Sara Faring's The Tenth Girl is a slow burn that ends in the most unexpected way. A split perspective narrative, The Tenth Girl bounces back and forth between Mavi, a young woman in 1970s Argentina beginning work as an English teacher at a secluded prestigious boarding school in Patagonia, and Angel, an American teen suffering from the loss of her family. Angel's spirit finds itself at the very same boarding school as Mavi, and she soon learns that other spirits are hunting and feeding from the residents of the school. Angel and Mavi make an unlikely connection, and together they fight the seemingly paranormal forces bent on destroying everyone and everything around them. If it seems like I'm being cagey here with details, it's because everything I thought I knew about this book through 3/4ths of it is a lie. One of the biggest twists I have ever experienced in a book (perhaps even bigger than Gone Girl), occurs with only a fourth of the narrative to go, and from there on out it completely defies genre and expectations. Up until that twist, I felt like The Tenth Girl was really dragging, lacking of character development, and uninventive with its plot. After the twist, those seeming faults are explained away, but I honestly don't know if I like it any better. I wish the twist occurred sooner, and we got to spend more time acclimating to the new reality of the situation. And what Faring explores in the last ten percent of the book is more fascinating than anything that happened in the preceding ninety. I desperately want her to write THAT book, exploring the events that lead us to the conclusion and after.

This book is hard to rate, I'm still a little confused as to what I read.

Trigger warnings for rape, abuse, pedophilia

The spooky season is almost upon us even if the summer still does not want to let go and just go away! However, there is something about a good horror book with a heavy dose of thrilling suspense to set up the anticipation of the upcoming Halloween season. What drew me to the book initially was its cover. If you truly examine all the elements of it you will get a very good sense of what can be found within. Only having finished the book did I TRULY appreciate how well thought out the details are. 

While the book is categorized as a young adult it does come with a few adult triggers. The author does not shy away from not only building upon the increasing gore but also exposing the ugly nooks and crannies of the dark side of humanity. 

This complex story does demand your full attention as there are many easter eggs and if you pay really, really close attention you may be prepared for what is next... but not always. The story unravels in two points of views - from Mavi, a young English teacher looking for safe harbor and a new start at an isolated finishing school with a dark past; and Angel an "Other" presence in the house. There are also many secondary transient and permanent characters to be loved, enjoyed, and despised that give the novel depth. After all, everyone has a role to play.

If you stick with the story and do not give up the final reveal is very satisfying and leaves the reader stunned as all the pieces finally fall into their rightful place. 

Sara Faring is of Argentine-American heritage and in this debut novel, we are given an introduction into her diverse cultural background. Personally, I will be waiting for her next release.

I debated with myself for a long time about whether or not to do a full review of this book. Mostly because I just thought it was ok, and I don’t like to write reviews that might sound negative. So, I want to be upfront and say that this wasn’t a bad book, it just wasn’t the book for me. I can tell from other reviews I looked at that many people love the book, which is great. I can totally see why people would love it, just not me. And so I decided to write the review so that other people can hear from those of us that just thought it was ok and why so that they could make the decision for themselves as to whether or not they want to read it.

There were a couple of things I really liked about the book. The descriptive writing was amazing. It really helped to create the atmosphere of this creepy isolated school. It really gave it that gothic feel, and made it easier to relate to the character’s feelings about the place. The characters are pretty well developed, especially the two narrators and they were both for the most part likable. Mavi is pretty tough and can take quite a bit, but I would have liked her to stick up for herself a bit more. Angel was easier to like, but I was always unsure about Angel’s role in the big picture.

I also liked how the author wove the Patagonia tribe and their beliefs and myths into the story. The curse on the house was awesome and I totally got into how this curse was affecting everyone’s actions and emotions.

My main issue with the book is how slowly things developed. It was painful, and I put the book aside at least twice to read something else for awhile. This may have played into why I just wasn’t able to get into the story or saw what was really happening. I almost DNF’d the book, but I kept looking at those reviews where everyone was raving about how good it was and the big reveal was going to shock me, so I persevered.

Let’s talk about that big twist. While I was shocked by it, it wasn’t in a good way. I just didn’t get it. Without giving any thing away, I just didn’t get why the story went that way? In hind sight I could see that there were hints along the way, including that awesome cover, but I certainly didn’t pick up on them. And that ending was just flat out bizarre.

I hope I haven’t sounded too negative. I think if I had read the book during a time period when I had more time to sit and read for longer periods, I might have felt better about it. It is hard to say. Anyways, my advice to you is this. Look at both the reviews that go on about how great the book is and then some of the others as well. That way you will be fully informed.

Atmospheric and intriguing. That’s how I will describe this story. It has never failed to make me feel haunted while reading it.

