Giving this 3,5 for the impressive prose and the unique way the author tackled this very grim and multifaceted topic. Deducting stars for the way the book was paced (didn’t like it) and out of sheer frustration (can’t believe there was a group of boys literally dedicating their lives to worshiping these girls and not a single one of them managed to actually talk to them or at least alert the authorities since they were very obviously abused in their own home.)

Also die meiste Zeit habe ich nicht verstanden, worum es gerade geht vor allem, weil ich’s auf Englisch gelesen hab und ich fand’s auch ziemlich langweilig zu lesen, wie diese Typen die Schwestern im Haus beobachten. Zwischendurch gab’s so ein paar Stellen, die ich interessant fande, aber das waren so allerhöchstens 15 % des Buches. Ich hab auch relativ lange für das Buch gebraucht (ungefähr 1 Monat) weil ich einfach nicht die Motivation hatte, das jetzt aufzumachen und zu lesen und wenn ich gelesen hatte, hatte ich nicht das Gefühl, dass ich weiterlesen möchte, sondern hab nach 7 Seiten aufgehört. Ich hab mich auch eigentlich voll gefreut das Buch zu lesen, weil ich den Klappentext richtig interessant fand und deswegen war ich voll enttäuscht.

I kind of liked the paradox of being weirdly specific and then again completely uninformative and unhelpful at the same time. What I seriously didn't enjoy was the insight into how obsessed men can be with women. And how they idolise them and make them into something they're not. I was creeped out sooo many times. Even during their darkest time, when they obviously cried for help, they were not heard. In the end, when the boys realized they might have asked for help long ago, I got so mad. Took me a while to figure it out that the book is supposed to be a product of "extensive research" and by then I was already thoroughly disgusted and creeped out. I've never read a book with first person plural narration before. The writing was also pretty good. I just wish we could have had the girls perspective. It would be nice to see, how their feelings developed after Cecilias death and them being locked in by their parents.

I took me very long to get into the story — as soon as I had gotten into it, I was already at more than 50% of the book. The writing is very dry and at some points not well structured. The thing is, I don't really know what to say regarding this book. It didn't get me the satisfaction that I expected: discovering the truth of why the girls did what they did. This might be the whole message behind this story, not finding out about them because we as readers don't really get to know them but only the perspectives of the "collective narrator", but that simply didn't work for me. The story just didn't really get to me, emotionally as well as literarily. However, yet it does leave some sort of heavy feeling on the chest after finishing it. I find myself spiraling about what caused the girls so much pain and why they did it.

Suicides are a harsh topic, there is no denying. And yet the spark with this book didn't catch. The writing wasn't for me, at times had too much of the male gaze (intentionally or not) and was for such an interesting premise too boring. There were too many characters mentioned - and nobody tried to help the Lisbons until the neighborhood boys tried to. Which might be the most dramatic and interesting part of this book. So, yes, sadly, this just wasn't for me.

When I first read this book ( 2020, about a month into the first covid lockdown, probably also as a cry for help), I didn't really get it. And I don't feel bad about that because a) it's fairly subtle done, b) I was sixteen and c) judging by other reviews, a lot of people didn't get it either. If you like hate-able narrators and interesting perspective-choices and pretty writing and disturbing images that will stick with you for years... this book is for you. I also think this fits well with the current renaissance of sad girl reads - we stan a book for being ahead of its time - but if you read it for this reason you should be aware that this isn't the sad girls' story - yet it is. This is a book about what it feels like to be a teenage girl through the lens of a group of boys who don't get it, don't want to, don't care. It's a book about all the sh*t that boys get away with and all the sh*t girls go through from the perspective of boys, who don't realise either thing. The author is trusting you to see through it, to question it, to realise how fucked up it all is.

tw: suizid ehrlich gesagt hat mich das buch ziemlich sprachlos gelassen. ich bin mit einer ganz anderen erwartung an die geschichte herangegangen, die in keinster weise erfüllt wurde. gut gefallen hat mir die erzählperspektive aus der ersten person plural, aber das war es tatsächlich schon. dafür sind mir jedoch einige dinge sehr negativ aufgefallen: allen voran die male gaze, die sich durch den gesamten roman zieht. klar, die nachbarsjungs im wir-erzähler wussten nichts von mädchen generell und für sie waren die lisbon schwestern ein mysterium, aber das ständige fetischisieren ihrer körper, das romantisieren ihrer suizide und das schicksal der schwestern als ein rätsel zu sehen und sich dazu auch noch das deutungsrecht ihrer tode herauszunehmen, fand ich grausam. wer einen roman sucht, der jugendlichen suizid in der amerikanischen mittelschicht behandelt, sollte lieber zu [b:Thirteen Reasons Why|29844228|Thirteen Reasons Why|Jay Asher|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1555345043l/29844228._SY75_.jpg|2588213] greifen, dort wird suizid wenigstens als multikausales ereignis betrachtet und der protagonist clay hat, obwohl er in hannah verliebt war, es wenigstens geschafft, sie dennoch als mensch zu sehen und nicht nur als objekt seiner begierde oder als anekdotisches abenteuer seiner jugend. man hätte so viel aus eugenides prämisse machen können, ein differenziertes bild der schwestern zeichnen, die nachbarsjungs ausführlicher in beziehung zu ihnen stellen und anstelle einer skizze einen ausführlichen bildungsroman schreiben können, jedoch wurde diese chance hier verpasst. 2 sterne, nur, weil ich es nicht abgebrochen habe.