The Search Party

"This story centers around a group of friends and their families that get together at a new glamping site that’s co-created by two of the members of the group. Tensions arise and problems brew from the start. A misfit kid with a temper and a girl who’s heartbrokenly stranded without her usual dose of being digitally connected among them. While a bit predictable, hence the 4 stars, it did make me emotional to read about what each of the characters went through, some heroes, others villains. While initially a lot of perspectives to juggle, I eased right into it and then gained familiarity of each of them, who are all distinct in their own right, a strength of and compliment to the author. I could connect to each of these characters and pick up on the fact that there always seems to be an ugliness that courses through group dynamics that inevitably surfaces over time. No one is perfect amidst this chilling atmosphere of vertiginous cliffs and swirling, violent waters. Will someone physically or metaphorically be pushed too far that they reach the edge? Is everyone who they purport to be? Maybe not, maybe so. These are just some of the questions that crop up in this work that also contemplates what it is to lose and get hurt and grow up. People in this novel change and start to outgrow certain relationships, say one thing and then do another, and sugarcoat and white lie until they can’t anymore, really whatever it may be it gets messy and fast. Stopping is only a suggestion. Brace yourselves because there’s a lot coming and in store here!"

"Feel like this book was just way too long, it took me forever to get through it. It’s also like 90% flashbacks which I’m not too fond of, and with so many characters it just gets confusing. 2.5/5 ⭐️ rounded up"