Book Review: Sharp Objects

Author: Gillian Flynn

Read: 7/13-7/16/12

Snapshot (taken from the book cover): 

WICKED above her hipbone, GIRL across her heart 

Words are like a road map to reporter Camille Preaker’s troubled past. Fresh from a brief stay at a psych hospital, Camille’s first assignment from the second-rate daily paper where she works brings her reluctantly back to her hometown to cover the murders of two preteen girls.

NASTY on her kneecap, BABYDOLL on her leg

Since she left town eight years ago, Camille has hardly spoken to her neurotic, hypochondriac mother or to the half-sister she barely knows: a beautiful thirteen-year-old with an eerie grip on the town. Now, installed again in her family’s Victorian mansion, Camille is haunted by the childhood tragedy she has spent her whole life trying to cut from her memory.

HARMFUL on her wrist, WHORE on her ankle

As Camille works to uncover the truth about these violent crimes, she finds herself identifying with the young victims—a bit too strongly. Clues keep leading to dead ends, forcing Camille to unravel the psychological puzzle of her own past to get at the story. Dogged by her own demons, Camille will have to confront what happened to her years before if she wants to survive this homecoming.

With its taut, crafted writing, Sharp Objects is addictive, haunting, and unforgettable.

Mandy Thinks:

Sharp Objects is the first book by author Gillian Flynn.  After reading her second book, Dark Places, and thoroughly enjoying it, I thought it would be a good idea to try her first novel.  I was not disappointed. This book was a bit shorter, but really easy to read and easy to follow.  Not only that, but the suspense was gripping and it was nicely twisted in a way that made you appreciate whatever type of family you came from - because it was definitely not as weird and creepy as Camille Preaker's family.  

The overall theme throughout the book was definitely a dark theme that made you wonder what really went on in Camille's past to make her character such a dark and troubled individual.  Right off the bat you know she has a drinking problem and she doesn't have much appreciation for what she does or her self worth.  This instantly makes you feel concerned for this character while wanting to read on to find out what could have made her this way.  She heads back to her home town to write the story about the recent kidnapping/murder of a young girl and has to stay with her parents in her childhood home. You can instantly understand that her family is all kinds of weird! Her mother's treatment of Camille and the way she behaves with her other daughter and husband is instantly creepy and wrong, but throughout the book you can't put your finger on why its wrong.  Therein lies the draw of the book that gets you to keep reading.

This book definitely made me appreciate the family I grew up with - as normal and well behaved as we all were.  Sadly there are mother's out there that take mothering, healing and caring to a whole other level and gladly this wasn't the case in my household. I was of the upbringing where you had to have a really high fever or be puking up your breakfast in order to stay home sick from school. I also don't remember getting a lot of attention when I was sick, outside of my mom giving me medicine and getting to watch daytime TV from bed. Oh the little things that I miss… 

I highly recommend this book.  It's suspenseful, creepy and dark. All the things a good thriller should be.  After reading two books by this author, I realize that I really like the way her books are written and I wish there were tons more I could read! Sadly, I'll have to wait for my library hold for "Gone Girl" to come through for me… or I could just break down and buy it for my kindle. But that would definitely defeat the purpose of my summer binge reading on the library's dime project.   

Top 5 things I learned from this book: 

1. If you have ever seen The Sixth Sense and you notice your mom always nursing a sick child and maybe the child is only sick around your mom… you may need to be suspicious. 
2. Try not to get drunk and do drugs with your 13 year old sister who you think may have mental problems. This will not end well.
3. Its never a good idea to visit your childhood home if you left for a decent reason that made you end up in a psych hospital. 
4. Its probably a good idea to read the labels of all medicine you ingest - including if they are given to you from a trusted source… just saying.
5. Drinking all day every day is not a recommended lifestyle. It will result in bad decisions, memory loss and smelly glands.