Welcome to Litsy!

Wow, there‘s a lot to unpack here. 8-year-old Chrissie has killed a toddler. What could make a child commit such a heinous act? This book tries to answer that question by peeling back the layers of Chrissie‘s life. It‘s told in alternating timelines, between 8 y/o Chrissie and 20 years later, adult Chrissie who‘s now living under a new identity. This book is dark and disturbing, but very well done.
#bookspinbingo - my #doublespin for this month

#12Booksof2023 ⭐️ Favorite Audiobooks ⭐️

This debut is absolutely riveting from its opening line, “I killed a little boy” to the very end. This is a stunning novel about poverty, evil, and redemption and the narrative voice of 8-year-old Chrissie (and her adult self, Julia) is not one I will soon forget. Highly recommend.

This is a dark and sad book,
I enjoyed it and the audiobook is great.

Read for reading challenges.

4.25/5

Definitely disturbing… but I wasn‘t quite as consumed as I‘d hoped. The writing felt a little distant, which made a lot of sense to get the vibe of the story but that can sometimes keep the reader at arm‘s length.

Our library is back open after a month of renos and I had to check it out day one!!

Oh my, this one really got under my skin. I went into this expecting something like The Push (which I really enjoyed), but this is more than a thriller. Tucker sensitively considers the circumstances that may lead people (in this case, an 8-year-old girl) to do terrible things. Gripping and heartrending. I thought the audiobook was really well done. Didn‘t want to stop listening.

This sharp-edged and highly discussable book is difficult to put down.

This was nothing like I was expecting but I loved it! It does begin with our main character killing another child when she‘s 8 (as the synopsis tells us) however this isn‘t a simple case of a murderous and evil child sort of horror/thriller but a heartbreaking tale of neglect, trauma, and so much devastation that it‘s sometimes hard to read. I loved seeing the main character both as a child and as an adult and seeing her life unfold. 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Disturbing, sad, yet engaging story about a little girl who murders a little boy and her life after. The narrators switches between Chrissie at age 8 and Her adult self now called Julia. The complex relationships and situations involving severe neglect allow for compassion toward the main character. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was an extremely tough book to read. Don‘t get me wrong, it IS good. Just hard to keep going back to, as it was tragic. The amount of neglect and psychological damage this child had to suffer through led to her making some awful choices.
#booktok #booktokrec

This was a solid book. I don't know if I'd consider it a thriller but it was disturbing. The main character Chrissie/Julia is a child with a past full of neglect, heartbreak, & loneliness. The main character is the "bad guy" & yet the author writes in a way that you can't help but sympathize with her. An interesting look at the role of motherhood, development, & the forces that influence who we become. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

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#junewrapup #monthlywrapup

5 stars
~The First Day of Spring
~The Other Black Girl

4 stars
~No Hiding in Boise
~God Spare the Girls
~Long Lost

3.5 stars
~The Fortunate Ones
~A Dark and Secret Place

3 stars
~The Taking of Jake Livingston
~Pigology
~The Best of Friends
~The Yorkie Diaries
~Miss Meteor

This was a bit of a strange read. You instantly don't like Chrissie and yet you feel a little sorry for her because of what she goes through. It confuses you to like her given the crimes she commits and yet by the end of the book, I had started to warm to her a little. The story jumps from when she was 8 to present day and continues through as the story develops. The plots itself is very slow but it fits with the story. #Netaglley 3*

The complexities of this psychological drama were incredibly well developed. I can‘t even begin to express how impressed I am with this author. Her keen understanding of child development and the psychological effects of abuse were abundantly clear.

My full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3986288427

This is a dark and disturbing story, harrowing but beautifully written. It‘s also thought provoking as it brings to mind the nature vs nurture scenario. The author has brilliantly imagined and delved into the warped mind of such a tormented child, one who has been neglected and emotionally abused by those who are supposed to be caring for her. I found it an unsettling and heartbreaking read so I‘m glad it ended on a note of hope. #Pigeonhole

I killed a little boy today and then the dragons arrived.

Five reasons this book is a 🤘Pick:
1. Same vein as The Push (which I loved) 2. Fantastically concise writing 3. Weird ability to make my sympathize with a killer 4. Back and forth timeline between current adult and her childhood 5. The unsettling, unobtrusive feeling of suspense.

#Pigeonhole

“I licked stray crumbs of pastry from between the tines of the metal fork and felt a small loss when it was finished.”

Same. I feel seen. I, too, experience small losses when I finish my pastries…or any good food TBH. 🙋‍♀️