We Know It Was You by Maggie Thrash
Review: We Know Information technology Was You by Maggie Thrash
We Know Information technology Was You by Maggie ThrashSeries: Strange Truth #one
Published by Simon Pulse on October 4, 2016
Genres: Mystery, YA, YA Thriller
Pages: 352
Format: eARC
Source: eARC via Edelweiss
Goodreads
Twin Peaks meets Pretty Little Liars in acclaimed author Maggie Thrash's new Strange Truth series.Information technology'due south better to know the truth. At to the lowest degree sometimes.
Halfway through Friday night's football game, beautiful cheerleader Brittany Montague—dressed as the giant Winship Mutiny mascot—hurls herself off a bridge into Atlanta's surging Chattahoochee River.
But like that, she'due south gone.
8 days later, Benny Flax and Virginia Leeds volition be the merely ones who know why.
SPOILER WARNING Time. I'yard spoiling some major stuff hither.
*one Nigerian girl and iii Korean men, but they're ALL villains; Benny is Jewish
WOW, have I been waiting to rant about this. I read We Know It Was You alllllllllllll the way back in Apr 206 because my TBR Jar told me I had to. Seeing as I was legitimately excited, I wasn't cracking to defy the almighty jar either. Twin Peaks meets Pretty Little Liars sounds fascinating and twisty! Well, it's a lie. Instead of the magnetic surrealism of Twin Peaks, we become cockamamie bull that's too kinda racist.
Disclosure time: I have never seen Twin Peaks, nor have I read or seen Pretty Little Liars. To be properly prepared for this feel, I read up on both so I could sympathize where We Know It Was Y'all was coming from. DIDN'T HELP A BIT.
Let me put it this way: if you lot tried to explicate Twin Peaks to someone, they'd think information technology was weird but understand the appeal it has to its cult following; if you tried to explicate this book to someone, they'd kindly ask what drugs you were on and where they could become some.
To give what little credit is due, the novel starts out well. Male person pb Benny is securely abrasive due to his judgmental nature and how far his caput is thrust upward his rear finish; Virginia is ameliorate past only a small margin. Despite all this, the two balance each other out equally the primary narrators and rightfully point out flaws in the other that readers won't think almost. For instance, Virginia doesn't seem that obsessed with her image when we're in head caput, but Benny is right to point out that she is. In addition, the suggestion of magical realism or the involvement of the supernatural kept me turning the pages.
Too bad readers get no supernatural shenanigans or magical realism. Not unless yous consider hypnotism supernatural.
Benny and Virginia's appeal equally narrators quickly gets worn out by their lack of character development. Literally the merely manner they change over the course of the entire novel is that they become friends. Otherwise, they remain exactly the aforementioned. The supporting characters are similarly flat and the narrative needs tightening in multiple areas. At some points, it sticks to existence written in objective, omniscient third-person; other times, it dives into express third-person POV full of judgments by the narrating characters. Option ane and stick with information technology!
Merely let'south be existent, yous're nevertheless reading because you lot desire to know what's and then racist virtually this book. There are exactly iv POC characters in this volume: Zaire, a British-accented Nigerian girl and classmate of Benny and Virginia'due south who is chosen a "voodoo freak" past another narrator; and iii Korean men who play in a band together, one of whom teaches at the schoolhouse everything takes place at. Oh, AND THEY'RE Part OF A CHILD PORN RING. Benny and Virginia know this and all the same don't do anything to stop the ring, such as become to the police.
That ties into the Benny-has-his-head-stuck-in-his-butt effect. He's ridiculously possessive of any mystery he'south investigating. No one is allowed to know but him because he wants to be the one who solved it. Of class he doesn't tell the police virtually the child pornographers! Just VIRGINIA IS THE I TO SAY THEY DON'T SEE THE POINT OF GETTING INVOLVED.
Sure, it'southward non anyone's trouble to get involved when someone is secretly videotaping underage children as they modify clothes or otherwise taking advantage of them.
What more than can I say most this volume's ludicrous plot with nonsensical happenings, its power to make certain every narrator has their caput stuck up their butt, and its messed upward quotes? Why, let yous experience some of those quotes!
"So what tin can you practise to make sure you respect the ladies and never rape them accidentally? […] They go apeshit on the monthly and can't even help information technology." (ARC, p. 113-114) (This is from a lecture the boys are given by a motorbus.)
Then there's this:
It must be a Jewish thing, Virginia idea. Benny was the well-nigh well-mannered boy in school; he was besides the only Jew she knew. It seemed like there was probably a connection. (ARC, p. 125)
In addition, in that location are a lot of value judgments in passing from the narrators, such as Virginia calling Zaire a slut for flirting with Benny and the aforementioned point of Zaire being called a voodoo freak by a background graphic symbol/very minor narrator. They're never engaged with critically in any manner, then someone can come away from the book without recognizing the two girls said some awful stuff that shouldn't be agreed with. This is why one has to make a pick between third-person express and omniscient. Mix the ii and it can ship some nasty messages.
Beyond this, I have just two further notes:
1) The discussion "transvestite" is used. Information technology's a word that's been out of vogue for a while and few people from my generation or younger use information technology, but still nasty. It'due south nevertheless another i of the passing value judgments that are never engaged with. (Context from ARC, p. 197: "[Gerard]'d accept dressed similar a clown or a transvestite or Curious George if he thought information technology would impress [Brittany].")
2) This is a 100% accurate description of one scene in the book: "a guy uses a very real bayonet his Atlanta-area school lets him keep in the automobile to punch holes in guys' tires, gets horny, and masturbates in his car while still holding his gun."
If y'all haven't read this book, I hope I've outlined why that isn't a good idea. If you've already gotten it and read it, I am and then deplorable. I can't recommend Nosotros Know It Was You lot in whatsoever fashion whatsoever. Just go rewatch Veronica Mars or something.
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Source: https://www.theyakitten.net/2016/09/19/review-we-know-it-was-you-by-maggie-thrash/
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