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The Scamp
Mysterious, chilling, and told a breakneck pace, The Scamp will thrill readers of Daniel Woodrell’s Winter’s Bone and Roxane Gay’s An Untamed State.
Rayelle Reed can’t escape in her small town, where everyone knows everything and not enough: All the guys she slept with, but not the ones she loved. The baby she had out of wedlock with the pastor’s son, and how the baby died, but not the grief and guilt that consume her. At a motel bar, Rayelle meets Couper Gale, a freelance detective on a mission to investigate a rash of missing girls, and she tags along as an excuse to cross the state line. But when Couper’s investigation leads them to the mystery surrounding Rayelle’s runaway cousin Khaki, she finds she is heading straight back into everything she was hoping to leave behind.
As fates become entwined, Rayelle must follow a haunted and twisted path—leading her toward a collision where loyalties will be betrayed, memories uncovered, and family bonds shattered. Unflinchingly dark and compelling, THE SCAMP confronts head-on the issues of family origins and the bonds between mothers, daughters, and sisters. It delves deep into the cycle of abuse and poverty, questioning, in the end, the value of any one life, child or adult.
In Pashley’s hands, the lost girls of rural and industrial America, trapped in the unforgiving systems of government assistance and single parenthood, are portrayed with depth and nuance. She exposes the ingrained poverty and atmosphere of disillusionment that damns them before they have a chance and she gives them a ray of hope for a better life ahead.
Rayelle Reed can’t escape in her small town, where everyone knows everything and not enough: All the guys she slept with, but not the ones she loved. The baby she had out of wedlock with the pastor’s son, and how the baby died, but not the grief and guilt that consume her. At a motel bar, Rayelle meets Couper Gale, a freelance detective on a mission to investigate a rash of missing girls, and she tags along as an excuse to cross the state line. But when Couper’s investigation leads them to the mystery surrounding Rayelle’s runaway cousin Khaki, she finds she is heading straight back into everything she was hoping to leave behind.
As fates become entwined, Rayelle must follow a haunted and twisted path—leading her toward a collision where loyalties will be betrayed, memories uncovered, and family bonds shattered. Unflinchingly dark and compelling, THE SCAMP confronts head-on the issues of family origins and the bonds between mothers, daughters, and sisters. It delves deep into the cycle of abuse and poverty, questioning, in the end, the value of any one life, child or adult.
In Pashley’s hands, the lost girls of rural and industrial America, trapped in the unforgiving systems of government assistance and single parenthood, are portrayed with depth and nuance. She exposes the ingrained poverty and atmosphere of disillusionment that damns them before they have a chance and she gives them a ray of hope for a better life ahead.
400 pages, Paperback
First published August 10, 2015
13 people are currently reading
1345 people want to read
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February 18, 2023
Why isn't this a bestseller?
"The Scamp" is the debut novel from Jennifer Pashley, published by Tin House Books.
The novel alternates chapters between two cousins, Rayelle and Khaki, who come from abused childhoods in the impoverished rural South.
Rayelle seeks to escape her bad family situation by hooking up with Couper, an investigative writer. Together, Couper and Rayelle travel from state to state investigating a series of gruesome murders of young girls, the subject of a book that Couper is writing. The "Scamp" of the title is the small trailer that they pull behind them on the journey.
But the term "scamp" can also be applied to just about any of the characters in this novel, which is rampant with gruesome violence, abuse, and grime. Everyone is filthy here.
I won't reveal any more about the plot. It's more of a psychological thriller than a crime novel, but it certainly encompasses both genres.
The writing is decent, although there was apparently a quotation mark shortage at Tin House Books. Maybe President Biden should release the nation's strategic reserve of quotation marks to help alleviate the situation.
Anyway, this book is a riveting thriller that is somehow well under the radar. Let's get it up above the radar, folks. Jennifer Pashley deserves some attention for her great work.
"The Scamp" is the debut novel from Jennifer Pashley, published by Tin House Books.
The novel alternates chapters between two cousins, Rayelle and Khaki, who come from abused childhoods in the impoverished rural South.
Rayelle seeks to escape her bad family situation by hooking up with Couper, an investigative writer. Together, Couper and Rayelle travel from state to state investigating a series of gruesome murders of young girls, the subject of a book that Couper is writing. The "Scamp" of the title is the small trailer that they pull behind them on the journey.
But the term "scamp" can also be applied to just about any of the characters in this novel, which is rampant with gruesome violence, abuse, and grime. Everyone is filthy here.