The Tenth Girl is one of my most anticipated read this year. And I’m lucky enough to be chosen as one of the bloggers to be part of the blog tour of it hosted by The Fantastic Flying Book Club. As for the story, I really enjoyed reading it, but there are a few points that I will talk about later, which makes me rate it with 3 stars.

First, for the good part of this story, the plot is very unpredictable. Reading the prologue already promised me something great. And I know it didn’t fail me on that part. Then, the characters are very distinct in a way that each has their own story to tell. Also, it has an enjoyable narration because, for every page that I flip, the intense atmosphere was never erased until the end. The slow pace, I think, is fit for the story because it tries to make you feel thrilled and curious as to what will happen with the characters and how the story will go.

Now, for my reasons as to why I didn’t love it as much as I anticipated that it will is because of this reason – the characters and the information about them. I think that they are not really developed that much. I feel disconnected with them most of the time. I enjoyed their story, but not them. I hope to see development in their character, but I guess I wasn’t satisfied with what I’ve seen from them since the start of the story. It’s disappointing, but anyway, I still enjoy the ride in this mysterious and thrilling novel.

Overall. from the start to end, the thrill was never gone. I am recommending this to readers who are interested in experiencing the thrilling journey of the characters in the De Vacarro school.

Disclaimer: I received an advance reader’s copy via The Fantastic Flying Book Club.

The Tenth Girl is a delicious Gothic story. It is a story or classism and relationships with a ghost story running parallel. Faring does a fantastic job of setting the scene and building the location as a character in the story. The characters were developed slowly and they added to the mystery. This slow simmering Gothic tale will pull in you in and allow you to slowly savor the flavor of the story as it is slowly unwrapped.

It's truly amazing how little sense this book made and how poorly so many disparate plot elements tried to be stitched together. I think this book failed because it couldn't decide what kind of book it wanted to be.

Separately: Argentinian disappeareds and guerrillas fighting against a corrupt government; a historically mysterious and troubled all girls school isolated in Patagonia; a ghost world with Others, a cloud, need to possess the living to stay connected to the living world rather than being sucked into a dark in between place, with a gross know-it-all Beetlejuice-type slobby mentor; THE LAST THING which I can't even allude to because of spoilers but also because zero elements of this thing appear before it randomly happened (ZERO SENSE). All of these things had potential as separate books, but instead they all got smushed together to make a terrible book with the BEST COVER.

I actually nearly gave up on this book 25% in, but kept getting drawn in by the cover ("why would they put such an awesome cover on a bad book?" I reasoned to myself), and the alluded to 'surprise ending' in the reviews made me curious. But really a waste of time. Also I'm kind of angry this book was such an utter waste of my time, tbh. I've got so many other books to read.

I was super excited to read this book...but ultimately found it very disappointing. The book started out quite interesting, and I was excited to learn more about this eerie and remote Argentinian boarding school. And then the second POV appeared. I felt like the author had no idea of how modern youth actually speak? It was a lot of random pop culture references but they didn't feel genuine. Just messy. The POVs were jarring in how dissimilar they were, and I found myself getting more confused as I tried to connect them to one another. This is long and overwritten and I found myself browsing at a brisk pace because I just wanted it to be over. I also felt that the more triggering elements of the story were handled poorly.

This book was not what I expected, which is both a positive and a less-than-positive thing.

Positives: the setting was very well described. I could feel the cold, see the fog, sense the slowing decaying old house around me. Also, the plot twist near the end when the author explains why the house is deteriorating and why people are falling ill, etc. is a pretty intriguing concept. I felt that once that was explained, it helped me connect with the storyline and understand the characters much better.

Less-than-positives: the big reveal doesn't come until about 75% of the way through the book. And it's a long book. I struggled to push through all of the overwritten passages of whiny angst on the part of the two main characters. This book really needed someone to edit for content to help up the pacing. It's touted as a thriller/suspense novel, but I mostly just felt bored reading through all the emotional drama of the protagonists' lives.

"The Tenth Girl" is a gripping historical psychological thriller with twists that will leave you haunted. The story is told through the perspective of two characters: Mavi, an Argentine teenage girl who has recently lost her mother, a desaparecida during the Dirty War, and Angel, a mysterious non-corporeal figure who's path intertwines with Mavi. Fleeing the police, Mavi takes a job teaching English at the Vaccaro School for Girls in Patagonia. The school is haunted by "Others" (of which Angel is one) and one of the students - the titular tenth girl - is missing. Faring does an excellent job with creating a doomed atmosphere and keeping readers on the edge of their seats. In some ways, the twist at the end is foreshadowed by small details but the ramifications of Mavi's discovery of her role at the school are staggering.
There is some difficult content within the novel -kidnapping, murder, rape, pedophilia- and readers should make an informed decision before reading. Some parts are confusing but that is part of the twist, I think. Additionally, there were some parts that read slow, but overall, a very strong and thought-provoking debut. I thought Faring did an excellent job with the historical context of the Dirty War and also indigenous issues in Patagonia; many white American readers will probably not know much about Argentine politics in the 1970s-80s and hopefully "The Tenth Girl" will inspire them to read more.

