Laura Pohl

The Last 8 started strong but ultimately fell flat for me.
The characters seemed rather shallow which made the whole power of friendship/found family stuff towards that became prominent near the end feel unearned and cheesy. Some character motivations also felt underdeveloped. It wasn't that any of their actions were completely unexplainable or stupid, but the lack of depth or insight into the character's emotional states and motivations made some of their actions read very much as plot contrivances more than what would make sense for them in-universe.
I was also disappointed in the sci-fi elements. Certain aspects of the alien species and technology seemed pure fantasy with no attempt at a justification, while some of it tried for more sci-fi. It didn't come together well for me, but other's might not mind. The invading alien species were also very intriguing in the beginning, but ultimately became shallow, uninteresting villains.
As the book got close to its conclusion it really lost steam and I could tell it wasn't going to have a satisfying conclusion. A reveal that one of the characters had the potential to develop reality warping abilities immediately made me suspect that any consequences for the characters actions in the finale would be erased before the end of the book. It took any and all tension out of the rest of the book. And rightly so, because lo and behold a character commits suicide and is revived seconds later, all the bad guys are erased from existence no problem, and we're off to a nice neat little happy ending that feels entirely unearned.… (altro)

If I had to choose a character from The Grimrose Girls I most resemble, I’d have to choose Ella, because I spent so much time trying to match up all the characters in the book with their fairytales, I failed to see what was right in front of me.

The Grimrose Girls is the perfect read for folks who like light mysteries entwined with light fantasy, boarding schools, and fairytales come to life. It’s a little dark – it’s a little like Pretty Little Liars. And I’m okay with that! Ella, Rory, Nani, and Yuki are far more likable than the PLL crew. I chose this book because I wanted a dark fairytale retelling, and I got something in that range. It’s not focused on a single fairytale – it’s focused on a little bit of a lot of them. It’s interesting and fun to predict, and the rotating POVs kept things fresh.

I am a little disappointed Pohl focused primarily on commonly known fairytales. I get it – as a writer, it’s important to engage the reader. Internationally familiar fairytales (read: the ones turned into Disney movies) are an easy choice. With the exception of “The Juniper Tree“, all referenced fairytales will be very familiar to a diverse audience. I generally enjoyed Pohl’s writing, but there were certain characters I wished had been more tied to their stories. Some, like Ella, were very close. I would have liked more consistency across the board.

There is a lot of diversity and representation in The Grimrose Girls and I’m undecided how I feel about it. Typically I’m very excited for a breadth of diversity and I still am… but it also felt a bit contrived. Each character had a different race and a different sexuality. So, on the one hand, there is a lot of representation. On the other, I’m just cautious about the intense variety of it. There were a couple other little things that bugged me as well, including the whole “scholarships for employee’s children” angle that got Nani into the school in the first place. Some things lined up a little too perfectly without sensible in-world explanations.

As a whole, I really liked the book. Despite my uncertainty about the wealth of representation, I do want to nod to Pohl for taking the time to let Nani express frustration about Hawaii’s colonialism. It was a brief moment, but it stood out to me.

This was a good nighttime read, a good “what’s next” and “whodunnit” read. I’m a big fan of books that keep me analyzing and thinking – The Grimrose Girls did an amazing job of that.… (altro)