I won't reveal any more about the plot. It's more of a psychological thriller than a crime novel, but it certainly encompasses both genres.
The writing is decent, although there was apparently a quotation mark shortage at Tin House Books. Maybe President Biden should release the nation's strategic reserve of quotation marks to help alleviate the situation.
Anyway, this book is a riveting thriller that is somehow well under the radar. Let's get it up above the radar, folks. Jennifer Pashley deserves some attention for her great work.
August 7, 2020
”Uno dei gemelli ha la bocca cucita. beve il gin da un bicchiere da whisky con una cannuccia sottile. Suo fratello, invece, birra alla spina. Ci sono altre quattro persone nel bar e la maggior parte sono imparentate tra loro: cugini, fratelli, gemelli. Tutti, tranne me e il barista.” Ci sono già molte cose, già dall’incipit, che danno un quadro di quello che ci attende; è l’America rurale, calda e selvaggia, quella sempre in movimento, che vive o si sposta su roulottes sgangherate, che viaggia su pickup o sulla mitica Gran Torino, che mangia perlopiù cibo spazzatura e pernotta nei motel con la televisione accesa e mal sintonizzata. ”Ho passato le estati della mia infanzia in viaggio. Ho girato tutto il paese, nella Chevrolet Malibu scassata di Chuck, da un motel all’altro, fino allo Utah. Non importava che fossimo poveri, avevamo una macchina che funzionava. Ci dormivamo dentro quando non trovavamo di meglio, parcheggiati in una piazzola in sosta sotto i pini, o vicino a un laghetto per la pesca, con i finestrini aperti, ascoltando il rumore dell’acqua.”
Siamo nell’America profonda un po’ ignorante, ma spesso bigotta e benpensante, in cui le relazioni tra uomo e donna, ma anche tra genitori e figli, sono in genere relazioni di dominio e sottomissione, di violenza fisica e morale, di consanguineità per cui ”i cimiteri erano piccoli come il cortile di una casa, bocche piene di denti storti dove tutti erano imparentati tra loro e nessuno aveva più di quarant’anni” , di incesto e aborto: ”Mia madre ha avuto quattro aborti spontanei e altri tre che si era procurata. Un bambino è nato morto. mia sorella, Aubrey, è stata uccisa da un’infezione a quattro giorni dalla nascita. […] I figli avevano completamente distrutto mia madre e io ero ancora troppo piccola per capire perché continuava a rimanere incinta o perché continuava a perderli.”; chi sopravvive porta spesso grosse cicatrici e mutilazioni, non solo fisiche, ”viene da chiedersi che cosa ci si trasmetta con i legami di sangue. Che razza di condanna si affibbia a una bambina semplicemente mettendola al mondo”.
Su tutto c’è il sesso, spesso violento, subito sin da piccoli con rassegnazione e orrore, che porta a ingegnarsi su come trasformarsi per soffrirne meno o fuggirne lontano, ”per le ragazze come noi non c’è una prima volta e non c’è un’unica volta. Non c’è niente di speciale, e non c’è amore. Continua per sempre con un ciclo che ti entra nel cervello, una scopata infinita che ti spacca in due e ti trasforma le viscere in un’unica grande cicatrice.”
All’inizio di questo libro ben scritto mi chiedevo quanta tecnica di scrittura fosse alla base di questa storia che attraversa molti generi e che è stata paragonata, con molte ragioni secondo me, alla serie TV True detective (prima stagione direi). La storia e la sua narrazione però reggono assai bene, non scadono nell’esibizione pura del dolore e dell’orrore, forse perché il tono non è mai enfatico e neppure esageratamente empatico, neppure nelle scene più scabrose e truculente. Ci sono due narratrici, le cugine-sorelle Raynelle e Khaki, che si alternano a raccontare il passato e il presente che si intrecciano; sembra di stare sul bordo di un gorgo che lentamente ci trascina in modo concentrico e sempre più velocemente verso il suo punto più profondo e oscuro, che non converge verso un finale scontato, ma aperto.
Tutto subito pensavo a tre stelle per questo libro, per circospezione, ora mi viene da assegnarne 5 per avermi incollato alla pagina.
