Cover Image: The Grey Sisters

The Grey Sisters

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Member Reviews

Going in to this novel I was so excited - there was a plane crash and a girl who lived in a commune finally leaving the hills that have always been her home. It sounded like a A+ thriller. Unfortunately, my expectations far exceeded the calibre of the novel.

So, this wasn't 'bad' per se it was just kind of ho hum. The story, while having promise, failed to hit the expected high notes of intrigue and tension that comes with a really good thriller novel. Throughout the majority of the The Grey Sisters it was fairly single note rather than having the highs and lows usually associated with the genre.

I also found myself having an extremely hard time relating to any of the characters. There's a guy who is kind of the centre of the story but is so forgettable that I had to think extremely hard to remember who they were; a female character who was part of the original plane crash but seems to happily revisit ground zero without any issues despite almost dying; a character who is know by a single letter who kind of had a place but also I'm not sure I understand what it was; and lastly a woman who escapes captivity but happily returns only to realise she could probably help the camps captives if she just grew a pair. They could have all had such depth but endeavouring to squish the whole thing into less than 300 pages lead to most of them being very superficial.

I will say however that I quite enjoyed the 'villain' of the piece. He is mean and predictably manipulative, giving the narrative just a little bit of pep and pizazz.

Overall. as I said earlier, it wasnt 'bad' just poorly executed in parts. The punch usually associated with the thriller genre are for the most part missing with it feeling more like a contemporary lacking a degree of emotion. While The Grey Sisters wasn't for me, I feel like it would appeal to those who loved Gone Girl or A Simple Favour.

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The Grey Sisters follows three teens going on a trip to the crash-site of their friends/siblings, where they died two years ago. They do this to get some closure of the horrible accident. We also follow Ariel, who lives in the mountains (near the accident site) and lives and survives in a totally different world then we are used to. What is really going on? What is happening?

I don’t even know how to write a short synopsis for this one, but it is supposed to be a mystery/thriller novel. The book opens with the plan crash and for some reason, I got a sort of supernatural feeling when it was happening… that feelings quickly spiraled, when I realized what was really going on. There is really dark themes in this book, and I don’t think they are handled very well. I would trigger warn for: violence, drugs, kidnapping, sexual assault (not directly on page, but indicated), trauma, brainwashing. All these horrible things are present in this book, but I just feel like it was never approached and talked about in a proper way. The plot itself is lost to me, and I felt like there was no point to this story. I thought it was going to be a story about siblings, maybe something with the mountain since they talk about it a lot? While it has siblings and a mountain it was not at all what I expected. At some point the book was okay, but then it was nothing in it that I enjoyed in the end. 2/5 stars.

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It is so hard to find books that surround tragedies and I was so happy to find one—some of my students like books that have complex themes and stories like this. But I was very disappointed in the way the book was written and the character development that came with it. The character design in this book is just not up to par in what I expected with a beautiful cover. I enjoyed reading all the descriptions and the history of what happened but I just did not connect to the story/characters.

I wanted so bad to connect to the characters and feel their pain for who they lost but I didn’t—and that upset me. However, this book definitely has a hi-lo aspect to it (high interest, lower comprehension/writing) so this book would be good for students struggling to read. This can be utilized for many grades and many different groups of people—it would be a great book club book.

The author definitely has a future in writing but needs to take a little bit more time to focus on the world, the characters, and the development that comes with it to make her books even better.

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This book was definitely not what I was expecting going into it. There's a plane crash, and the main characters are siblings of those who died in said crash. There's a cult, and it really didn't add anything to the story for me. I was disjointed by the different POVs in the story. Especially since they switch from third person to first person. It was a struggle to get through this because I didn't feel anything towards the characters.

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Thank you NetGalley for gifting me this book!

The Grey Sisters is the a very captivating thriller. I’ve been on a bit of a book funk and Jo Treggiari pulled me right out! The first chapter was absolutely intense and drew me right into this thriller. She has a way of making you care about a lot of the characters as well as keeps you on the edge of your seat the whole book.

