Review of My Dear Stranger

I’m having a hard time deciphering my feelings for this book. It was a difficult read - and that’s not to say it was a bad one, just hard to digest in many parts and I would say that’s a job well done by the author. She managed to write a book that was very disturbing yet still intriguing. It was very hard to predict the direction the story would take and what to expect, so that definitely kept me hooked to the book despite the frustration at times with repetitive phrases and similar scenes. I wasn’t a huge fan of the prose style in the diary entries and every time the stranger was referred to as HE. The caps really was unnerving.

I normally have a stomach for deep, unsettling and twisted/ forbidden books, but this did leave me quite disturbed. It’s the main protagonist - Sadie, the unknowns about the Stranger and overall writing style that made it even more depressing. That’s not to say there is no hope or happy moments. - but they are very few and far in between. I honestly don’t know what I feel about Sadie and her suicidal tendencies. It was ver realistically written and very guttural. And there were so many twists and OMG moments, but they all lead to a very convincing ending. There were still some contrivances but given the genre and Sadie’s personality, it’s something I could look pass. The only interesting characters were Patrick and Alex. I wish I could read few chapters from Alex’s PoV to see his side of things and judge his character. Sadie is a very unreliable narrator and that makes the character story difficult. And Sadie overall got on my nerves so many times, but still I felt sympathetic towards her. I would have enjoyed this book more if there were another person’s POV chapter. It would make it a easier and more ‘complete’ read. Still kudos to the author for such a brave attempt. Definitely took me by shock at the end.

4 disturbing stars