Siamo nell’America profonda un po’ ignorante, ma spesso bigotta e benpensante, in cui le relazioni tra uomo e donna, ma anche tra genitori e figli, sono in genere relazioni di dominio e sottomissione, di violenza fisica e morale, di consanguineità per cui ”i cimiteri erano piccoli come il cortile di una casa, bocche piene di denti storti dove tutti erano imparentati tra loro e nessuno aveva più di quarant’anni” , di incesto e aborto: ”Mia madre ha avuto quattro aborti spontanei e altri tre che si era procurata. Un bambino è nato morto. mia sorella, Aubrey, è stata uccisa da un’infezione a quattro giorni dalla nascita. […] I figli avevano completamente distrutto mia madre e io ero ancora troppo piccola per capire perché continuava a rimanere incinta o perché continuava a perderli.”; chi sopravvive porta spesso grosse cicatrici e mutilazioni, non solo fisiche, ”viene da chiedersi che cosa ci si trasmetta con i legami di sangue. Che razza di condanna si affibbia a una bambina semplicemente mettendola al mondo”.
Su tutto c’è il sesso, spesso violento, subito sin da piccoli con rassegnazione e orrore, che porta a ingegnarsi su come trasformarsi per soffrirne meno o fuggirne lontano, ”per le ragazze come noi non c’è una prima volta e non c’è un’unica volta. Non c’è niente di speciale, e non c’è amore. Continua per sempre con un ciclo che ti entra nel cervello, una scopata infinita che ti spacca in due e ti trasforma le viscere in un’unica grande cicatrice.”
All’inizio di questo libro ben scritto mi chiedevo quanta tecnica di scrittura fosse alla base di questa storia che attraversa molti generi e che è stata paragonata, con molte ragioni secondo me, alla serie TV True detective (prima stagione direi). La storia e la sua narrazione però reggono assai bene, non scadono nell’esibizione pura del dolore e dell’orrore, forse perché il tono non è mai enfatico e neppure esageratamente empatico, neppure nelle scene più scabrose e truculente. Ci sono due narratrici, le cugine-sorelle Raynelle e Khaki, che si alternano a raccontare il passato e il presente che si intrecciano; sembra di stare sul bordo di un gorgo che lentamente ci trascina in modo concentrico e sempre più velocemente verso il suo punto più profondo e oscuro, che non converge verso un finale scontato, ma aperto.
Tutto subito pensavo a tre stelle per questo libro, per circospezione, ora mi viene da assegnarne 5 per avermi incollato alla pagina.
April 4, 2022
The Scamp has its high points, but the ending was deeply unsatisfying.
First, I don't normally do trigger warnings, but this book needs them. Venture into the spoiler tag if you want to know.
What does it mean to be first? Like if you traced a line back through all the remembering, and found me, standing, still, at the very beginning. The first one. Everyone says, Well, who was your first? I am the first. The first one to love you. The last one to see you alive.
This is a hard one to rate. The Scamp features some beautiful writing. It's unquestionable. And I think it also has a lot of interesting thematic questions surrounding the cycle of abuse, grief, epigenetics, and motherhood.
But it made me uncomfortable - and not in a 'this book is challenging me or making me change my perspective' way. It was more 'the level of detail given to these graphic, upsetting elements, and the fact that one of the two POVs is from someone who is committing, and enjoying committing, sexual abuse and violence, makes pages actively unenjoyable.'
This does bring up interesting ideas of someone being both a victim and a perpetrator. But the execution of these ideas is decidedly unpalatable and hard to read about. I liked a lot of the other POV at least.
Also, the ending is messy and unsatisfying, frustrating and unrealistic. There's no catharsis, hardly a conclusion, and little emotional payoff. If I had known how the story would end, I don't know if I would have ever read it at all.
I also take issue with the synopsis, which includes this:
*record scratch sound effect* I'm sorry...what? A ray of hope? Hopeful is the last adjective I'd prescribe to the ending, or the book in general.
Sometimes, a girl dissipates like smoke rising up into the air. So thin, you can’t see her anymore. She becomes a cloud. You breathe her in.
Y'all. I don't know if I'd recommend The Scamp. It's technically good. Thematically it's good. Some of the character work is even good. But did I enjoy it? Not overwhelmingly so. I think I appreciate it more than I actually like it.
I just don't know if the positives are enough to overcome the story's bleakest elements and the soured ending.
First, I don't normally do trigger warnings, but this book needs them. Venture into the spoiler tag if you want to know.
What does it mean to be first? Like if you traced a line back through all the remembering, and found me, standing, still, at the very beginning. The first one. Everyone says, Well, who was your first? I am the first. The first one to love you. The last one to see you alive.
