The Guest by Emma Cline

Back of the Book

Summer is coming to a close on Long Island, and Alex is no longer welcome…

One misstep at a dinner party and the older man she’s been staying with dismisses her with a ride to the train station and a ticket back to the city. With few resources, but a gift for navigating the desires of others, Alex stays on the island. She drifts like a ghost through the gated driveways and sun-blasted dunes of a rarefied world, trailing destruction in her wake.

Taut, sensual and impossible to look away from, The Guest captures the latent heat and potential danger of a summer that could go either way for a young woman teetering on the edge.

Book Review

I absolutely adored this book, I mean, like 95% of it was pure literary magic! It had me completely enthralled on a sunny Sunday afternoon, and I devoured the pages in my quest to discover Alex’s fate. The way the author portrayed this young girl, who seemed to be used and discarded by almost everyone she crossed paths with, was simply captivating.

But let’s get real – the ending, oh, the ending, it’s the one that left me feeling like I’d been thrown a curveball. I was riding this exhilarating rollercoaster of emotions, and then suddenly, I found myself plummeting down a steep drop. It’s one of those books where the author leaves the fate of the characters up in the air, and honestly, I’m not a huge fan of that style. I went from this beautiful high to a crushing low in the blink of an eye.

What truly stings is how much I connected with Alex. It’s remarkable how little we actually know about her, yet I was so invested in her journey. She was this enigmatic character, and I genuinely cared about what would happen to her. And then, bam! The ending just left me scratching my head, wondering why the author chose to wrap it up that way. It was like my excitement and anticipation had been unceremoniously deflated.

In a nutshell, “The Guest” by Emma Cline was an incredible read up until those final pages. It had me on the edge of my seat, my heart racing for Alex. I would have undoubtedly given it a solid five-star rating if not for the puzzling ending. I wish I could fathom the author’s reasoning behind it because it left me yearning for a more satisfying conclusion, aching for more closure and resolution. Nevertheless, I won’t deny that this book was a whirlwind of emotions, and despite my disappointment with the ending, it’s a story that will stick with me for quite some time.

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