A real page turner and great book for the holidays. A newer author to me but looking forward to reading more by this author

The Party by Robyn Harding

9781501161247

385 Pages
Publisher: Gallery, Threshold, Pocket Books, Gallery/Scout Press
Release Date: June 06, 2017

Fiction, Literary Fiction, Mystery, Thriller

Kim and Jeff are having a sixteenth birthday party for their daughter Hannah. She has the attention of one of the most popular boys in school. That puts her on the radar of the popular girls. She is afraid her parents are going to embarrass her by having a lame party. Her friends expect alcohol, drugs, and sex. When the party really gets started, an event happens that will change everyone’s lives.

The goes back and forth with the events, the characters are developed, and it is written in the third person point of view with multiple perspectives. I could not put the book down; it was that good. If you liked Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty, you will enjoy this book.

Mixed feelings on this book because it's well, mixed genres. Is this thriller? Drama? YA? Whatever it is, it fits the book club/beach read/airport lounge mood reads perfectly.

Another great read by Robyn Harding! As a parent, you want to make your kids happy. What harm can come from a party at home to celebrate a sweet 16? Things snowball quickly in this exciting story.

Unfortunately, I didn't have time to finish this book, and cannot provide substantial feedback. I really liked what I have read, and hope to finish it when I have the chance!

You know what happened in this book? A whole lot of absolutely nothing. Terrible people, boring plot and nothing ever happened. It was a bunch of build up to...nothing. And then it just sort of ended with people being terrible. This was not the book for me at all.

This was a rough one. Honestly, I couldn't get into this book. It wasn't that everyone was unlikeable, it's that over and over, every one of the adults made the absolute stupidest decision they possibly could. If there were 2 options in front of them, they would default to the dumbest choice. Every single time. There wasn't one good decision made by an adult in this entire story.

The teenagers also made some terrible choices and were complete brats, but I guess I expect that of teenagers. It's frustrating to read a story where I should care about what happened to this poor girl and everything that's resulting from the fallout, but I just couldn't bring myself to care at all.

I received a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Intertwined story about girls and adolescence! This was a well done story about teens girls and the angst they go through growing up and trying to prove themselves to their peers. I enjoyed the progress of this story as we learned more and more about the characters.
I would recommend this book to fans of mystery, YA and even crime.

BOOK REVIEW⠀
BOOK: The Party
AUTHOR: Robyn Harding
@rhardingwriter

I actually read this book a few years ago, but for some reason the review never posted. So I am redoing it now.

Ok. This was probably one of the tougher reads I have done in awhile. The characters were not likable to me and so I felt like I didn’t want to continue the book because I felt no connection or investment. But, there is a lot of this to learn from… the dangers or partying and bad choices. So read it for that if anything else.

Short Synopsis (from Goodreads):
In this stunning and provocative domestic drama about a sweet sixteen birthday party that goes horribly awry, a wealthy family in San Francisco finds their picture-perfect life unraveling, their darkest secrets revealed, and their friends turned to enemies.

One invitation. A lifetime of regrets.

Sweet sixteen. It’s an exciting coming of age, a milestone, and a rite of passage. Jeff and Kim Sanders plan on throwing a party for their daughter, Hannah—a sweet girl with good grades and nice friends. Rather than an extravagant, indulgent affair, they invite four girls over for pizza, cake, movies, and a sleepover. What could possibly go wrong?

But things do go wrong, horrifically so. After a tragic accident occurs, Jeff and Kim’s flawless life in a wealthy San Francisco suburb suddenly begins to come apart. In the ugly aftermath, friends become enemies, dark secrets are revealed in the Sanders’ marriage, and the truth about their perfect daughter, Hannah, is exposed.