This is a hard one to rate. The Scamp features some beautiful writing. It's unquestionable. And I think it also has a lot of interesting thematic questions surrounding the cycle of abuse, grief, epigenetics, and motherhood.
But it made me uncomfortable - and not in a 'this book is challenging me or making me change my perspective' way. It was more 'the level of detail given to these graphic, upsetting elements, and the fact that one of the two POVs is from someone who is committing, and enjoying committing, sexual abuse and violence, makes pages actively unenjoyable.'
This does bring up interesting ideas of someone being both a victim and a perpetrator. But the execution of these ideas is decidedly unpalatable and hard to read about. I liked a lot of the other POV at least.
Also, the ending is messy and unsatisfying, frustrating and unrealistic. There's no catharsis, hardly a conclusion, and little emotional payoff. If I had known how the story would end, I don't know if I would have ever read it at all.
I also take issue with the synopsis, which includes this:
In Pashley’s hands, the lost girls of rural and industrial America, trapped in the unforgiving systems of government assistance and single parenthood, are portrayed with depth and nuance. She exposes the ingrained poverty and atmosphere of disillusionment that damns them before they have a chance and she gives them a ray of hope for a better life ahead.
*record scratch sound effect* I'm sorry...what? A ray of hope? Hopeful is the last adjective I'd prescribe to the ending, or the book in general.
Sometimes, a girl dissipates like smoke rising up into the air. So thin, you can’t see her anymore. She becomes a cloud. You breathe her in.
Y'all. I don't know if I'd recommend The Scamp. It's technically good. Thematically it's good. Some of the character work is even good. But did I enjoy it? Not overwhelmingly so. I think I appreciate it more than I actually like it.
I just don't know if the positives are enough to overcome the story's bleakest elements and the soured ending.
June 7, 2015
Great book! I won this on Goodreads First Reads for free.....and am I glad I did! It's a page turner....I was a little confused at first,but I stuck with it & figured it out after a few chapters. This would be a great beach read....or pool,deck,couch,bed,it's just great! Loved it!
November 2, 2020
Assaporare con piacere più di trecento pagine di omicidi, sesso e umani (ma soprattutto donne, direi) alla frontiera, sperdute e senza mappa. Io direi: ok Palahniuk puoi anche andare in pensione abbiamo Jennifer Pashley che ci rosicchia tutt* fino all'osso.
Qui la recensione completa: https://onlyapapermoonweb.wordpress.c...
Qui la recensione completa: https://onlyapapermoonweb.wordpress.c...
June 27, 2016
Shit guys, this book. I don't understand why it's not a bestseller on par with Gone Girl except maybe because it doesn't have some variation of "girl" in the title and also does have a lot of queer/lesbian relationships? Whatever, it's excellent and creepy and disturbing and suspenseful.
November 15, 2020
Ed eccolo qui il secondo titolo che voglio consigliarvi questa settimana.
Si tratta di "Il caravan" di Jennifer Pashley, edito da @carbonio_editore che ringrazio per avermi regalato un libro tanto intenso 🖤
Un thriller cupo, duro, che vi trascinerà nel fango.
Jennifer ci porta dritto nel cuore di donne ferite, che hanno fatto del dolore una ragione di vita e un compagno costantemente presente.
C'è chi fugge dal dolore, chi impara a conviverci e chi col tempo non può proprio farne a meno.
Una lettura tosta, che ho molto apprezzato, e che mi spinge a fare i complimenti all'autrice per il coraggio dimostrato nello scriverla.
Si tratta di "Il caravan" di Jennifer Pashley, edito da @carbonio_editore che ringrazio per avermi regalato un libro tanto intenso 🖤
Un thriller cupo, duro, che vi trascinerà nel fango.
Jennifer ci porta dritto nel cuore di donne ferite, che hanno fatto del dolore una ragione di vita e un compagno costantemente presente.
C'è chi fugge dal dolore, chi impara a conviverci e chi col tempo non può proprio farne a meno.
Una lettura tosta, che ho molto apprezzato, e che mi spinge a fare i complimenti all'autrice per il coraggio dimostrato nello scriverla.
June 22, 2016
Unsatisfying ending :(
couldn-t-finish
November 11, 2015I was intrigued but got bored quickly. I wasn't a fan of the style of writing and was easily confused. Moving on.
September 20, 2022
I loved the absolute raw story here. It keeps you guessing and on the edge of your seat! Not for the faint of heart, but I'd assume every woman out there can relate with at least one aspect of this book, whether you say it out loud or not. I'm a little unsatisfied with the last chapter, but I guess all good things have to come to an end. Highly recommend!
