e-Audio, 06:49:56
Narrated by: Ramiz Monsef
Release Date: July 16, 2024
Published by: Recorded Books, Inc.
Read from: August 26, 2024
Stand-alone
Source: Library’s Libby
Content Warning: Death, Toxic Relationship, Cursing, Racism, Classism, Terminal Illness, Classism
For Readers Interested In: Gothic, Romance, Thriller, YAA missing sister. A mysterious boy. And a painting that holds the truth beneath its peeling edge…
Inez is missing, but missing things can always be found.
Mae knows this as a fact, even though the police investigation has come to a standstill, even though her parents are moving on. But when she goes to clear out her older sister’s studio, she finds a mess of research and a white canvas that seems even older than the ornate frame it is set in. The closer Mae gets to the canvas, the more difficult it is to pull her eyes away from its mottled surface, its heavy layers of white paint, its peeling top corner she is tempted to pull to see what’s beneath. But she doesn’t. Not yet.
Mae decides to trace her sister’s last steps in the hopes of finding answers, certain that Inez’s disappearance is related to the painting. And she knows she is desperate enough to let the strange boy who claims to have been Inez’s neighbor tag along. Even if his good looks don’t help distract from his avoidance of her questions. So begins a scavenger hunt piecing together what they can find from what Inez left behind. One that leads to centuries-old questions best left unasked and secrets best kept in the dark.
From the author of A Guide to the Dark comes another tender horror story about the lengths we are willing to go for the truth and the ones we love.
*MY THOUGHTS*
I picked this up because I heard it was a horror story that followed heavily on The Picture of Dorian Gray. And if you know me, you know I’m on a crusade to replace the yt classics with remixes of them. And while this one isn’t a retelling, I could see the similarities.
This is another gothic horror novel that got me. I am not a huge fan of the gothic subgenre because it just isn’t scary enough for me. And unfortunately that is the case with this one too. I thought it would get better as the characters were more introduced, but no. I wasn’t even a fan of the vibes either because it was more along the lines of her sister missing. but the picture itself isn’t explained until the ending, so it just never felt scary. The picture is also different than Dorian’s because it takes people in behind the paint, but it actually does center a wish which I thought was cool.
The characters were hilarious because I don’t think I’ve ever read a book where I was so spot on. **SPOILER** As soon as she walked into that girl’s house I knew she was going to run into some weird ass something with him. Because girl, whyyyyyyyy was he there in the first place?**END SPOILER** I know she was grieving, but girl, be ffr. That should have been the biggest red flag. Especially when they said, “I didn’t know about you.” So you mean to tell me you didn’t know about me, but you’re sitting in here and I’m her sister?! Absolutely tf not. And they’re close. Like I knew they weren’t ish.
I hated the way this damn timeline for this was tho. It was all over the place. And when they went back and told us about the painting and then again when it showed the brothers, it was just alot. So just be prepared. This is not written in a linear time line and they don’t always give you a big heads up when it changes, so yeahhhhhh
This isn’t at all what I thought it would be. I will still use this in my program as it is a good stand in to teach them about the Picture of Dorian Gray. Also, just because I didn’t love it, doesn’t mean someone else won’t. There’s others out here that like gothic horror, and I would most certainly give this one to them.
Overall, I give this
