erin

Absolutely hated this book!! Main character is horrible. Bitter, gossipy, manipulative — and that's when she's sober! Did not care about her at all. In fact, none of the characters in this book were likeable or appealing. Or even realistic! The mother of a very autistic boy gets her house completely renovated and seems surprised her son doesn't react well to all the changes?? Ugh I could go on with many other examples but honestly I just want to forget I ever read this book.

This is a very important book. Would recommend it anyone. My only criticism (hence the 4 stars rather than 5) is that unless you read it in a short window of time, it's hard to fall back into its rhythm if a few days go by in between reads. Each chapter follows a new albeit linked character from a preceding chapter, so it's more like a series of short stories. Very compelling.
I always read the 1-star reviews of an otherwise highly rated book and I can't help but think they're all written by white people who are not interested in learning. One reviewer labelled this book as full of hate but I could not disagree more.

This is one of those rare instances where I think it's best to watch the movie first.
I initially read this book and did not like Rachel at all and therefore did not care for the book. I love Emily Blunt tho and figured there's no way she could be so unlikeable, so unrelateable, so watched the movie. And yes I found it much easier to feel for her Rachel. So much so I thought I'd give the book another chance. The book IS better in that Megan is much more fleshed out (why is she naked all the time in the film? Male director??) and of course there's much more detail and back story with all the characters but I preferred the pivotal moment in the film with Lisa Kudrow on the train; I found it much more believable than book Rachel's just remembering everything.