she is the prime suspect. The big question is what happened? Great book and I hope Dubois has another soon!!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This was a surprisingly good book. Based loosely on the Amanda Knox scenario in which a young woman is accused of murdering her roommate, author Dubois creates a page-turner examination of key characters, carefully and completely developed, while using alternating chronology to keep the reader involved yet in suspense. The book is well written and maintains an element of uncertainty throughout. This book was received as an advanced reader copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    disappointed
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The Andrea Knox case is just the jumping-off point for Jennifer Dubois' Cartwheel, which delves deeply into the issue of how well we can ever know anyone, even family, perhaps even ourselves. Dubois' novel presents an ever-shifting portrait of Lily Hayes by relating how her family and others react to her arrest for the murder of her roommate when both were exchange students in Argentina. Dubois' skillful use of a shifting time frame, moving back and forth from the early days of Lily's stay in Argentina to her imprisonment, adds to the reader's need to reevaluate Lily with nearly every page. Each time we think we know Lily, we are confronted with new information or a different character's perspective of what Lily is like so we can never feel certain of whether she was or wasn't involved in her roommate's murder.While I was reading the novel, I was reminded of hearing somewhere that "not guilty" is not the same as "innocent." So even if Lily didn't take part in the murder, we're left with the question of whether her actions might have led to what happened.I liked that Dubois gives us a Lily who is imperfect, someone who is perhaps too self-centered, someone who has been unfeeling towards others in the past, someone who doesn't have enough regard for the consequences of her actions. Readers are not entirely on Lily's side so we can look more carefully at her and see all the angles of her personality. Lily's family too struggles to understand her. Bafflement gives way to the insidious worm of doubt as her family looks back at Lily's childhood and then reacts to her sometimes-odd behavior while imprisoned, awaiting trial.Adding to the novel's sense that nothing may be what it seems is the murky history of the couple in whose home Lily lives and the strange lifestyle of Sebastien, Lily's boyfriend, who became a recluse on the day his parents died. Sebastien, caught in his own past, gives readers a glimpse of what the future may be for Lily and her family. As the novel unfolds, it becomes clear that whether Lily is found guilty or acquitted, her life and that of those around her will be forever changed.Readers too might find themselves looking at those around them differently after reading Cartwheel.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I loved this author's first novel, A Partial History of Lost Causes, even though it was about things I didn't think I wanted to read about (chess and terminal illness). I'd actually rather recommend that novel than review her second one.This story is very, very closely based on the Amanda Knox case. The names and some nationalities have been changed, and the setting has been relocated from Italy to Argentina, but I never for one moment found myself fully in the world of the book; I never forgot the true-life crime. That might not have been a bad thing if duBois made me look at that old news in a new way. A few times I thought she was hinting at something profound about gender roles or international relations or psychological damage, but it never amounted to anything. The question of what really happened the night of the murder isn't even answered in a satisfying way (and I'm someone who finds well-written ambiguity very satisfying indeed). It's not that Cartwheel is badly written. It's that I don't understand why it was written. It's possible that this book would be a more rewarding read for someone unfamiliar with (or alternatively, obsessed by) the case that inspired it. But I did find the writing repetitive and the characters tedious and in some cases utterly implausible. I did get very tired very quickly of the point-of-view characters. I did expect so much more from the author of the wonderful A Partial History of Lost Causes.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I received this book as part of the Early Reviewers Program and I was uncertain whether I'd like it since it's inspired by the Amanda Knox case. I wasn't sure whether it would read like a Lifetime movie script, but since it was written by Jennifer duBois, whose first novel (A Partial History of Lost Causes) I loved, I decided to give it a chance. There was nothing at all to worry about. Although this novel was clearly inspired by the Knox case -- casting protagonist Lily Hayes in the Knox role -- it was in no way gratuitous or cheesy. I really enjoyed the shifts in voice and time frame as the story unfolded in a Rashomon-esque sort of way. Each member of the Hayes family was interesting and engaging, although I could have used a little more from the mother, Maureen's, point of view. Eduardo, the prosecuting attorney, was my favorite character and I enjoyed his struggle with determining Lily's guilt or innocence while trying to reconcile with his wife. I also enjoyed watching Lily's younger sister, Anna,come into her own -- for good or ill -- as the story moved forward.duBois' prose was masterful as usual throughout this novel and I found myself chuckling at her observations from time to time, particularly when she describes some of the characters' (esp Eduardo's) more mundane thoughts. "The apartment had brightened since her arrival; small bits of grunginess that had been invisible to Eduardo became suddenly apparent through their abrupt absence: minuscule clots of hair that gathered in corners were mysteriously removed; the coffee pot when he returned home in the evenings was actually emptied and washed; the no-man's-land behind the toilet that Eduardo had always thought was universally understood to be beyond the realm of mortal responsibility was somehow sparkling."Although I may not have had all my questions answered, I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. No sophomore slump for Jennifer duBois. Highly recommend.