I think readers will either love this book or lose steam with it like I did. It was interesting and had a lot going for it but there was so much happening with it that I felt like it was hard to keep up with, and I usually don’t have too many issues like there. There were a lot of new things, clues to pick up on, a bunch of characters (which wasn’t an issue for me but there were a number), and without a rapid pace to keep things moving, I quickly started losing interest without any reveals towards the middle. I had some Goodreads friends who loved it and from the other early reviews that felt similarly to me, it seems like we had the same issue: pacing.

While the book is suspenseful and atmospheric, I just felt like plot points took forever to come around. There’s a lot to keep readers really hyped up by providing new questions, throwing in suspicions, and having Mavi running around this creepy house, but I just felt like not a whole lot was happening for most of the book. It felt like she was getting more questions and we never got any answers until the end, which makes things a little frustrating at times.

THE TENTH GIRL goes back and forth between a couple time periods but it’s a little confusing. Mavi is at this creepy house in the 1970s but her present seems to be in the future or present day. The flashbacks are to the present but the past and yet somehow Mavi is in the past in the present. It’s enough to make your head spin for sure! It was definitely interesting to try to wrap my head around it but I feel like these kinds of plot devices really stole time away from actually getting to know all of the characters. I just really wanted to experience their personalities more and I felt like I never got to know anyone when I was spending so much time on the mystery and different time periods.

Then there was the twist at the end. I… did not like the twist in the book. There is a twist, as other readers have stated, and I found that it really took away from the whole tone and concept of the book for me. It’s one of those things where it makes you rethink the whole book, which can be really interesting, but in this case it made me feel like I was reading something totally different the whole time and not in the best way. I’m really a person who likes a cohesive feel throughout a whole book so to have a twist at the end basically change the genre, it really is irritating for me and takes me out of the whole experience.

I ended up dnfing this book at 19% I lost interest in this as I was reading it. I didn't care what was happening and I didn't want to continue to read anymore.

I don’t think I minded this book as much as a lot of other readers (a pleasant surprise for me since I didn’t care for White Fox at all). For the most part I thought this was an enjoyable (if overlong) story that—unlike a lot of Fantasy—actually gets better after the Big Reveal.

I’m guessing part of the disappointment surrounding this book is that it suffers from the common problem of being mislabeled as Dark Academia when it is actually just fantasy set at a school. The incorrect labeling inevitably sets the reader up for disappointment. But if you can get past that, it’s a pretty good story.

I’ll echo others’ complaints that it’s too long and that the characters aren’t anything great, but the premise is good, and the story arc peaks with a well-plotted twist/reveal that I didn’t guess and that worked a lot better than I would have expected if you’d just told me the basics of what it was before I actually had a chance to read the book.

I loved the setting, as End of the World/desolate and isolated environment stuff is perfect for this sort of novel, though I was a bit disappointed that it wasn’t more of a factor in the story. I didn’t necessarily need it to drive the plot, but it’s a perfect setting to create atmosphere and the book wasnt especially successful in doing that.

Still, I liked the idea behind it as well as how it sorted itself out in the end. Better than expected and definitely worth a read if you’re into the fantasy boarding school concept and/or gothic themes.

I decided not to finish this one. Slow pacing, negative treatment of indigenous peoples, pretty intense trigger warnings from other reviewers, I just had to put this one aside. This isn't really within my wheelhouse genre-wise, so I was trying to read something out of my normal comfort zone, but I think I need to do some more digging before I request gothic/horror-esque titles. I imagine this is a decent book for someone, but just not me.

I don't read much YA, but when I do, I'm hoping the book is going to throw me for a loop or make me think or give me some type of emotional response. While this book was not my favorite, there were a lot of parts that really took off and kept my attention. I just had a hard time with some of the descriptions of the tribal people and I"m still not sure how I felt about the book as a whole.

This has one of my favorite things in it- a boarding school murder. But, it was just too slow and honestly boring for me.

When Mavi arrives at her new boarding school, she tries to think of the looming, isolated, foreboding place as a new start. But despite her determination to make her way here, the Gothic trappings hinder her progress--don't go out alone at night! Don't trust the headmistress! And the students aren't terribly welcoming, nor are some of the faculty members. Know who else is not welcoming? The ghosts. They're ghosts, right? Mavi's sense of displacement, her understanding that something is off--will she be able to figure out what's going on before another girl is lost? Strengths: moody and atmospheric. Give to those who like twistiness and figuring out mysteries.