After reading the synopsis of this book earlier in the year, I was so excited to see a book coming out set in a school community. I felt like I hadn't read a good boarding school set story in too long. When I then saw it was a psychological thriller I was immediately sold and couldn't wait to get my hands on a copy.

This was one of the most detailed, world built story I've read in a long time. Each time something about the school was explained I felt like I could see it right in front me, as if I was there. Not only was there excellent world-building the character building was superb. Each of the main characters was explained in such detail I felt like I was getting to know them personally.

I loved the bits of Patagonian mythology added in, it really made the story come alive and gave it a unique spin. The whole aspect of "spirits" was very well done in my opinion, and easy to follow. All I have to say is watch out for that twist at the end, I didn't see it coming in the slightest. I could easily see this one adapted into a Netflix or Hulu series.

I honestly try super hard to not DNF ARC of books. However, this one was a tragic set up from the first chapter. I just could not get through the first 50 pages, and there's too many good books out there to get stuck reading a book I don't like.

The author reminds me of Willa Wonka. She wants to take us on a journey of pure imagination; however, she (like Wonka, if you'll let me continue a metaphor) forgets that journeys need to have rules or else they don't make sense to people who aren't you.

This book is pure nonsense. And that's my main issue with this book; things are not explained, you're just expected to go with it. While I'm willing to do that on some books, it's when I feel assured that there will be a payoff, that the author will explain him/herself. This book? I knew from the get-go that I would be unsatisfied. Hence the DNF.

Mavi arrives at a finishing school on ice and with a feel of foreboding. She is immediately swept into a mystery as well as certain rules in which she has to comply. As she begins her time at the school she finds that there is something sinister and every time she turns more questions that need to be answered.

This was an intriguing story that goes back and forth in time between Mavi and Angel. Angel is hard to explain because you really need to follow the story to put it all together. Complex story that had several twists. I thought the writing was easy to visualize. Unique story.

DNF after 100 pages
I'm sadly in the group that didn't like this book. The setting, the own voices rep and the mythology introduced was good and the prologue and first chapter were really good! But the second POV wasn't necessary and it was very jarring and killed some of the tension that was starting in Mavi's chapters. The writing was also both flowery and clunky at the same time; the sentences were so odd at times that I had to keep re-reading paragraphs to understand what was being described or what was happening. I did read the twist and I will give some points for it being different and what it tried to do. But this book overall was just too confusing and too long to keep my attention. I'm so sad that I didn't enjoy this, but it could be a hit with some readers.

I had a really hard time getting through this book. It was long-winded, repetitive, and probably could have been done in half the pages. The first 2/3 of the book would have been better if it was edited down, and had a different ending. To be honest, the only reason I kept reading was because people kept mentioning a twist at the end and I spent the majority of the story confused because of "easter eggs" that were planted in the first part of the story regarding said twist. I love a good plot twist, but these two stories just don't mesh well. It went from being a supernatural novel to syfy. This just wasn't my cup of tea.

In a mysterious boarding school at the edge of the world, a young teacher finds herself trying to understand her new students, get along with the staff and make a place for herself. She soon learns that there is a missing student and the the school is plagued by spirits and possibly cursed. Atmospheric and creepy, THE TENTH GIRL leads the reader to an unexpected conclusion.

I have been looking forward to reading the Tenth Girl for quite some time and to be honest it is being released at the perfect time of year when you want to curl up with something spooky. There are so many elements I appreciated from the The Tenth Girl, from the myths of Patagonia to the setting in South America. For me part of the reason I love books is because I can travel without leaving home or travel to places I could never dream of and this books is no exception. So curl up and book a trip to South America with me as we explore The Tenth Girl.

This book was so different than what I expected it to be after reading the description. Usually, that's disappointing but in the case of The Tenth Girl, it was a very pleasant surprise! This book starts out as a paranormal thriller and somehow, seamlessly, ends up with a bit of science fiction. When I got to the last 100 pages, I couldn't put it down, needing to know what was going to happen more than I needed to do anything else!!

This isn't for me. The pacing is stuttered and ineffective for the type of story it wants to be. The dread dissipates and we're left with repetitive dullness.

I would like to start out by saying that I did not finish this book. I would also like to say that just because I did not enjoy it that it is not good. I was so excited when this book book was recommended to me, but for whatever reason I lost interest. This could be in part to it being the authors first book and was just a miss. The story was rather ambitious, causing parts of the story to be confusing. I will be interested to see where this author goes and will look in to Sara's next book.