The book opens with the two siblings, Kat and Jonathan, during their terrifying plane crash. Then, we are sent two years into the future, where we learn how D and Spider are dealing with the loss of their siblings. When Min shows D and Spider a photo of the only survivor with Kat’s stuffed animal, they decide to go to the crash site for closure. On a different timeline, we are getting to know Ariel, a young girl growing up in a cult, where some of the girls are made into soldiers. Her Big Daddy is the leader and is preparing them for a war he “knows” is coming. Ariel is the perfect soldier. She only cares about her mission and the boy she likes, Aaron. These two timelines eventually cross which makes characters change, make choices and fight to survive.

My favorite characters are Min and Ariel. Min has such a calming personality and is the glue that keeps the trio together. Ariel is such a strong girl who also cares so much and has the ability to learn, adapt and change. This book does leaves some questions unanswered. I know some readers don’t like this. For me, I found it was fun to discuss and guess what the answers are.

If you would like to see my favorite quotes from the book, items you need while reading this book and the notes I took while reading, check out my blog: https://bookishstateofmind.com/

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I wanted to read this from the blurb, because I loved reading The Cheerleaders, but this just fell flat for me. I wasn't able to connect with any of the characters enough to really be invested so I didn't feel that necessary tension. Thanks anyway.

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I was so excited about this book because it sounded like something I would just love but unfortunately I just couldn't get into this story because I got a bit confused because parts of the story were jumpy.

This book and the author's writing just isn't for me.

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I really wanted to enjoy this book, but I had a really hard time getting into it. The premise was great but the delivery didn't work for me.

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I'm so sad I didn't enjoy this book, especially since I usually love plots that involve relationships between siblings, but this time it didn't work for me, at all. I liked the beginning but every time it gets more and more confusing and I had to confess that was kind of hard to finish it. The jumps between the POVs are very weird and make the reading flow confusing, especially due to changes from first to third person. I couldn't connect with the characters and the story itself ended up taking a direction I didn't expect and didn't enjoy. Maybe I could give the author another chance in the future because there's potential in her writing style

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While I am fond of cult stories and think grief stories are important, I don't know that I cared for the two combined. Part of the problem is that the two plots are really too big to share space. Coping with the complexities of grief can carry a plot all on it's own. Finding your way out of a toxic living environment, especially a controlling cult, certainly is enough to fill a novel.By mashing the two together, neither story really gets enough space to fully explore character. This results in overly convenient plot points, underdeveloped characters, and an unsatisfying and frankly incomplete finale.

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Actual rating 3.5 stars

I was pretty skeptical about this one because of the low rating on Goodreads. It turned out pretty good though!

I felt like the characters were well rounded and three dimensional, with the exception of Johnathan. I wish we could have learned a little bit more about him. My favorite was probably D, but I also really enjoyed reading from Ariel's POV.

I think it portrays the different ways of grief really well with D and Spider.

The only thing that I didn't super love was how each chapter jumped to a different point of view. This was a little confusing.

I liked the ending, though I wish we could have gotten just a little bit more of everyone's recovery. Especially Min's, I feel like we didn't get to see anything of her after the huge ordeal.

Overall I would say this is a quick and interesting read, though it's not completely memorable.

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3.5

Cult? Plane crash? This book had so many fascinating aspects. I just felt like it lacked fully pulling me in. Some stuff were definitely predictable but that part didn’t bother me as much. It’s told in different perspectives so we get to see what everyone is thinking.

Overall, this was interesting but don’t go in it thinking you’ll be shocked with the events in the book. If you’re ok with that then I think you will find yourself enjoying this book.

Thanks to NetGalley and publisher for my review copy.

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This was the first book I read by this author. This book is geared towards middle school age and up.

The premise of this book was both subtly shocking and quietly entertaining. For me, it started off a bit slow but garnered steam close to the halfway point. The writing was linear, with a clear beginning, middle and end. At times, I was a little lost on which chapter belonged to which character. I would have preferred real names, as it got a bit confusing in certain parts.

Overall, I think this book would make a great edition to any preteen/teenagers library.

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Kat and Jonathan died in a horrible plane crash. Their siblings D and Spider are still mourning them two years later and in an effort to heal, decide, along with their friend Min, to visit the crash site. The last thing they expect is to stumble into a nightmare of another's making. Ariel who lives within the cult has escaped and she needs they get. Told from multiple viewpoints, this YA novel has a little more bite than I expected. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. It's a good read.

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The Grey Sisters captured my interest the moment that I read the synopsis. In an attempt to find some closure, D, Spider, and Min take a road trip to a secluded, treacherous mountainous area to the site of the plane crash which claimed the lives of two of their siblings. They quickly discovered that facing their grief was the least of their problems in this dangerous, unforgiving territory.

