We know Birdie’s fate from page one, but it’s how she gets to that point is what the whole story is about. It is told from several POV and switched from first to third person often, which was kind of jarring until you get used to it. The story builds and the tension ramps up as well go through her life and those that are directly impacted by choices she makes that lead to her death. It is a well done YA domestic mystery that asks a lot of questions about conscience. There’s not really only big “gotcha” thrill moments because the murder has already happened, but it is quite fascinating to watch it all unravel.
If you like stories of working class women who try to better themselves but keep getting dragged down by the wrong men and are intrigued by the judicial system that favors the rich and is harder on the poor, you will be flying through this. The narrator also did a great job of keeping the story interesting and lively, even without big twists and turns.
Thanks to Atlantic Monthly Press and NetGalley for this arc in exchange for my review.

Normally I do not like finding out who the murderer is early on in the story; however, this book is the exception! In the first line we learn that a high school student was murdered and who did it. However, the story goes on to tell the build-up to the murder and the fall-out that occurs afterwards. This story was so interesting and the backstory is a little infuriating. The murderer is not likeable and makes you think about how vulnerable an age high schoolers are at. The audiobook narrator, Sara Young, does a great job reading this book and telling the story.

Ocean State by Stewart O’Nan is an interesting character study about the murder of a teenage girl and the events that lead up to it. The story is set in 2008 in a small, working class coastal town in Rhode Island. As someone who lives in neighboring Massachusetts, I appreciated the local references. The story follows sisters, Angel and Marie; and Birdy, who attends high school with Angel. Angel and Birdy become entangled because it comes out that they are seeing the same boy, Myles.

Overall the story was fascinating, but I felt a little distant from the characters. We know who did what at the very start, but we learn about the characters involved. It was more literary fiction than mystery, kind of like Celeste Ng’s Everything I Never Told You. Ocean State is snapshot in time that provides a picture into what motivates us and our strengths and shortcomings as people. I listened to the audiobook, which was perfectly narrated by Sara Young. I really liked the tone of her voice and it fit well with the characters.

Thank you Grove Press + Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for providing this ebook / audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

This book really blew me away. The characters were so real and relatable. The writing was stellar and never once did I think it was slow or want to put the book down. As this story is told through four different perspectives, I usually have a character’s perspective I like slightly more than another’s but in this book, they all equally held their own and had me captivated. The scary thing is as 44 years old now, I could see a little of myself in each of the 4 POVs so maybe it’s why this book affected me the way it did but I got emotional at the end- not because the end was overly sad but because the book was over and I wanted more.

This premise behind this book and the plot is unlike anything I’ve ever read before and it is so refreshing when reading a lot of mystery/thriller books because they tend to all use a recycled storyline making adjustments here and there to make it their own. This was new and fresh and exciting.

I was fortunate to receive an advance listener copy of this book and the audio was great, The narrator really was perfect for the voices even though there really wasn’t much variation between the characters- there really didn’t need to be and each chapter made it clear early on whose POV we were listening to. Also 3 out of the 4 characters were related- 2 sisters and one their mother so you would expect similar voices anyway.

I really thought this book was genius. I think Stewart O’Nan nailed feelings of first love and jealousy in teenage girls and how their lives revolve around a boy. I think he also nailed what it is like being a single mother in a blue collar New England neighborhood trying to find time for yourself while also raising your children and even how the community looks at you with disdain and distances themselves from you when something like this happens even before anyone is found guilty in court and socioeconomic differences when it comes to the judicial system. This is a book that will stay with me for a long, long time.

Hmm, so this is listed as mystery/thriller, but feels more like YA fiction. The first sentence reveals who has been killed and who is at least partially to blame. Sure, there's a little mystery as to why/how the girl is killed, but I never felt like the story was developed enough to make me believe this love triangle would end in tragedy. This is the story of love-struck teenagers and the problems of those around them. In the end, it was okay but I just never connected with the characters to make be believe or care about the story. Perhaps a younger audience would be a better fit.

Thanks to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for the ALC in exchange for my honest review.