August 4, 2015
Jennifer Pashley is able to weave a fantastic thriller, even while telling us from the beginning 'whodunnit.' The reader follows a dual narration, walking in the footsteps of both the pursuer and the pursued. From Rayelle's perspective, we explore the concepts of motherhood, family, and her evolving understandings of the self while traveling with an investigative journalist on a search for missing girls. On the other side of the story, we stand stock still in Khaki's world, afraid to move a muscle while watching her systematically 'care' for lost women in need. Pashley's skills as a writer truly thrive in Khaki's chapters. She digs deep into the convoluted history and mind of this female serial killer, creating a frightening mash-up of horror and wonder at her actions. Pashley finds ways to investigate womanhood in this poor, Southern landscape by tracing the different forms a girl's relationships can take and how they can grow and shatter.
October 14, 2015
When I read the description of this book, I thought I would love it as I love murder thrillers (Gone Girl, The Girl on the Train, etc.), but I could not get into this book. Reading this book made me question my reading comprehension skills - I felt like I couldn't follow along with the story and couldn't relate to the characters at all. From the other reviews, it seems like many people enjoyed it, but I couldn't get into it. It was a struggle to finish and had a really lackluster ending.
September 12, 2022
4.5 rounded up to a 5 star rating. The Scamp was a thrilling read, with poetic writing and a haunting message. It delves deep into the darkest parts of a child's impressionable mind and the different kinds of monsters trauma can create. If you're looking for a fast-paced psychological thriller, look no further than The Scamp.
March 5, 2023
4,5 stelle per la scrittura, 1 stella per il finale, peccato peccato, come se l'editore avesse intimato all'autrice di non superare la quantità concordata di pagine. Che delusione...
September 26, 2023
Bella la scrittura, troppo carica la storia, deludente il finale.
August 17, 2015
This was a very edgy and bleak book about two very damaged women told in alternating chapters- one by 23 year old Rayelle, whose baby died the previous year, and the other by her cousin, Khaki, who left home 6 years earlier and now finds and helps women in trouble.
When a writer comes to town investigating a string of disappearances, including one of a girl who was never seen again about the same time Khaki left, Rayelle leaves with him and they travel to the many different towns that the girls were last seen in to gather more information. For the most part they stay in a scamp- a pop up camper they trail behind them in Couper's car.
This is no surprise (it is disclosed at the beginning of the book)
Couper and Rayelle, unbeknownst to them) are tracking Khaki who is a serial killer of girls and women who are damaged from abuse and are at their most vulnerable.
Khaki is quite explicit in her exploits and killings of them. She has a history of horrific abuse herself and one can't help sympathizing with her own story; but her actions are truly chilling.
While Rayelle might have had a much better childhood, the tragic death of her daughter leaves her guilt ridden and in a state of numb grief. Rayelle and Couper are intimately involved almost from the beginning (he is 30 years older than her). We learn of Rayelle's promiscuity and alcohol abuse growing up and the depravity of living with her mom in their trailer home. Rayelle clearly has her own issues. And then there's her relationship with her cousin Khaki...
As Couper and Rayelle get closer to finding Rayelle, I felt the tension build and was very interested to see how it would play out, but the ending really felt flat and I in turn, was disappointed. Still, the book was well written and was at times suspenseful. That being said, it very disturbing and included: incest, abortion and detailed descriptions of how Khaki killed and disposed of her victims.
When a writer comes to town investigating a string of disappearances, including one of a girl who was never seen again about the same time Khaki left, Rayelle leaves with him and they travel to the many different towns that the girls were last seen in to gather more information. For the most part they stay in a scamp- a pop up camper they trail behind them in Couper's car.
This is no surprise (it is disclosed at the beginning of the book)
Couper and Rayelle, unbeknownst to them) are tracking Khaki who is a serial killer of girls and women who are damaged from abuse and are at their most vulnerable.
Khaki is quite explicit in her exploits and killings of them. She has a history of horrific abuse herself and one can't help sympathizing with her own story; but her actions are truly chilling.
While Rayelle might have had a much better childhood, the tragic death of her daughter leaves her guilt ridden and in a state of numb grief. Rayelle and Couper are intimately involved almost from the beginning (he is 30 years older than her). We learn of Rayelle's promiscuity and alcohol abuse growing up and the depravity of living with her mom in their trailer home. Rayelle clearly has her own issues. And then there's her relationship with her cousin Khaki...
