What a read! I started reading this book and even stayed up late to finish it because the story was so mesmerizing. In fact, I'm adding it to my list of books to re-read because I want to see if I can connect the dots now that I know how it ends. I'm also excited to see that this novel has been optioned by Netflix. Despite its darkness, it will make a great movie!

I initially chose this book because of the plot. The story centers around a young woman named Alexa. We already know going into the book that she has multiple personalities. She has a stepmother (Anna), a best friend (Ella) and is working with a shrink (Daniel). These three are the only ones that are aware of her various personas. Alexa is a talented photographer and I like how Chung (the author) uses that to explain how it helps her to deal with her mental illness. Her best friend Ella gets a job working at a strip club called Electra and that's where the story gets gritty. Alexa doesn't want her friend working there, yet she can't stay away from the place herself. She starts dating Shaun, the club's bartender and even parties with people from the club (via Ella's coaxing, of course). Her shrink, Daniel, is doing his best to help Alexa without succumbing to his own set of demons.

Chung does a fantastic job weaving in all the different voices of these characters into a viable story line, but it seems like the prose sometimes gets weighed down with too much clinical explanations. The book deals with some dark stuff (i.e. rape, childhood sexual assault, etc) and might be triggering for some, so I don't recommend it for everyone. However, overall, it's a good read and I enjoyed the plot twist at the end.

Many thanks to NetGally, William Morrow and Maxine Mei-Fung Chung for the opportunity to read and review her debut novel - 4 stars for a dark but so intriguing look into mental illness, sex trafficking, psychology.

Alexa Wung has Dissociative Identity Disorder, or multiple personalities, after suffering abuse at the hands of her father after her mother died. We meet Alexa as she meets with a therapist, Daniel, who is himself suffering from the loss of his wife and his struggle for sobriety. There are only 3 people who know about the other personalities - Anna, Alexa's stepmom; Ella, her best friend; and Daniel. When Ella gets involved with the shady underworld of sex trafficking, Alexa is obsessed with trying to gather enough information on the players involved to go to the police and rescue the young girls.

Told in alternating viewpoints of David and Alexa, this is a slow, character study look into a very seedy world and the long-term implications that abuse has on the psyche. Obviously would have many triggers for readers, but although long, I thought this debut was gripping, gritty and very well-written. Stick with it until the end - you won't be disappointed!

Alexa Wu is a young, beautiful, fledgling photographer. She is also the host to a “flock” of alternate personalities that help protect her from the truth of her past and the danger of her present when she gets ensnared in the filthy underbelly of London’s sex work industry.

This book examines the sometimes terrible truth behind one woman’s psyche and what our traumas create to help us cope.

Did I love this book? Sadly not. And I’ll tell you why:

The first half of the book was seriously difficult to follow. I wasn’t sure what I was reading, who was speaking and could not keep track of all of the characters.

The characters in this story felt like they only existed in a therapeutic setting or at the strip club. We didn’t learn about about them or their lives for them to truly feel real. Simply put, they did not come to life on the page.

That said, I really got into the psychological aspect of this book. I wanted more of it! I was fascinated by the exploration of Dissociative Identity Disorder in tandem with the very real and very scary sex work industry.

It was at times terrifying and exhilarating while also being full of sorrow.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for providing me with an advance copy of this book to read and review.

#TheEighthGirl #NetGalley

Focusing on the life of Alexa Wu, a woman living with Dissociative Identity Disorder. We follow her day to day life - including her therapy appointments and her various personalities. There's also a story line with Alexa's friend Ella working at a gentleman's club which at first, Alexa hated, but then she starting to spend more and more time.

With a past history of sexual abuse, the added stress and increasing danger affects Alexa and her personalties more and more. This is a dark look at mental health and mental diseases.

Thanks to netGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I really struggled with this one. It was so hard to figure out all the different personalities and who was who, let alone distinguish between the names Ella and Anna, and also calling Ella her Reasoning.

I actually found that I enjoyed the therapist's chapters much more because at least they mainly made sense to me, but his were even confusing at times, especially when he would talk.about other characters. Alexa's chapters were too hard to distinguish or even realize what was going on most of the time. I found myself skimming through a lot of this, which is something I've barely ever done in the past. There were honestly just too many characters in this for me and I didn't feel like it was written in the kind of manner to give you a heads up about who you were suddenly reading about when it wasn't Alexa, either in her own chapters or in her therapist's.