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I was slightly disappointed in this novel. The idea was a good one; the background of each person that goes through a tragedy. The problem is that I did not feel it covered any character in depth. I understand that the author may have wanted us to feel like the jury feels, but it was confusing as a reader.The other thing that bothered me was the constant switching of narrators without a visual change to help the reader. Even though there are negatives to he novel I still found it an interesting read. The connections to popular news stories help to bring the reader into the story quickly.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I think my 3 stars are rather generous here, because this book was a struggle for me. It really feels like an excessively long creative writing exercise, like duBois saw the Amanda Knox case (which, admittedly, I don't know much about) and thought, 'I wonder if I could tell that story in an experimental way.' In theory, I liked the idea of telling Lily's story from multiple perspectives, none of them her own. In practice, it just didn't work. None of the characters were well-developed, including Lily herself, and I didn't find any of them likable. Everything felt very surface-level. I was very dissatisfied with the ending, as well. I would describe the writing as both pretentious and lazy, which might be a feat in itself. It provided good fodder for discussion, but I did not enjoy it.I received this book as part of LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Imaginative and horrifying look into the hearts and minds of those family members and friends, as well as the prosecutor involved in a murder case of a young woman. This is loosely inspired by the Amanda Knox case that took place in Italy, but has more depth of psychological insight.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I received this as an ARC. I was interested because it was loosely based on the Amanda Knox case. Lily is accused of murdering her roommate while going to school in Buenos Aires. Lily is very unlikable, so it's easy to want her to be guilty. There is a plot twist (which I saw coming), but I feel like so much was left unresolved, not just with the case but in the story in general.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Cartwheel is a psychological suspense/thriller debut novel. I received an advance reader copy in exchange for a review. I have mixed feelings about this book. There was suspense and some page-turning parts, but on the whole I did not love the book. This was a fictionalized version of the Amanda Knox case and I did not follow the case that closely. To really love a book, I need to connect with at least one of the characters and was not able to do that with this book. Perhaps this was not the right timing for me to read this book so I at least give it a 3 star rating. I would read the author again if she writes another book.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Cartwheel is "loosely inspired" by the Amanda Knox story: it is the story of Lily, an American foreign exchange student in Buenos Aries, who is indicted for the murder of her roommate, Katy.I thought that it was going to be a typical thriller or mystery; but this was not the case. Cartwheel is more literary fiction than genre fiction.Cartwheel is less about the story of Katy's murder and the question of Lily's guilt or innocence than it is about the characters in the story: Lily, of course, but also Lily's parents, Lily's sister, Lily's boyfriend, and the prosecutor. Dubois provides an extensive back-story that carefully develops a detailed portrait of all these characters. In bringing these characters to full fruition, she aims to help us understand how a young woman like Lily can find herself accused of murder and believed to be guilty of murder by a large portion of the public. For me, Dubois just spent too much time on the back-stories of the characters, which were not, to be frank, all that interesting. What redeems the lackluster plot is Dubois's talent as a writer: she's exceptionally good and knows how to create genuine, realistic characters and provide authentic accounts of how they would act in the circumstances in which she places them.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    This book is "inspired" by the Amanda Knox case, but if you've followed the real story or trial, there is no need to read this book. You already know everything. There is nothing original or imaginative in this novel, in fact, I would have rather read old CNN articles on the real thing. I'm sad to say it, but I would not recommend this book.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I felt that it was too drawn out, slow at first and then ending was abrupt.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Closer to 2.5. Had a really hard time getting into the story. I really only read it to see how it ended, and even then, I was left confused, and no amount of googling helped.

