The Review

It’s one of those kinds of books. Starts out beautiful, perfect in fact, until an ugly truth gets thrown in, uncovering everyone’s dirty secrets. The one thing I liked particularly well about this book is the vivid descriptions of all the characters. I have problems in forming images of book characters in my mind if they go beyond 3 people. But Sara did it immaculately. I didn’t find myself flipping through previous pages trying to find out who was who and trying to match the descriptions with my mental images of each character. She made it so fun and relatable too, it was amazing. It was relatable in the sense that you know these people. You either know someone like them in school, in your workplace, or someone you’ve briefly known in the past. It’s those kinds of connections Sara did so very well.

The plot built up to a climax which I wish I knew where to pinpoint exactly where the peak was. I couldn’t tell because there were so many, and I don’t personally favor that. The story also did not come to a conclusion, ending with a cliffhanger after a series of high climax points which got me slightly confused. Having said that, however, this could be normal considering there is supposed to be a second (and possibly the last book?) that is called the “The Good Girls”.

The whole story gripped me from start to end, not a moment felt draggy. It was a good blend of mystery and your typical light chick flick story. This book would be sitting on the fence between a heavy and light read. Just a light hint of both!

The Reflection

All the characters in this book live just like us. The life we choose to show and the secrets we choose to hide from the public eye. They appear flawless in their outer shells but bruised and broken behind closed doors. This could relate to most, if not all of us. We are human. The characters in this book chose to use their past experiences to cover themselves up bruises that never heals. They continue picking on them until they label themselves damaged. A specific line in this book caught my attention – “All of us are damaged in our own ways. It’s just that most people call it experience”. 

Experience is one of the many factors that differentiate us from others. The things we go through and face can shape us, our wants, our needs, our fears, our thoughts and eventually our personalities. This just goes to show that we can either use our experiences to make us or break us.

Everyone is fighting their own demons. Don’t let your battle tear you down. Wear those scars with pride, let them heal and give you strength.

Experience is not a damage done. It is a lesson learnt.

Liyana Sidek