I had been so excited to read this. It seems like DID is a popular topic right now among books and I'm loving them. But I couldn't even finish this one. I had to give it up. I realized that there didn't seem to be much of an intriguing plot, other than Ella's immersion in the Electra club and her therapist's take on her. I could have easily read an entire book from his perspective on her (though I could care less about his personal life, like with his girlfriend or sobriety) or even from the perspective of Ella, looking in. But, as it was, this book just wasn't for me. I'll probably give the Netflix show a try and then maybe try to finish the book later to see if I can get a different take on it.

There's a lot going on in this novel of a young woman dealing with dissociative identity disorder. Alexa suffers from the problem as a result, perhaps, of childhood abuse and regularly sees Daniel, her therapist, who has issues in his personal life. She's tapering off her meds (not a good ides imho) and thus her "flock" of people are appearing more often in her life. Her bff Ella has discovered a sex trafficking ring at the club where she works- and Ella and Alexa (along with the flock) decide to break it up. Whew. Parts of this are more appealing that others. Chung's expertise in mental health is of great benefit in the scenes between Daniel and Alexa (as well, one assumes wrt DID). Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. It's got an interesting premise and is a fast paced read.

There were things that I liked and things I didn't like so much about this book.

I loved how well the author portrayed the treatment process from the point of view of the therapist, and the reality of dealing with mental illness. SO MANY books get this wrong! I shouldn't be surprised, since the author is a practicing therapist herself. I liked the interactions between her various personalities.

I was expecting a suspenseful thriller. Most books that I've read that use this description hook me from the first page, to the point where I find myself flipping pages and unable to put the book down. This book didn't really do that for me. Much of the book was incredibly slow-moving, and there really wasn't much action until the last 10-15% of the book, which was disappointing to me. Also, I would have expected more than 2 plot twists. It felt like I kept waiting and waiting ... and waiting .... for something, anything to happen. However, I continued to have to wait until close to the end. If this wasn't a book I had committed to reviewing, I probably would have stopped reading long before any suspense had occurred.

I was so excited to read this based on the premise and the fact it’s already being developed by Netflix into a series...but unfortunately I found this one difficult to get into. I ended up DNF’ing this one almost halfway through, and I think the big issue with this book for me is that is it way too long and there isn’t enough of a plot that happens in it to justify its length. That said, I’m still very interested in the Netflix show to see what they do with it.

When I read about this book I was so excited to read it. Unfortunately I just couldn’t get into it. This is a dis not finish for me.

The Eighth Girl was interesting. It's not like most books I read. This followed a girl with multiple personality disorder, through her visits with her psychologist, and other interactions that got more dangerous or disturbing. It also followed the psychologist, how he's affected by their meetings, his other struggles as well.

I'll admit I kept trying to figure out the title and failed until it was revealed. Some parts of this were like I said, disturbing, some were sad, and at times it could be confusing. But it was a pretty good unique read.

Honestly, the only thing I found interesting about this one was that the main character has DID. It is clear that the author is familiar with this topic, or did a lot of research. The story itself, however, is pretty predictable which would not have been such an issue if it was not so long.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Alexa suffers from DID (multiple personalities) after years of sexual abuse from her father at a young age. She refers to her others as ‘the Flock,’ and relies on them in times of stress, denial, or exhaustion. Oneiroi, Runner, Dolly, and the Fouls are her primary others and each exude different traits that help Alexa cope.

Daniel is a psychotherapist working in a mental hospital. When Alexa presents telling him she doesn’t like labels and wants to taper off her antipsychotic medications, it’s clear to Daniel that there’s more going on with Alexa. As Alexa gains trust in Daniel and endures increasing stress in her personal life, the Flock begins to show itself.

Alexa, following her best friend Ella, finds herself frequenting Electra - a seedy strip club where Ella is working to save for an apartment. The owner, Navid, is manipulative and controlling, wielding power over the women for sex and devotion. When Alexa and Ella learn that Navid is part of a trafficking sex ring with underage girls, the women band together to try to perform an inside job to take him down.

