Welcome to Litsy!

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📚🖤📚

I was expecting this to be a fictionalized version of the abuse of a young elite athlete, but it didn‘t really go the direction I expected. The direction she took Devon‘s character bothered me so I have a hard time giving this one a pick.

September BookSpin #DoubleSpin @TheAromaOfBooks

Gymnastics + Murder Mystery + A cast of entirely unlikeable characters so it‘s impossible to choose a suspect because, honestly, they all had it in them.

My March #bookspin . I feel ambivalent about this story of a family who has put everything (and I mean everything) into their daughter‘s gymnastic ambitions. I have read other books by this author which I have enjoyed a lot more than this one. @TheAromaofBooks

@TheAromaofBooks my March #bookspin reads.

I‘m not familiar with gymnastics, and this was still great. Twisty.

In a serendipitous moment, I was wishing for a family drama, and my library had them highlighted in Libby! While this #reread is a bit more thriller than family drama, I enjoyed it nonetheless. Katie, the mother of a gymnast trying to make it to elite level, is a bit clueless about the goings on in her family, but her fierce protection was admirable and made for good reading.

Once I finish Bourdain, I‘ve checked out one by Jonathan Tropper!

I felt really underwhelmed by the characters and the plot, and I pretty much predicated the end. Give Me Your Hand was a much better book and as a bonus: it didn‘t randomly describe children‘s hair as being Hitler white blonde. My brain can‘t compute why anyone would needlessly mention him — there are numerous descriptions for insignificant character‘s hair ( children … no less… like eww).

I know her. And her parents, her coach, her club. The intensity of youth sports portrayed here is real.

This book was twistier than I expected...first I thought one person did the crime, then it looked like a different person did it, then it turned out that the first person I suspected did it, but in a different way than I thought. The characters were real, by which I mean most of them had unsympathetic flaws, which I thought was good for the story. And the overall way it ended was chilling, when I realized where it was going. Kept me reading.

#TBRtemptation post 2! Devon is a gymnastics prodigy and Olympic hopeful. When a violent death occurs before a big competition, her parents try to keep things from getting derailed and their family from fraying as the close-knit gymnastics community starts coming apart and hidden plots and allegiances come out. A “skin-crawler,” according to one reviewer! #blameLitsy #blameMrBook 😎

Initially I thought this was going to be a book with a social commentary on the pressure on gymnasts to succeed & keep from ‘ageing out‘ due to body changes. What I got what a banal murder mystery. Plus all the characters were horrible in some way apart from Drew. A disappointing 2⭐️

It was hard to get into at first, but I ended up enjoying it. Poor Ryan💔

Katie and Eric have dedicated their lives to their fifteen-year-old daughter Devon, a gymnastics prodigy and Olympic hopeful. But when a violent death rocks their close-knit gymnastics community just weeks before an all-important competition, everything the Knoxes have worked so hard for feels suddenly at risk. Rumors soon begin to swirl among the other parents, revealing hidden plots and allegiances.
#childprodigy #newyearnewyou
Read and enjoyed

Really slow to start I did not think I would like it, however it did pull me in, and made up for the slow start.

I actually really liked this book more than some others by this author. I felt like she really captured the minds of the people she wrote about that were involved in a competitive environment for gymnastics. There was a lot of suspense and tension and it kept me going until the end with curiosity and intrigue. Very interesting book that ended differently than I thought it would.

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Finished!
It wasnt a true pick for me. But was good! I would like to read other books written by her to see if any differences.

@scripturient on to this one you sent me. Sounds Excellent!!!

#ififell

#beatlemaynia

This suspense novel is set in the world of gymnastics - and there‘s a bit of falling going on!

I loved it! It‘s like Big Little Lies had a baby with Stick It. The ending surprised me.

Second reading companion located. 😋

Finishing up my first Megan Abbott book with my best reading companion.

Next up from my TBR pile. #heyya

My husband has been sidelined for awhile and is tired of tv. He‘s been powering through books faster than me lately. #booknerd #bookaddict #bookaddiction #husband.

Not got much to say about this I just found it boring and the story was very weak.

