**Disclaimer: I received an electronic advanced readers copy of The Grey Sisters by Jo Treggiari from Penguin Random House Canada through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to the publishers for this opportunity.
The Grey Sisters by Jo Treggiari is a multiple point of view YA fiction novel that’s a bit of thriller/mystery. It releases on September 24th, 2019. I gave it 3 stars on GoodReads.
Here’s the summary from NetGalley:
Two years after a deadly plane crash, best friends D and Spider head into the mountains to face their grief. A gripping psychological thriller for fans of The Cheerleaders and Sadie.
D and Spider have always been close friends, and they are further united in their shared heartbreak: they both lost siblings in a horrific plane crash two years earlier. A chance sighting of a beloved cuddly toy in a photograph of the only survivor spurs D to finally seek closure. She and Spider and their friend, Min, set off on a road trip to the mountainside site of that terrible crash.
Ariel has lived on the mountain all her life. She and her extended family are looked down upon by neighboring townsfolk and she has learned to live by her wits, trusting few people outside of her isolated, survivalist community. A terrifying attack sends her down the mountain for help; on her way, she comes upon the three girls — a chance encounter that will have far-reaching consequences for them all.
The Grey Sisters was a really interesting story. However, it wasn’t my favourite thing I’ve read recently and the star rating I gave it reflects that. I will start off by saying that I really liked the basic premise. Again, I was drawn in by the cover and further by the summary, which is why I requested it. I was also really intrigued by the comparison to Sadie and The Cheerleaders because I absolutely loved both of those books. However, in comparison, I felt that The Grey Sisters fell flat.
As I mentioned, I really liked the basic idea of the story, but the execution of it wasn’t as good as it could have been. The multiple points of view were intriguing and I liked getting into all of the characters’ heads but some parts of the story were really jumpy and I felt like I lost details that were technically important. That being said, in some places the jumps worked really well. There were some very well executed cliffhangers when we jumped from one point of view to the next.
There were parts of this novel that were really beautifully written and I really liked the way that Treggiari described certain things. She has a interesting style and I definitely think that I will read more things by her in the future.
One thing I didn’t like about this book was how slow it was to get into the story. I wanted it to be a bit more action packed. I remember being 25% into the book and messaging Kari to say I had no idea what was happening yet. I had a basic idea, of course, but it wasn’t coming together enough for my personal liking. It did eventually all come together but it felt like it took a really long time.
The cult aspect of this book was really interesting and disturbing at the same time. It’s one of the very unique things about this story. I will mention that there’s a bit of a trigger warning here for sexual assault/rape. Nothing graphic but some things are heavily implied so tread lightly if that’s something that bothers you.
Ultimately, for me, the thing that set this book up to not be the best read for me is the comparison to The Cheerleaders and Sadie. Both of those books blew me out of the water, and honestly this story didn’t. I wanted more from it and while there was mystery and thrilling aspects to it, it just wasn’t the same kind of thing as those other two books. I think that I would probably have enjoyed it more if I hadn’t had those comparisons in advance. However, that’s me setting my hopes too high.
One little neat part of this book was that it featured a character who shares my last name. I’ve never encountered that in a book before, so I thought that was cool.
However, if the summary at all intrigued you, I definitely think it’s worth checking out. Not all books are for everyone and while this one wasn’t for me, there’s a good chance it might be for you. So when September 24th rolls around, consider getting a copy of The Grey Sisters.
Thanks for reading.
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