CW: Eating disorder. Suicide ( )

This book blew me away. It's one of those stories that will be with you long after you turn the last page.

It is a little slow to start with but I found myself intrigued by both the format and the main character. Particularly towards the end I started flying through it unable to tear myself away.

I really loved Neil and wish we saw more of him but I understand why it wasn't really about that. The characters were so vivid and utterly flawed. It was nice to see characters who aren't all that likeable. And honestly their whole little weird dynamic was what made it so utterly realistic and honest. The brutal portrayal of school life was what sold it for me.

I doubt it would be everyone's taste but it is refreshing to read something which is so original and well written. ( )

My name is Eliza Boans and I am a murder.

How's that for a first sentence?

Eliza was such a little brat and enjoyed very much making me hating her. Though, she failed to do it for long. As she was narrating her story to Dr Fadden, I started warming to her, her loneliness, her fears, her disastrous life at home, her fuzzy feelings toward Neil, her attempts at staying in control of her friends' group... and then the truth behind the murder, which honestly left me shocked, disgusted and enraged for the injustice of the situation the girls found themselves in.

Mrs. Marr toyed with my emotions masterfully and did a very good job with the mystery, I half-wished she would pull a stunt à la The-Usual-Suspects on me, but the outcoming was just as surprising. ( )

I go along enjoying the snarky voice of Eliza, the Austenian elements of balls, and names, and clothes, the wealth, the architecture, it's all great.

And today I read the last forty pages and I feel gut-shot. Totally blown away. And, of course, filled with fury. Brava, Shirley Marr. Not many books hit me on such a visceral level.

Seriously, I need to go look at video of an extremely fluffy kitten wearing a beret. ( )

Who decided the inmates could be in charge of the asylum? These are characters from a universe I don't recognize at all! The girls are shallow, spoiled, obsessed with superficiality and totally self-centered, as well as being viciously violent. Eliza is a psychopath and I had trouble with her murderous motivation. I'm a bit sick of the bad mother syndrome... The one "good" character, Neil, turned out to be the worst of all, and I frankly didn't understand the serial killer subplot.
Look, this is a passable go for a first novel. It's too long and the characters resemble animals from an African savanna in their desire to savage each other.
Having said that, I couldn't stop reading and really, really wanted to reach the end to find out what happened.
I will wait with anticipation for the next novel from Shirley Marr. ( )