A highly infectious and incurable virus spreads worldwide. Seventeen-year-old Kerryl Shaw and her family live on a remote farm and think they will be safe, but the plague advances. Despite deaths around them, the Shaws survive. However, this changes when a stranger arrives, and it soon becomes apparent he has brought the infection to their door. One by one the family succumbs, leaving Kerryl … alone. Kerryl is sure it’s only a matter of time before she, too, dies. She decides to record what she thinks will be her final days in a diary. She realises that it will never be read, so she imagines a reader and calls him Adam. As loneliness and isolation affect the balance of her mind, Adam ceases to be an imaginary character and becomes real to her. Communications break down and services fail. Unexplained events build fear and menace: Kerryl hears her name called in the night; she’s attacked by stray animals; she’s molested when she visits the town; she sees a stranger outside her house, who vanishes when she tries to make contact; objects appear and disappear. The climax comes when she finds a text message on her phone. Who is texting her? How? She thinks it can only be Adam, because by now there is no one else left. Another text invites her to a rendezvous at the Bride Stones, a beauty spot popular with lovers, and she leaves for what she is sure will be a meeting with Adam…
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Most misogynistic female character ever. I legit hated her.
Full review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3092048727?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1
Thank you to Book Sirens for providing a free digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
I rate this book 2.5 of 5 stars. I was really looking forward to reading Paradise Girl after seeing the high ratings, but it left me feeling bored for more than 75% of the book. I had issues with the fact that the main character develops anorexia. Why would she even care if she feels she is the only person left? As with anyone left alone for any period of time she goes crazy. Too bad it took until the 90% mark to get into any “true grit” of things. The book might have been better if more of the book focused on why Paradise Girl survived the virus.
Great story idea, but failed to deliver!
Weird, quirky and eerie – all in the best of ways. A captivating, suspenseful and twisted delight!
*I received a complimentary ARC of this book in order to read and provide a voluntary, unbiased and honest review, should I choose to do so.
Awesome book! This is a great, interesting and different dystopian story. I highly recommend it if you like this kind of story.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Paradise Girl: a gripping psychological dramaKindle Edition
by Phill Featherstone
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
The Stand meets Z for Zachariah…
Good news, A devastating pandemic plague that doesn’t result in Zombies!
Kerry and her family find themselves on their farm when The Infection spreads from Africa to Europe to Northern England. Paradise Girl is made up of Kerryl’s two diaries that she keeps as she finds herself increasingly alone as The Infection spreads throughout her town.
There is a lot more to it, and if you can get passed a bit of a slowdown in the middle, you will be richly rewarded with an even more terrifying future!
Kerryl herself is well-drawn and I rather liked Buster, the amiable dog who keeps her company. Kerryl’s life before and during The Infection are so realistic, I was reminded of my own high school years. The literary device of her diaries does wear on about halfway through and if you don’t stick it out you will miss one of the best twists in Post-Apocalyptic Fictions I’ve read in a while.
Excellently done, except as I said – that slow patch. Well worth the read.
4 stars out of 5
https://www.amazon.com/Paradise-Girl-gripping-psychological-drama-ebook/dp/B07PJTH6FL
Paradise Girl was an unexpected roller coaster of feelings for me. Dystopian books are usually right up my alley, and I often become invested in the characters rather quickly, but I wasn’t expecting all of the emotions that played out while reading the journals of Kerryl.
An infection takes over the world and kills people horribly and rapidly. It’s easily spread and no one seems immune. Eventually, Kerryl is the only one left in the farm house where her family lived. Loneliness is a very big factor in the emotional upheaval of this book. Imagine being on your own with no human contact for days, weeks, months at a time! In Kerryl’s case there is also a fair amount of guilt and even more things going on that we learn through her journals.
The journals are written very well, as if a young woman and inspiring writer had actually written them. I found it very easy to get into and become emotionally invested. At the end of the book, there is a HUGE plot twist, so be prepared for that! And come to find out there will be even more to this story. To say I’m eager to read it is an understatement!
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.