What began as an emotional journey to ease their grief quickly turned into a survival story of their own. I’m always fascinated by stories of survival and how people find the strength and perseverance in the toughest of challenges. Not only did these friends have to face the challenges of the land, but also of the people who called that area home.

The Grey Sisters gave me a bit of a Deliverance meets Big Love vibe. I must admit that I was most intrigued by the chapters from Ariel’s perspective. It was equally disturbing and interesting to see how her people were living their lives in accordance with one self-made ruler’s plan for the community.

The story had an overall creepy feel to it and had plenty of scenes in which I found myself holding my breath in fear and anticipation. While I found that, for the most part, the story moved along at a fairly steady pace, I did find that the ending felt a bit rushed. Was it a satisfying ending? Sure, but I wanted a bit more out of it.

The Grey Sisters was an intriguing story that kept my interest throughout. I will definitely be on the lookout for more books by Jo Treggiari.


*4 Stars

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Wow, this book turned out to be quite different from any other thriller or mystery book I've ever read. From the beginning itself we see two different and parallel worlds being set up, one of the friends Spider, D and Min and the other of Ariel.

Spider and D both lost their siblings in a freak plane crash and have now set off to visit the deserted plane crash site to find some sort of solace. Ariel lives in the woods with Big Daddy and a her of other 'uncles' and children who have learned to persist in the wild. Being a hunter Ariel goes through a lot of turmoil until one day her paths cross with Spider, Min, and D.

I feel like the characters and plot were the strongest in this book. We dig really deep into Spider and D and how loss and grief have shaped their lives differently, how both of them are dealing with it in quite the opposite way. On the other hand, we have brave little Ariel who is questioning her lifestyle, ready to throw it all for Aaron whom she can't bear to let die. I love the revelations that come towards the end of the book and how there was an air of uncertainty hanging throughout. Definitely an interesting read that I would recommend others to pick up.

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The story starts off with a friends, D and Spider working through the tragic loss of loved ones but ends up as so much more. I know this happens, and there are families and 'compounds' out there that live like Ariel's family but, I have a hard time connecting with that lifestyle. That being said, the overlap of the mountain family and D and Spider, worked and created a story that was easy to get into and just as easy to read. The last 35% of the book was by far the best, major things started happening, puzzle pieces were coming together and you were getting answers to your questions.

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Kat and D are twin sisters. Spider and Jonathan and siblings as well. Kat and Jonathan were on a plane that went down. There was one survivor. Everyone else is dead.

Spider and D become close and bond over losing their sibling. They decide to go to the crash sight to see where their brother and sister died.

Ariel lives in a compound. Her friend, Aaron is badly injured. Big Daddy does not believe in medicines and refuses to let Aaron go to the hospital. Scared she is gonna lose her friend, Ariel wants to find medical help.

Two different worlds meet and they help each other beyond what they ever though possible.

I did enjoy reading The Grey Sisters. Was it my favorite ? No but it was okay. I think what turned me off is yet another LGBTQ book. Not that I am against being gay but here lately every YA book has it. Gay is the new norm now or so it is perceived.

Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to read The Grey Sisters in exchange for my honest review.

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Thanks to Netgalley for a digital galley in exchange for an honest review.

The book starts out with a literal plane crash...how can it be bad? Your attention is engaged right from the start. We then go on to meet the essential characters of the cast...the family members of the teens who went down in the plane AND the young members of a cult that lives in the woods. Not all of the cult members are young and some of them are actual family. Big Daddy is the leader and it is because of him that the two stories coincide. The sisters of two of the teens that went down in the crash are visiting the site where the plane went down 2 years later when they come face to face with some of the cult members and must find ways to get back home. There are so many twists of fate in this book that it never lost my interest. I can see that quite a few people did not like it or even finish it but I personally saw it through and as I sit here typing this, I am actually liking it more and more. My only thing was that with it being in more than one voice, I sometimes forgot who was who. But the story itself was very good, in my opinion.

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I loved this story!! The characters were well developed and interesting especially the main characters. There were scenes which had me On the edge of my seat wondering how things would play out! I loved the twists and how how both sets of women came together. The ending made me breathe a sigh of relief and smile. I look forward to reading more books by this author!

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