February 2020 Book of the Month Club

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rubysmama

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So apparently doing "book trailers" aka commercials is a thing, as I saw one for another book recently, and now found one for this book.

 
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rubysmama

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Here's some questions to help start the discussion.
Answer as many or as few as you'd like.


Generic questions we post every month


1. How would you rate the book on a scale of 1-5 *****?

2. Who was your favorite character?

3. Did you have to force yourself to get through the book, or were you unable to put it down?

4. Would you read another book by the same author?

5. Did you learn something you didn’t know before?

6. Did you find the characters believable?

7. Is there any part of the book you would change?

8. Were there any points of view you felt the author had that you disagreed with?

A few questions specific to this book

9. Were you surprised by the ending?

10. If you were Emma, would you have gone back to Camp Nightingale in the first place?

11. Who was your least fave character in the book? Did that change by the end of the book?
 

Mia6

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1. Rating 5!!!*****

3.
I was hooked from the beginning!

9. I was very surprised by the ending. I thought I had it figured out, but boy, was I wrong! The last three pages were flawless!!!
(I've read all three of Riley Sager's books and can't wait for the fourth, coming out in July.)

10. I don't think I would have gone back but if I did, I certainly would not have stayed in the same cabin that I
was in when the tragedy occured.
 
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verna davies

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Before I start to answer the questions I need to say that I read this book several months ago, I reordered it from my library to reread but it hasnt come in so I have to rely on my rather dodgy memory, apologies beforehand.

1) Score of 5 out of 5
2) I cant say I had a favoutite charactor, for me there were + and - in all, maybe Theo for coming good at the end.
3) No force needed, I enjoyed every page.
4) I have read all of his books, all are equally as good as this one.
5) Nothing comes to mind that I have learned.
6) I found some of the teenagers a little too knowledgeable and have such a good ability to plan everything so well but on the other hand, maybe that's how they are nowadays, I find a lot of childhood innocence that was around in my childhood seems to be lost.

9) I was surprised at the ending. Several times I thought I had guessed what had happened but there were so many red herrings I was always second guessing myself.
10) This is the dilemma for me. I dont think I would have because I am a pessimist and doubted that I could find the answer after 15 years.

I would be interested in other peoples thoughts on this. Emma was clearly effected by what happened at the camp when she was 13, the breakdown after her return and the obsession with constantly painting the woods with the ghostly figures of the girls in white. Do you think that she was right to go back? Do you think that she returned because she wanted and honestly expected to uncover the truth or do you think she went back because she hoped it would end her obsession but with the realism that she would not find the truth.
 
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rubysmama

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1. How would you rate the book on a scale of 1-5 *****?
My first thought was 5 stars, but changing it to 4, as though it was a really good book, there were little things that kept it from being perfect. Like crocuses blooming in June. :rolleyes3:
Also just the entire premise of Emma ending up in a cabin of girls 3 years older than herself. I can't imagine why that would happen, as campers would be assigned to their cabins long before they arrived, and if one was late arriving, there would have just been an empty bunk in that cabin waiting for her.

2. Who was your favorite character?
Don't think I really had one. But if I *had* to choose, maybe the girl in present day camp who liked to research facts and things

3. Did you have to force yourself to get through the book, or were you unable to put it down?
Not at all. In fact, I had to force myself to read it slowly so it wouldn't end too soon. But by the end, I couldn't put it down.

4. Would you read another book by the same author?
Yes, for sure.

5. Did you learn something you didn’t know before?
Don't think so. Well, unless learning that crocuses bloom in June counts. ;)

6. Did you find the characters believable?
Hmmm.... that's always a tough question for every book, as to make the book interesting, characters have to do things, well interesting. So, I guess I'd say "yes". As V verna davies posted, some of the teenagers seemed too knowledgeable about things, but then again some teens are just more mature than others.

7. Is there any part of the book you would change?
Have I mentioned the little thing about the crocuses? :lol:

8. Were there any points of view you felt the author had that you disagreed with?
I don't think so

9. Were you surprised by the ending?
Oh, absolutely. I was totally sure all 3 girls were long since dead. There was no explanation, was there, as to how 16 year old Vivian managed to stay hidden and survive, and obviously thrive, when everyone who knew her thought she was dead.​
I also thought that they were going to find that the original 3 girls had been trapped in that dug out, and that the new girls were locked in it, with their bodies. So, *very* happy that wasn't the case.

10. If you were Emma, would you have gone back to Camp Nightingale in the first place?
I don't think so. But then again, since she was so haunted by the past, I guess I can see why she would think maybe going back would be helpful.

11. Who was your least fave character in the book? Did that change by the end of the book?
Least favourite character? Not sure. Maybe the one who was always taking pictures, Or the arts & crafts one.​
 

verna davies

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I forgot about the crocus. Riley Segar is from Pennsylvania, maybe the bloom later there or maybe he is just not a gardener....

Maybe they placed Emma in a cabin with older girls thinking they would look after her as she was that much younger than them.

I too expected all 3 original girls to be dead. Vivian was extremely resourceful so out of the three, if one was going to survive, I would expect it to be her.
 
