Here we go with our third book club review! I’m excited for you guys to read this one because we have a lot of mixed opinions which I think just goes to show that everyone can interperate a book differently. If any of you have read “Into The Water” I’d love to hear your thoughts down below!
Book: Into The Water by Paula Hawkins
Whos Pick: Kaylee
Q&A:
How did you experience the book?
Kaylee: At first I was nervous to begin reading Into The Water because Raelene had begun reading it before me and told me that she found it extremely confusing, as there are SO many characters to keep up with. Being someone who isn’t a big reader, I was positive that I was going to become confused and not want to finish the book, but I ended up becoming quickly enthralled with Into The Water and couldn’t put it down! I traveled quite a bit during the month I was reading the book and I found it to be the perfect travel companion…along with a glass of wine, of course!
Lorielle: To be completely frank, my experience with reading Into the Water was somewhat complicated. To start, it took me almost a month and a half to finish reading it. This is very rare for me as I tend to finish books, especially books I like, in around a week or two. There was just something about Into the Water that didn’t grab my attention as much as I anticipated that it would. That said, when I was in the mood for reading it I can say that I did enjoy the writing. I know this might not make sense but, like I mentioned before, my experience of reading this book is not clear-cut!
Raelene: I found Into the Water to be a long, boring and confusing read. I feel mean saying this but I honestly can barely remember what it was about. I guess you can say I didn’t experience it very well haha.
Do you have a favourite character?
Kaylee: While I do admit that it was hard to get a full understanding of each character because there were like 12, I would have to say that Lena was my favourite. Although young, she had a strong sense of self and a no-bullshit attitude that I really admired. Nel, her mother who you will read about in the story was also very similar so I can see where she gets it from.
Lorielle: I wouldn’t necessarily say that I have a favourite character from this book but the perspective I enjoyed reading most was that of Jules. I think one reason Jules’ perspective was my favourite is that she was given more “page-time” than the other characters which allowed her to be a little more fully developed as a character. I also enjoyed getting a peek inside Jules’ head as she reflected on past memories, some of which became complicated after she gains more information about her childhood and her sister, Nel, throughout the book.
Raelene: I would have to say my favourite character was Lena. Her character is lively and one that knows how to stick up for herself. She is definitely one of the only characters with substance.
Was the ending satisfying?
Kaylee: The ending to me was very satisfying. All of the loose ends were tied up and I liked how it flashes forward to each character months after the “big event”. There was also a twist on the very last page that left me with my jaw dropped.
Lorielle: I think the ending was satisfying in that it was wrapped up pretty neatly…though there is a bit of cliff-hanger on the very last page that serves to shake up this seemingly neat ending!
Raelene: I feel like my review of this book is so harsh but in all honestly, I just googled what the ending was. To be fair I read this book in June and have read many others since, so this could be why I forgot what happened. I do remember there being a bit of a plot twist but I was kind of underwhelmed by it, as I had already predicted it. Maybe if I didn’t guess the plot twist before it happened the ending might have been satisfying?
If you read “Girl on the Train”, how did this Paula Hawkins novel compare?
Kaylee: Girl on the Train was actually the book I read when I was in another book club a couple of years ago. I remember thoroughly enjoying it and so that’s why I picked Into The Wate for The Blondielocks Book Club. Admittedly, I enjoyed Girl on the Train more, and could easily see how it was translated into a movie as there were fewer characters to keep track of. Into The Water, while I loved it, I can’t see how it could be turned into a movie because there would have to be a transition of character every 3 minutes.
Lorielle: I think the only real similarities between the two books are that they are written by Paula Hawkins, they are thrillers, and they take place in a British town. Other than those similarities the characters, story, and stylistic choices made by Hawkins in Into the Water differ quite a bit from those in Girl on the Train. For example, while Girl on the Train does shift perspectives throughout the book, it does so to a much lesser degree than Into the Water. I likin reading Into the Water to getting mental whiplash because it seems that every 3-5 pages the perspective changes to that of a new character. This made it difficult for me to obtain a full sense of who each character was. My experience with Girl on the Train was the polar opposite of this.
Raelene: I never read Girl on the Train but I did watch the movie (which I really enjoyed!) Going off of the film, there seems to be fewer characters than Into the Water. I am all about books that use more than one perspective, I think it’s a really big trend in fiction right now. However, Into the Water had way too may characters. I can barely remember the names of them all or their roles in the story. I think Girl on the Train is better as you can actually keep track of what’s going on.
How would you rate this book and would you recommend it?
Kaylee: I’d give Into The Water a 4/5 stars. After the initial shock of having so many characters to keep track of, I found it easy to follow along and finding out how each character tied into one another. However, I could see how this book could annoy someone who isn’t used to reading a book like this.
Lorielle: Overall, I rate this book 3/5 stars. I thought the story was interesting but it wasn’t the captivating mystery that I thought it was going to be. With that said, if you are interested in books that showcase a wide range of characters/character perspectives and you are a fan of the mystery genre, I would recommend reading this book. Just because it’s not my cup of tea doesn’t mean that it won’t be yours!
Raelene: I would rate this book 2 stars out of 5. This book would be for anyone who enjoys mysteries and doesn’t really care about in-depth characters. I personally wouldn’t recommend it as I really didn’t enjoy reading it. It wasn’t for me but I’m sure it’s the perfect book for someone else!
See all of the Blondielocks Book Club reviews here and be sure to follow Lorielle and Raelene on Instagram