    Also, the author uses a LOT of fiddy cent words when a dime would do. I enjoy having to use the definition function on my kindle a few times per book. But every 10-15 pages? Meh.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This is my second book by Ms. duBois and while I must admit that I preferred her first, A Partial History of Lost Causes, I did find myself lost within the pages of Cartwheel. My main complaint and I'll get it out first is that the book opens with a statement that while it may mimic the Amanda Knox case (google it if you are so far out of touch/and or don't see or hear news you don't know who she is) it is a completely a work of fiction. Yes, it is a work of fiction but I could not separate Amanda Knox from Lily Hayes and that was problematic. And I didn't even see all that much coverage of the whole Italian story - only what showed up on network news.That being written I do love Ms. duBois's way with a character. In this novel she uses mainly four; Lily, Lily's father, Lily's boyfriend and the prosecutor who will try her. The story it told in alternating chapters, in the different voices and covers the period before young Katy was murdered, a bit of the trial and a bit of time afterward. It is a book of thoughts, feelings and nuance. It is not a book of action so if you are looking for a page turning murder mystery this is not the book for you. This is book that makes you think. With each successive chapter you change your mind about Lily. She's guilty, she's not guilty. She's just a child. She's a sociopath. But who really IS Lily Hays? That is up to each and every reader to decide. There are no easy answers in this book just as there are not easy answers in life.It is a book I am very glad I read despite the disingenuous opening about Amanda Knox. It is of course, about that case. This book did not evolve in a vacuum but I am glad it did because it has caused me to truly THINK. I will keep it and read it again. It's one of those books that I think will be a completely different book a year from now - even though the words are exactly the same.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I thoroughly enjoyed duBois's first book, "A Partial History of Lost Causes" and was looking forward to reading her new one. Although, it is well-written, and does a great job of showing how dangerous our own thoughts can be--how the stories that we tell ourselves often don't have any relationship to the truth--I found parts of it slow going. This was primarily, I think, because I didn't care about any of the characters or their obsessions. However, my reading may have been hampered by a complete lack of interest in the Amanda Knox case.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I read Jennifer Dubois' debut, A Partial History of Lost Causes, and really enjoyed it so I was definitely interested in reading this book. I had also followed the Amanda Knox trial and was interested in reading this since it was inspired by that. While this book does have similarities to the trial there are also many differences.I enjoyed that throughout this book the point-of-view switched between a few characters. I felt that it really enhanced the story and allowed readers to get to know characters besides Lily better. I also enjoyed the time changes in the book, it allowed the events to slowly unravel.One of the characters that I found to be the most interesting and complex was Sebastien. He seemed to sort of lock himself away in the prison that was his house and lost all connection with the world. There seemed to be something more going on with him than just his grief over the death of his parents, and I just wanted to get inside his mind a bit more.I would recommend this book to those familiar with the Amanda Knox trial, but I think that this would be enjoyable even if you hadn't followed the trial.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    When I requested this book, I did not initially connect it with Amanda Knox. I had no interest in the details of that much-publicized trial mostly because I found Amanda Knox's arrogance to be unsettling given her circumstances. This book is apparently a reprise of that case with only a change of venue and names. I found it no more likeable as fiction than it was as fact.