I received this book for review purposes from NetGalley. ⠀

This was an interesting tale that actually hit home for me as i have a kid in the same age group as the teens in the story. I can totally see the same scenario playing out and it is in a way a wake up call. I have a boy not a girl but my son could of been one of those boys who snuck into the house. I would hope not but you never know with teens. You try your best but in the end they make some rash choices all in the name of being popular. I really appreciate how the author did not hold back on how extremely mean teens can be to one another and how quickly you can be on the outs of a popluar group of people. It also really pointed out how though the parents may of wanted to do the suing and paying out the kids in the end just wanted what was best for the injured student. Though the vindictivenss of one of the teens was quite scary and i would hope that no dad is ever put in that scary kind of light. I not sure if they will be a spin off the author did leave it open to the possiblity.

Great page turner! This book sucks you in and takes you all the way to the end! I couldn’t put it down!

I am in charge of our Senior School library and am looking for a diverse array of new books to furnish their shelves with and inspire our young people to read a wider and more diverse range of books as they move through the senior school. It is hard sometimes to find books that will grab the attention of young people as their time is short and we are competing against technology and online entertainments.
This was a thought-provoking and well-written read that will appeal to young readers across the board. It had a really strong voice and a compelling narrative that I think would capture their attention and draw them in. It kept me engrossed and I think that it's so important that the books that we purchase for both our young people and our staff are appealing to as broad a range of readers as possible - as well as providing them with something a little 'different' that they might not have come across in school libraries before.
This was a really enjoyable read and I will definitely be purchasing a copy for school so that our young people can enjoy it for themselves. A satisfying and well-crafted read that I keep thinking about long after closing its final page - and that definitely makes it a must-buy for me!

This book is a lesson in NOT giving your kids alcohol at a party, or specifically The Party. Upper middle class family suffers strong consequences both emotional and financial after an accident occurs in their own home after a few 16 years are provided alcohol by a parent. Extremely relevant to today's teens.

A sixteenth birthday. Hannah, the birthday girl, is desperate for popularity. The two girls she’s trying to impress won’t go for pizza and movies, but Hannah’s parents are strict.
When Hannah wakes her parents in the early hours of the morning, there’s been a terrible accident. One of the girls is injured. So follows a rather drawn-out process as lots of unlikeable characters wrangle over who’s to blame.
For me, every one of the girls had a level of culpability. The parents’ responses were just odd, and I don’t know if it’s the more litigious environment in which they live but it all felt quite unlikely.
We see the fall-out, the way the teens turn on each other and the way the adults fight their own neuroses through their kids.
Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with this to review.

Engrossing! I read this book in one sitting and was in suspense the entire time! I totally recommend it to anyone who loves the suspense of playing a good game of spin the bottle ;)

I could not put this book down. I started it at the hairdressers and actually asked my stylist to add a few extra services just so I could keep reading.

The is a very thought provoking novel. The many facets of the story causes the reader to really think about social conventions, and privilege. .The same things that teenagers worry about status, popularity are the same things that adults worry about in this book. The author provokes feeling, of dislike, sympathy, empathy, and compassion. The characters are very will thought out and well rounded. The story draws the reader into the story so that you want to see what happens next.

Though I liked the book, I made the decision when I finished not to review it on my site because it didn't fit into my editorial schedule. I may include it in a review post or possibly a book list post in the future.

When a sweet sixteen party goes terribly wrong, the terrible aftermath crumbles the foundations of friendships, family, and status.

This book is so full of palpable, believable tension! Harding writes people that feel so real, and I get so caught up in their stories. This was a real page turner for me, having to know what was going to happen to each character, and what truly happened at the party that night.

I felt like two of the side relationships, one involving the dad, one involving the mom, weren't as interesting and didn't ring as true. The one with the dad especially felt rushed and didn't make a lot of sense in context.

Both of Harding's books I've read I've really enjoyed and flew through because I couldn't put them down. I'm still thinking about the last chapter of The Party-it gave me actual chills.

I absolutely loved The Party. Robyn Harding wears a masterful web of 16-year-old life and all the impact 1 night can have.