The Stillwater Girls by Minka Kent had so much potential, but the last plot twist just completely ruined the entire novel for me. Up until pretty much the very end I loved this book. I found it to be intriguing and pretty different from a lot of books I have read, but then the ending came and I just could not get behind the final plot twist that took place.
Wren is 19 years old and along with her two sisters, Sage and Evie, they were raised in the middle of the woods completely off the grid and in isolation. When Evie becomes gravely ill, their mother leaves with her to get help in a nearby town. Evie and their mother never return though. As months pass, Wren and Sage begin to run out of supplies and a brutal winter is on its way. Then one day a strange man shows up looking for their mother, but he refuses to leave without the two girls. In order to escape, Wren and Sage must break their mothers biggest rule: to never go beyond the forest. With this escape they will discover everything that has been hidden from them and all of the secrets that have left them isolated their whole lives.
Like I mentioned earlier, when I first started this novel I really enjoyed it. From the first page I was hooked in, but the biggest downfall for me was the ending. I just cannot move past that ending. It was a terrible ending. I hate to be so critical of it, but it was absolutely ridiculous. I know it is fiction, but I felt like the novel was supposed to be realistic and it just wasn’t. No matter how I thought about it I just could not wrap my head around it.
I gave this book 1.5/5 stars. I liked the beginning so that is why I did not give it just 1 star. I so wish it ended differently because I would not hesitate to recommend this book if the ending was different. At this point though, I would say not to waste your time. There are much better books out there. I don’t have anything against this author. I enjoyed her writing style and I even enjoyed most of the book. I just wish the ending had been thought out a little bit better.
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