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I received this book as an ARC from librarything.com. I neglected to read the disclaimer at the beginning of the book, stating that this story was loosely inspired by the Amanda Knox story. Also, I knew next-to-nothing about Amanda Knox. (I may look up info about her later, not sure.)So, keeping those two things in mind, I LOVED this book! I agree with what another reviewer said: I think this is a *smart* book. I felt as if, intellectually, it was written specifically for me. I really loved the language of the book--I mean, I just wanted to eat this book up with a spoon! As an individual, I felt like there were times when I could totally relate to Lily. As a parent of two teenage daughters, I was often able to relate to both Andrew and Maureen. I also felt like I could connect with Sebastian and Eduardo.I thought the flow of this story was perfect. It didn't drag at all, in my opinion, but it wasn't over too quickly, either. I'm not one to read a book in just one sitting, though I do make time to read for an hour or two every day. I definitely found myself looking forward to my reading time each day with this book.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I received this book through Librarything's Early Reviewers program. Like the author's previous book, this book was well-written with great character development, although not particularly likeable characters. I found it thought-provoking and discussion-worthy. My main complaint with the book is that the ending was very unsatisfying. After investing my time reading the book, I would have liked a more definitive ending. It seemed like the author rushed to end the book, and I would have liked to know more about what happened to the characters.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    It's a terrible thing for a couple when their baby girl dies and it's horrible when, years later, their replacement daughter is charged with murder. This novel tells the story of that couple, Andrew and Maureen, who divorced some years after the first tragedy but are more than civil with each other, and of their daughter Lily, the accused murderer, and of Lily's sister Anna, and of Lily's boyfriend Sebastien, and of the man who prosecutes Lily. In fact, one of the problems of the book is that the author doesn't seem to know whose story this is. DuBois flits among different characters' points of view, but I never understood any of them well. We would have been better served if the author had decided to concentrate on one of these characters, as she almost does with the prosecutor.The story is loosely based on the recent real life incident of an American woman convicted of murder in Italy, but I didn't know many details of that case so I chose to read this as complete fiction. This novel is based in Argentina but the setting might have been anywhere as the culture of the place doesn't seem to be important to DuBois' story. There are hints of corruption -- what happened to Sebastien's parents? are Lily's hosts involved in something shady? -- but those story lines lead nowhere. Lily becomes more fluent in Spanish toward the end, but that turns out to be a detriment.As for the cartwheel which Lily performs while alone, but being videotaped, in the police interrogation room? Different explanations are proposed but the reason for her gymnastics doesn't seem to be important after all. So why give that title to the book?No question DuBois writes with a confident, clear style. But the story itself lacks direction and urgency.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    As the author states, this story is based upon the Amanda Knox case; unfortunately, this also makes the plot somewhat predictable.Lily is studying in Argentina when her roommate Katy is murdered. Evidence seems to point to Lily as the murderer, even though she claims to be innocent. Unfortunately, the characters are not likable, so the reader does not really care about Lily or the other characters, all of whom have flaws which influence the outcome of Lily's trial. In addition, there is very little action, so the reading is very slow going in places. The book is primarily a study of Lily, her family, Sebastian (her boyfriend), and the prosecutor.There were also a number of plot inconsistencies and spelling errors in the advance reader's copy; I hope these are corrected with more careful editing n the final version.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Cartwheel is a multi-layered look at what can go wrong when an entitled American young adult looks for independence in a foreign country. It was hard not to hope Lily would suffer a bit for her oblivious self-indulgence. And suffer she does! I enjoyed getting to know the layers of people surrounding Lily. Each person contributed in some way to her downfall. This was a mysterious and exciting read.

    One of my 2013 favorites.

    I received this as an ARC.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Intriguing read. The plot was interesting. I vaguely remember the news story which this is loosely inspired by, which was likely to my advantage. It did keep me guessing as to how it would all play out, which is essential to a thrilling read. I must say that it got a bit wordy and at times I felt like I was back to my time of studying SAT vocabulary. While I like a robust sentence, sometimes it just was over the top and felt forced.