This Might Hurt
by Stephanie Wrobel
Kit has committed to a six-month stay at the private island retreat Wisewood, cut off from the outside world. Her sister, Natalie, arrives at Wisewood after receiving an e-mail threatening to reveal her secret to Kit.
For the most part, I liked this book. It starts out really strong, intriguing and dark. It really builds the tension of the big secret that Natalie is hiding as well as the mystery of what’s really going on at Wisewood. We slowly see how Wisewood was developed and learn how each of our main characters ended up there. It’s both compelling and concerning to see behind the scenes of Wisewood and understand how such a place can be so appealing to someone like Kit.
The ending, however, wasn’t as enthralling. The big reveals fell a little flat in my opinion. The ending is also rather open-ended. It’s implied that some things happen, but it’s ambiguous and I’m still not sure what we’re meant to assume went on after the last page.
This story has three perspectives: Natalie, Kit, and a mysterious third perspective that is revealed further into the story. This third perspective, although the most engaging, was confusing. It’s a flashback and, although it’s pretty obvious who it’s supposed to be, I thought it was meant to be one of the sisters for quite a while and things just weren’t adding up until I realized my error. I imagine reading this physically instead of listening to the audio like I did would make the switches between characters more clear.
I’d recommend this if you’re interested in the development of a cult or the way that new members might be drawn in. But I’d also recommend being extra attentive if you’re taking the audio book route.
<3D
LessthanThreeD 