Book 23/30.
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I had initially planned to read A Map of the World by Jane Hamilton for book 23, but I switched to this as I wasn’t in the mood for a depressing Oprah’s Book Club read during ✨Leo season✨. And boyyy am I glad I made the switch because I quite enjoyed this 🤩
I watched the movie adaptation starring Angelina Jolie last year and really liked it (highkey recommend), so it was a pleasant surprise to learn that it was based on a book. I went into this with great anticipation because the book is almost always better than the movie so this was bound to be… more fire (🥁)
And more fire it was! It was teetering on the edge of 5 stars because 🔥🔥🔥 The plot and some of the characters were significantly different from the movie, but in the best of ways because (say it with me now) the book is almost always better than the movie. In fact there’s a character in the book that was cut from the movie and yooo!!! the plot twist/reveal involving them had my jaw on the floor!! The ending, which was also markedly different from the movie, damn near made me cry 🥺
The survivor aspects of the story were fascinating AF and I like to think that I picked up a few tips and tricks in case I ever find myself lost in the wilderness 😅 I also looooved how, despite being written in third person, each of the characters had a well-developed voice that let you into their thoughts and feelings. Given we are talking about six or so main characters and several minor ones, that is quite an impressive feat. It really upped the ante and made the stakes feel much higher and the suspense even more nerve-wracking.
Whether you believe that the book is almost always better than the movie, or you aren’t much of a reader and movie adaptations are more your style, I can promise you that either way Those Who Wish Me Dead is worth your time.
View all my reviews
** A guide to ratings **
1 star – did not like it
2 stars – it was okay
3 stars – liked it
4 stars – really liked it
5 stars – it was amazing
Lwile the Leo 