Not been a good week for reading with a so-so book and a pan book 😒

Hopefully the next book will be better 😊

So far, so good. Not sure where this one is headed but already it‘s quite suspenseful.

A young gymnast with Olympic hopes, a murder mystery, and a deeply disturbed family. Really good. #sportsofallsorts #riotgrams

Very interesting thriller, reminded me of my swim team days of how talented kids can become the insane focus of a family and community 🤸🏼‍♀️🤸🏼‍♀️🤸🏼‍♀️🤸🏼‍♀️

Sick with the flu so sloth and I are laying around reading 😷ps I‘m flying through this book, has anyone else read this?

Devon has the kind of talent that turns her fellow athletes and their parents green with envy. A sudden death exposes the cracks in her seemingly tight knit gymnastics community and in her own family.

I kept expecting a weird twist, but it never came. Just mostly normal people going through their mostly normal lives while wondering who might be a killer.

The staccato pace that Abbot tells the story is mesmerizing. Even when I had suspected whodunnit, I still pressed on and raced to the finish. Her writing is crisp, tense, effective, and dark at times. She captures the psyche of the teenage girl incredibly and is able to get into the head of her characters and pour them out on the page. I can't wait to read more by Megan Abbott!

Here‘s what I got done while #audiostitching this morning. The book was good. I‘m giving it a pick because it really did keep me coming back to find out what happened. I did figure out #whodunit before the big reveal but it was still a pick. #crossstitch

I‘m getting in some #audiostitching this morning. #crossstitch This book has gotten so much better!

I downloaded Libby today and started listening to the tagged book on my drive to New Orleans. It‘s kinda so-so so far. I guess I‘ve entered the world of audio books via download. A little late to the game but I‘m here. I hope my library has a better selection than what I saw today. I didn‘t have much time to look though. I guess we‘ll see. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Loved this book! I struggled with the changing timeframes at the start, didn‘t think they were very clear, but that‘s probably my fault...! Once I got into it I found the claustrophobic world of the gymnasts fascinating - a great twist on a whodunit.

Thanks to @Oryx for sending it to me! 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

#jbuk

1. I found these signs this morning, I want both!

2. Two, as usual 😁

3. Heck yes. We were in negative temps the other night.

4. Yes, for reading.

5. Tagged. I could not get into it, didn't care for any of the characters, was not interested in the story. just not for me.

#HumpDayPost @MinDea

The vivid details and complex characters impress. The world of the gym is built well. However, in audiobook form, the tension ya not as high in the first 2 hours as I had hoped. #audiobooks

I feel like something is missing from this story, I wanted it to be more. The characters felt weak, I wanted them to be stronger.

I love my snuggly cat, but seriously I have 5 pages left! #Alabamaslife #catsoflitsy #jealousodmybook

Beautiful fall day in Illinois. I got some reading in while my explored our trees. #fallreading #outdoorreading

1. My son and dog cuddling.
2. I wish I had more time to read this. Life has gotten in the way this week.
3. A Halloween party, maybe.
4. My laptop is red and currently signing my son into his online curriculum.
5. 🎶 Sometimes you wanna go where everybody knows your name and there always glad you came.🎶

@MinDea

It has been a mostly quiet Sunday. The kids are watching Hotel Transylvania, the hubby is bartending at our friends bar, and this is my plan. Book, candles, wine.

Just a small little book haul on this rainy day🌧🌈☔

Megan Abbott and AJ. Finn on stage together! 😁👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

Any fans of either mega-author?!

#MorristownFestivalofBooks

There was nothing inherently bad with this book, it just wasn't for me. I didn't like/couldn't connect with any of the characters, and it felt really predictable. I expected more of a mystery, maybe a twist that was a surprise, but the plot felt glaringly obvious to me.

Meh. I picked this up thinking that it looked like a quick thriller and that the gymnast angle would be interesting. I found unlikeable characters and a storyline that was pretty transparent despite the author‘s efforts to create suspense.

I enjoyed this one. It showed how the parents can be more crazy and obsessive about a sport or activity than the kid participating is. I felt pretty bad for the little brother.