This book will haunt you as you do the dishes, fall asleep at night, and sip your coffee in the morning. But it’s not the kind of haunting that follows you after you read a Stephen King novel or watch a “Blumhouse Productions” movie. No, it’s the kind of haunting that makes you cling to the thoughts when they surface in your mind. Because it’s a book that reaches into deep crevices of your mind that you aren’t real familiar with. It is absolutely one of the most chilling and evocative books I have ever read.
From the podcast interviews to Sadie’s firsthand accounts, I felt like I was truly there, watching it all unfold. I discovered the podcast “Serial” about a year ago and I whole-heartedly loved it. And, although I’ve had several podcasts recommended to me that my friends have sworn are “just like ‘Serial’”, nothing has even slightly held a candle to it. That is, until I found “The Girls” (the podcast included in this novel). I experienced a phenomenon I’ve never experienced until reading this book- as I read the words that were written on each page, I continually had to remind myself that I wasn’t actually hearing each word being spoken out loud. But ass I laid on my couch and read the podcast script, I truly felt like I was laying there and listening to a podcast. So many of my senses were heightened as I read through each chapter.
Summers does a fabulous job depicting the attitudes and personalities of each of the main characters in the novel. The characters are likable and portrayed in such a way that you end up feeling like you know them firsthand… like they were your next-door neighbors that moved away when you were 8-years-old- people you once knew but haven’t spoken with for several years. Sadie was my favorite character in the book, and though I couldn’t relate to the demons she was fighting, I could understand where she was coming from and I was rooting for her every step of the day. By the last few pages of the book I began to become panicked. Panicked because I could see that I wasn’t going to receive the satisfying and long-winded ending which I expected this book to offer. But, I do have to relent that the ending completes the book- it’s the ending that creates the “haunting” and lasting impression that will be with you for days to come.
This is one of my top 3 reads of the year, and I imagine it will stay on the top of my list for a long while. I will be the first one buying “pre-sale” tickets on Fandango when this becomes a movie one day. Until then, I’ll be recommending this book to all my friends who gave me mediocre podcast recommendations that were supposed to be as riveting as ‘Serial’.
All my loving,
SGH
