Into the Water Book Review
After the death of the towns aspiring author they begin to uncover that it might not have been an accident. Nel Abbott was a strong-willed woman that became obsessed with the Drowning Pool in the little town of Beckford, and townspeople aren’t happy with it. There had been four notable women that committed suicide there ever since the first woman jumped in 1679. After Nel is discovered dead, there is a group of people that were directly affected by her work and her daughter Lena. Jules is Nel’s sister and hasn’t talked to her in years, but not from lack of trying on Nel’s part. Now, Jules has come back to the town that she hates to care for a teenage niece that she has never met before and who doesn’t seem thrilled to meet Jules either. There are multiple perspectives used throughout the book which gives a good look into what is happening around town. One thing is for sure though, people from the past aren’t who they used to be.
Into the Water by Paula Hawkins is a book that goes back and forth in time to give useful information to the reader. Hawkins does an amazing job of not revealing too much at one time but just enough to keep the reader guessing and deeply intrigued. There were a lot of unexpected twists and turns but nothing so far fetched that it’s hard to make the connection. She develops her characters in a way that isn’t over bearing like an information dump would be. There are some scenes of more serious things happening and she also writes about these with raw but also tasteful word choice and phrasing. Overall, this book is definitely one to add to the reading list my friends! I enjoyed reading this book more than I first anticipated.
I will however say that this shouldn’t be read by 10th graders or anyone younger. There are some cruel and triggering events that happen in the book and some teens would probably be moved by it, and not in a good way. There is foul language used throughout the book. None of it is unwarranted but there is enough of it that it is worth mentioning especially when recommending an age group that this book is appropriate for. Also, it’s not appropriate for readers that are triggered by suicide/rape.