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rubysmama

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I forgot about the crocus. Riley Segar is from Pennsylvania, maybe the bloom later there or maybe he is just not a gardener....
My vote is for "not a gardener", but really, Google should have helped picked summer blooming flowers.
I'll get off my gardening soapbox now. 🌻🥀🌹🌷

Maybe they placed Emma in a cabin with older girls thinking they would look after her as she was that much younger than them.
When I went to summer camp, you had to put your age on the application, and if they ended up with too many girls your age, your application was returned. So you had to apply early. Putting a 13 year old in with 16 & 17 year olds just seemed unlikely. But, of course, if they hadn't done that, there'd be no story. :lol:
 

verna davies

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My vote is for "not a gardener", but really, Google should have helped picked summer blooming flowers.
I'll get off my gardening soapbox now. 🌻🥀🌹🌷

True


When I went to summer camp, you had to put your age on the application, and if they ended up with too many girls your age, your application was returned. So you had to apply early. Putting a 13 year old in with 16 & 17 year olds just seemed unlikely. But, of course, if they hadn't done that, there'd be no story. :lol:
I have no experience with summer camp, it wasnt about when I was a teenager and not really a big thing now as far as I am aware but as you said there would have been no story.
 

Mamanyt1953

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1. How would you rate the book on a scale of 1-5 *****?

4.5, I think. ALMOST a five. I found the beginning a little slow, although that may have been trying to get comfortable reading it on my laptop. Took me SEVENTEEN days to finish the first 10 chapters, then gulped down the rest in TWO! Let's put it this way...I liked it enough to permanently extend my Kindle Unlimited subscription.

2. Who was your favorite character?

I actually kinda liked poor old Theo. He was put through the wringer, and was still a pretty good guy.

3. Did you have to force yourself to get through the book, or were you unable to put it down?

LOL, see answer #1. I forced myself at first, then got TOTALLY caught up in the book.

4. Would you read another book by the same author?

OH yes. I've been eyeballing a couple of them. I can't decide whether to read "Home Before Dark" or "Lock Every Door" first.

5. Did you learn something you didn’t know before?

Not really. I didn't even catch the crocuseseseseses.

6. Did you find the characters believable?

Yep. Although I agree that the present-day campers were awfully mature, some of the girls around here are definitely 13 going on 25.

7. Is there any part of the book you would change?

I don't think so. I think that the story had to unfold just as it did.

8. Were there any points of view you felt the author had that you disagreed with?

Along with others, I'm not sure that I've EVER heard of a girl being put with campers that much older before. But my experiences with camps were with church camps and a YMCA camp, Camp Grandview, in Georgia. It would not have happened there, but with a private camp, who knows? Not I.

9. Were you surprised by the ending?

I was shocked by the ending. Totally surprised. Of ALL the things that I saw happening, THAT was not one of them. I was so sure that Emma had done something terrible!

10. If you were Emma, would you have gone back to Camp Nightingale in the first place?

Probably. I'm a big one for facing my fears.

11. Who was your least fave character in the book? Did that change by the end of the book?

Oh, I have no patience with "mean girls," so I heartily disliked Vivian from day one, and that was only reinforced by the final pages! I loved what Emma did to her! Poetic justice! I still think that Vivian is the reason that those girls are dead. And I think that it was directly and intentionally, and I think that it was a direct result of what the girls were arguing about that Emma walked in on. Isn't psychopathy fun???

Didn't see quite where this would fit, but...OH EMMA! To have carried that weight of guilt, to the point of making you appear a murderer (even to yourself), over a simple "I wish they would never come back," is just so...well. But that is exactly what a young, deeply sensitive and empathetic young girl would do. This book was remarkable to me for the fact that a man wrote about the emotional turmoil of young womanhood so sympathetically and so well.

Has anyone noticed that Mr. Sager looks a tiny bit like a "mainstream" Jackson Galaxy? Perhaps that accounts for his understanding of a different "species," LOL!
 

Mia6

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In retrospect, it was healthy for her to go back but I feel she went back to help end her obsession with the girls.

2. My fave characters were Em and Theo, in the end. I love how they kind of hooked, setting up a date
when he gets back from doing another one year stint with Doctors Without Borders :redheartpump:

5. I've read all his books but not in order. Mush told me about him.

6. I found all the characters believable.

9. Part II My bet was on Lottie as the murderer! So wrong.
 
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rubysmama

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My bet was on Lottie as the murderer! So wrong.
I thought it was Lottie too. Especially when she didn't show up in the picture that included everyone else. I even had it all worked out that one of her relatives had died in the asylum when the lake was formed, and that she was out for revenge. So definitely a good red herring.
 

verna davies

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Mamanyt1953 Mamanyt1953 . Lock every door is really good.
I missed the crocus too...its the little things.
I agree with you, I thought Emma knew what had happened, that she was blocking it and we would find out that she had killed the girls.
I still can't decide Emma's true reason for going back. Did she wholeheartedly believe that she would find out the truth after all that time when they couldn't at the time of the disappearance or did she have another reason such as satisfying herself that she had done all she could and return home and be able to move on with her life.
 

Mamanyt1953

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V verna davies I have a sneaking suspicion that at least a part of her reason for going back was to get over her "painter's block," and to try to be able to paint SOMETHING besides hidden girls in a forest forever. Not that hidden girls in lake water is much better, but she did manage that portrait of Vivian all grown up!

And I STILL think that Vivian actively drowned the other two. That's why she told Emma that she couldn't come with them than fateful night.
 

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I would rate it a 4.5. I really enjoyed it, but it took me a little while to get into it. Then I was hooked. Lots of twists and turns and surprises. One thing stood out as unbelievable to me though - the camp food being "horrible". If Fanny and family were so rich, and they had filet minon in the big Lodge, why couldn't they have paid for good food for the campers. After all it was a "rich" girls camp. That didn't add up. But other than that I liked all the unexpected surprises. :)
 
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