Tuesday, August 18, 2015

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hopkins Review

Title: The Girl on the Train
Author: Paula Hopkins
Pages: 323
Published: January 13th 2015 by Riverhead Books
Source: Library
Links: goodreads,

Rachel takes the same commuter train every morning. Every day she rattles down the track, flashes past a stretch of cozy suburban homes, and stops at the signal that allows her to daily watch the same couple breakfasting on their deck. She’s even started to feel like she knows them. “Jess and Jason,” she calls them. Their life—as she sees it—is perfect. Not unlike the life she recently lost. And then she sees something shocking. It’s only a minute until the train moves on, but it’s enough. Now everything’s changed. Unable to keep it to herself, Rachel offers what she knows to the police, and becomes inextricably entwined in what happens next, as well as in the lives of everyone involved. Has she done more harm than good?

Well... this book made me break my goal of only reading books I own or finishing series I've started. I heard so many things about this book so I had to put it on hold at the library.  It's actually quite a fast read, I think it's because they book itself has a good pace. It is similar to Gone Girl by Gillain Flynn so if you liked that one you will also like this one. The build up to what happens is pretty fun... I suppose I did guess who was going to be the bad guy.  I did get annoyed throughout the book with the whole "I can't remember" anything.  Ughhh that is what annoyed me about the The Maze Runner by James Dashner  so many questions with no answers till the very end.

The book does a great job with showing each woman's perspective (there are three women).  Rachel the main character deals with depression and alcoholism. I think as a woman reading her sections it was amazing.  Her problems with her marriage, her jobs, just a good story.  I will say though that sometimes Rachel was a little needy.  I mean... this book is based on her getting involved in a stranger's problems for no damn reason but to be in some sort of drama.   It was very Rear Window.. looking out into someone's life and becoming apart of it.

In the book there would be flash backs mixed in with the current story which worked well too.  I was confused sometimes and to which woman did this or that and had to stop and think about it.  But otherwise it was good.  I think one lesson you can take from the book is that you never know what is going on in someone's life just by looking at them.  They can look happy and fabulous but at the same time their life is a mess.

This book also made me think of my cross-country train trip on Amtrak. Well.. from Colorado to New York.  Those of us from out west don't ride trains very often.  We really don't have any.  In the bigger cities there are light rails but that's as close as we get.  Riding Amtrak for days is something all Americans should experience.  So I know how Rachel felt looking out at the tracks as you fly past houses wondering what those people in the yard are up to.  Fascinating.

5 stars


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