The increasing danger and stress has a tremendous impact on Alexa’s emotional and mental state. She begins having more blackout periods where the others take over without her knowledge or control and she increasingly becomes more dangerous to herself and others. Daniel, seeing Alexa spiral and grappling with his own personal feelings including lusting after one of Alexa’s alters, must decide how to intervene to protect his patient and himself.

This is a dark portrayal of mental health and abuse against women. The novel was slow to start for me but once it gained traction with the trafficking storyline, I was hooked. If you’re interested in psychological disorders and enjoy an unreliable narrator, this is absolutely for you! I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this and will definitely be looking for more work by this talented author.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

Alexa Wú, the protagonist of Maxine Mei-Fung Chung’s The Eighth Girl, is one of the most damaged characters I’ve ever encountered. Abuse at the hands of her father caused her to develop dissociative identity disorder (a very rare and still controversial condition). Years later, Alexa tries to get ahead, for once in her life. She has prospects as a photographer and a plum job helping a photojournalist…but she just can’t say no when Ella, her best friend, draws Alexa into the world of human trafficking and sexual exploitation. This book is not an easy read. Not only does it contain a good half-dozen topics that warrant trigger warnings, but Alexa’s fractured mind means that she is a supremely unreliable narrator. We can never forget that everything Alexa says needs to be verified before you can trust it.

I almost gave up on The Eighth Girl in its first chapters. I found its initial approach to mental illness to be facile. (There were also far too many paragraphs of not always relevant backstory wedged into the main narrative in the first chapters.) Alexa is a veteran of years of therapy, which means that her appointments with the book’s other protagonist, Daniel Rosenbaum, are stilted. It isn’t until Alexa and Daniel start to trust each other (well, until a majority of Alexa’s alters start to trust Daniel) that the book starts to improve. These appointments anchor the book while Alexa and Ella get sucked into the awful world of the Electra Club and Daniel struggles with his sobriety. The ending is incredibly well written and, I think, more than makes up for the wobbly beginning.

The Eighth Girl has some very interesting things to say about honesty, the boundaries between patients and their therapists, and how very divided a person can be even within themselves. Not to make light of dissociative identity disorder, but I think all of us are familiar with the feeling of showing different parts of our personalities to the people we spent time with. There is also the fact that we sometimes lie to ourselves about parts of our personality that we don’t like or things we’ve done that we’re ashamed of to minimize negative feelings. Being a witness to Alexa and Daniel’s actions is interesting, but uncomfortable reading. There were many passages when I wanted to yell at Alexa’ because she makes so many terrible decisions. At other times, I wanted to smack Daniel upside the head because of his reluctance to challenge Alexa and intervene when she makes her worst decisions.

Unfortunately, for me, The Eighth Girl suffered in comparison to the excellent series The United States of Tara—where the protagonist with dissociative identity disorder is acted by the brilliant Toni Collette. The United States of Tara is leavened with humor and normalcy often enough that, when things do get dark, it feels like there’s something real at stake. The Eighth Girl goes to so many dark places, so often, that it gets overwhelming. It reads more like a train wreck than anything else. It’s not fair of me to compare Chung’s work to that of the team that wrote The United States of Tara. The problem is that the Diablo Cody series got into my head first; I can’t not compare other stories featuring dissociative identity disorder to Tara.

Alexa is a smart girl. And deeply troubled. But from the onset, as we get to know her, her stepmom Anna who stuck by her side even after her father left them, and her best friend Ella who also stuck by her side when others may have found her strange, Alexa seems to be working hard to live with and maybe even ultimately overcome her multiple personality disorder.
Her therapist, Daniel, is a strange bird too. He seems to deeply care about his patients, but also seems to lack a maturity and a knowledge of what a really healthy doctor/patient relationship looks like. Still, he cares about Alexa and wants to help.
Alexa, understandably so, is a bit stunted socially. So she follows Ella around like a little bird, even when Ella is walking all over her. So when Ella takes a job as a waitress as a strip club, Alexa also gets sucked into the unsavory and seedy underbelly of the club.
On one hand, Alexa is working hard as a photographer’s assistant to build a strong legitimate career, and on the other, she is dating a bartender who may be involved in pornography, oh, and also sex trafficking. It’s not good.
The Eighth Girl was an interesting read, but I had a hard time staying focused on exactly what was going on. Flash. What exactly was going on with Daniel and who the heck was in charge of Ella’s mind. And what was the timeline again? Flash.
I think it was supposed to be confusing to a point, because can you imagine having eight personalities? My husband gets confused by just me. But it went a little foo far for me. I will say I was genuinely surprised by some of the plot twists.