I'm the first in line for an exciting Gothic mystery/horror novel, but as I have read countless reviews from other reviewers about the blatant racism and the offensive portrayal of indigenous peoples I have chosen to not read it for myself. I do appreciate the opportunity, but this book is not for me.

This dark, gothic, YA horror novel has an interesting premise and a unique setting and is sure to appeal to teens looking for a creepy read. A few issues with pacing made it a bit challenging for me.

Bought for Young Adult department for our library. The book itself has the perfect spooky setting for the Halloween and fall season, but I wasn't a fan of the ending.

Lovely Gothic YA story! Bought it for our high school library and it's a draw for those readers looking for horror and ghost books.

I was excited to read this, but it let me down and made me happy to be finished reading it. The atmosphere was good great, but it felt like the author was trying a bit hard to have unexpected twists.

I really wanted to like this debut YA Horror novel since the concept sounded like it had so much potential. Unfortunately, it didn't really work for me overall. What I did like was all of atmosphere and the author's style in the beginning especially.

I loved this book. So spooky and written so grippingly. One of the rare titles that I could get into as a reader, not just as a librarian.

This was a rough one to get through. I was really excited about it going into reading the book but it fell flat. This book dragged and there wasn't really anything likeable about this book. I wanted to DNF this book several times but I fought through and I wish I stopped.

The synopsis was what really took in my attention, like c’mon a gothic psychological thriller sign me up.

The tenth girl opened up good and increased in speed, I loved the hunted house and the creepy school. The writing was good but then the twist towards the end really got me. I will have to say I wasn’t expecting it and the way the story was going I thought it was going to end differently but it was still written just as good as the rest of the book.

I will still recommend to psychological thriller lovers because this is just my opinion and who know you might like the ending.

Thank you to the publisher Imprint and Netgalley for proving me with a copy to review.

Unfortunately, I did not get the chance to read this ARC prior to the book's publication, and we did not end up buying it for our library collection.

This book had a wonderful haunted house, mysterious, private school story. I was disappointed at the turn the book took near the end.

I tried and tried to read this but I just couldn't Even after meeting the author while on tour, I tried again, but I don't think I can read horror/thrillers. They're just not my type of book. So this is all on me.

Well, at least I finally understand why people are furious at this book! Also, it's basically recycling the plot of three Black Mirror episodes, which is annoying.

I understand the nature of twists. I do. I'm not necessarily saying that the marketing for this book should have hinted at the Big Reveal, but I also don't think that they should have so heavily marketed this book as a historical Gothic thriller when it is...........so very much Not That. There's a line. They not only crossed it; they sprinted across it until they could no longer see it. Therein lies the problem. Or one of the problems, at least.

Here's the thing: this is a cool idea. I didn't hate the Big Reveal. I think it was interesting and called up some interesting - if cliched - questions. But I don't think that this is the sort of twist that should have been formulated into a novel. It would have worked really well as a long short story, or a novella, but not a 500-page novel. Frankly, it's ambitious and bold to craft a narrative like this even in the form of a short story, but it's just so...frustrating to read this as a novel. When you get to the Big Reveal, you kind of feel like you just wasted hours of your life, because nothing that you read mattered.

I don't have the energy to go into spoiler territory; I will say if you're interested in reading more, this 5-star review does a fantastic job of explaining the twist and why they appreciated it thematically, and while I totally understand where they are coming from and agree to an extent, I didn't really find that my appreciation of the philosophical themes brought up negated my negative reading experience.

Honestly, I thought this book was kind of a mess, with various disparate and disjointed elements failing to come together properly, with everything hinging on the Big Twist to carry it all through. It's just a messy thought experiment. The only positives are the writing, which is pretty good, and the atmosphere, which really makes you think you're wading into a Gothic thriller. I wish that's what this had been, because I really loved the historical setting, Mavi's background and experiences with the fascist Argentinian government, the oppressive nature of the school, and the odd personalities of the other characters. I'd love to see another book by Sara Faring that is just straight up Gothic horror, because she clearly knows how to write that. Shame she just...implodes all of that and renders it utterly meaningless with the Big Reveal.

Also, this is not my lane, but the portrayal of indigenous folks here.........big yikes. I 100% understand that the author was attempting to lampshade stereotypes but it doesn't work. At all. She just reinforces those stereotypes.

I was close to giving this a 3-star rating just because of the sheer originality and the subversion of expectations and because I didn't hate the slow-burn Gothic pre-twist bit, but the ending after the Big Reveal just dragged and dragged and was borderline nonsensical at times; it was the most frustrating 50 pages I've had to read in a while, so that was the nail in the coffin for me.