Three stars for me. As the description indicates the primary aspect of the book is that the main character has multiple personalities. We are able to get to know each personality and that personalities specific wants, needs, and desires. Admittedly, this is not a typical read for me, but I was intrigued after reading the description of this book. Overall this book moved at a decent pace and is told between the main character is perspective as well as her therapist. The ending was somewhat unexpected, but there were aspects I was able to predict. I cannot exactly pinpoint why this is three stars for me other than I don’t feel as though the topic of multiple personality as well as the unexpected investigation in the story meshed. For me it was kind of a mishmash of information and storytelling. Almost as though two separate stories were mixed together to create one. Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

A young woman must use all of her resources to save her friend from an unscrupulous man. This young woman is also suffering from multiple personalities. The unusual premise of this book makes this young woman the hero instead of the victim although her journey to this point has been anything but smooth. Maxine Mei-Fung Chung has given our hero many handicaps that she must turn around in order to save her only friend and learn how to put her shattered selves back together. It is hard to write how well written the story is without giving away some of the major events in the book but the pacing and depth of the young women's friendship kept me reading long after I should have gone to bed.

Alexa Wú is a young woman who suffers with Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID). Alexa, the host, attempts to manage her other personalities, whom she refers to as the flock, carefully keeping them safely in her head (the nest) until it's appropriate for them to surface. Allowing the others to take control causes Alexa to lose time, leaving her uncertain of what she has done. In an attempt to keep the flock safe, Alexa has only shared her condition with the three people whom she can trust: Anna her stepmother, Ella her best friend, and Daniel her new therapist. When her best friend Ella takes a new job at a gentlemen's club, Alexa inadvertently discovers the club owner’s illegal activity. In order to save her friend, Alexa will need the help of the flock...but not everyone in the nest has her safety in mind.

The Eighth Girl is an interesting new thriller about a young woman living with multiple personalities. Most of the personalities were created to protect her after a childhood trauma, but there are some that wish to do her harm. Alexa has to decide who to trust when she gets tangled with a club owner who takes pleasure in corrupting and abusing those he sees as his property. Alexa's new therapist, Daniel, is struggling with vices of his own which complicates his relationship with her and clouds his judgement. As each of the personalities seeks his help he has to search for the truth in order to help her. Although the plot was interesting something about it just didn't keep me engaged...very Freudian in nature. I also guessed the twist of the novel pretty early in the story. The novel does contain material that may be triggers for some readers including: childhood trauma and the rape and abuse of both women and children. Overall I liked this novel and feel that many readers will find it very enjoyable and more compelling than I did.

I received an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review!

I thought I would love this book. Afterwards I checked the reviews because I thought it was just me. It felt like it didn’t live up to the description.

Thank you for the opportunity to read and review an advanced copy of The Eighth Girl. I was immediately attracted to this novel by the premise of Alexa and her diagnosis of Dissociative Identity Disorder. I love the fact that the author is a psychotherapist and was writing about themes she studies and works with. I enjoyed reading about Alexa and being introduced to a character made unique by her multiple personalities. However, I did not enjoy the book overall. I found the purpose of the book confusing and the plot lacking in elements that make up a thriller. I thought it read like more of a character study on mental illness and the exploitation of women than a psychological thriller.

After reading the synopsis one can easily gather that The Eighth Girl is going to be a dark novel and touch on tough subject matter. However, this was a lot more sinister and intense than I was expecting. The predatory and exploitational nature of this book is a lot to take in. At times the depravity was too much and I felt like there wasn’t a balance between the dark subject matter and the plot as a whole.

I think this is the type of book that appeals to a very specific audience. Yet, I don’t know who that is and so I don’t know to whom I would recommend this book. I think Mei-Fung Chung started off with an interesting concept and so even though I didn’t like this book I will check out any book she writes in the future.

I tried to get into this book, but every time I picked it up, I wanted to put it back down. I didn't care about the characters enough to push through, which is dissapointing because I was genuinely hooked by the premise. I ended up deciding not to finish this book when I was about 20% through.

I am not publicly sharing my review on Goodreads because I don't think it's fair to rate a book in a place like that if I haven't finished it.