As Couper and Rayelle get closer to finding Rayelle, I felt the tension build and was very interested to see how it would play out, but the ending really felt flat and I in turn, was disappointed. Still, the book was well written and was at times suspenseful. That being said, it very disturbing and included: incest, abortion and detailed descriptions of how Khaki killed and disposed of her victims.
February 2, 2016
The narrator of this audiobook did one thing that never stopped bugging me--the voice she used for the main male character was awful. It sounded so fake and jarring that it left a lasting negative impression. Other than that one voice the narration was fine.
The book's content was interesting--all kinds of incest, family secrets, serial murder, and tragedies galore. I like the way Jennifer Pashley writes--some of her phrasing is exquisite--she details ugliness in a truly beautiful way. I am anxious to read more of her work--I just ordered a book of her short stories. I thought the ending of THE SCAMP was a little weak, I wanted more resolution, but I found the book satisfying overall.
The book's content was interesting--all kinds of incest, family secrets, serial murder, and tragedies galore. I like the way Jennifer Pashley writes--some of her phrasing is exquisite--she details ugliness in a truly beautiful way. I am anxious to read more of her work--I just ordered a book of her short stories. I thought the ending of THE SCAMP was a little weak, I wanted more resolution, but I found the book satisfying overall.
July 29, 2015
In this provocative first novel about a female serial killer who "rescues" abused girls, you can't help but feel a little sorry for the serial killer. The dueling narratives are perfectly crafted to feel like the two characters are equally hot mess trainwrecks on a collision course towards each other. This book is not for everyone - some would say it is dirty and scandalous and nasty. I would say it's raw and gritty and unapologetic. Either way, it's not one I could put down or stop thinking about.
December 3, 2015
The Scamp is riveting look at two cousins and the quest to find a serial killer. Excellent, intriguing female characters form this dark, gritty, and compelling storyline. Pashley writes elegant, beautiful sentences that reveal a fast-paced, satisfying mystery and crime story of murder, love, family, and the myriad of ways people can hurt one another. You'll find yourself speeding through this novel. It will keep you up late, have you crying in public while reading, and end with you recommending it to everyone you know.
September 27, 2018
I’m sorry, but did I read the same book as the people giving this a good review ? Awful. Waste of time. I was so interested and yes, it was a page turner but in the end it was nothing but a disappointment. I kept waiting for something crazy and mysteries to happen but in reality it was just some sick twisted girl who liked to murder other girls because she was mad at her real sister and father for what was horribly done to her. Like I said this book had potential but it didn’t quite meet up to it . I feel like I need to go take a shower after reading this book!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 3, 2016
I thought this was going to be a mid-twenties booze and sex pseudo memoir. Soon I realized there was a dead baby at the heart of it.
Blerg.
I have opinions about the use of dead babies in plots.
But, it turned out to be much more complicated than that. The author toggles between two narrators, rather successfully. Many beautiful descriptions of lost girls.
An unexpected sort of murder mystery.
Very enjoyable and transporting even if I didn't like the last scene.
Blerg.
I have opinions about the use of dead babies in plots.
But, it turned out to be much more complicated than that. The author toggles between two narrators, rather successfully. Many beautiful descriptions of lost girls.
An unexpected sort of murder mystery.
Very enjoyable and transporting even if I didn't like the last scene.
September 28, 2015
Any half-decent writer can write a whodunit, but it takes skill to write a suspenseful book when the killer is known–and one of the two narrators. This book is dirty, gritty, dark. It’s graphic and violent, with incest, blood, and abuse on every other page. Rayelle is a great character, and Pashley writes her perfectly. The prose is straightforward: no frills, no tricks. Couldn’t put it down.
June 29, 2015
I had won this book in a Goodreads sweepstakes. Although it's slow when you first start reading it, once you get towards the middle of the book it picks up pretty fast. I enjoyed reading the two characters stories & how they connected. I'd recommend reading this book.
April 13, 2019
Good set up, middle dragged on and on, ending was very rushed and unsatisfying. Also, not nearly as mysterious as the breathless blurbs would have you believe. A very mediocre contribution to an already overcrowded sub-genre.
February 5, 2021
Would recommend to someone who likes thrillers but wants to experience something different, as it is not a thriller per se
Didn’t like the fact that it was clear since half way what was going on but liked the turn in the last few pages
Didn’t like the fact that it was clear since half way what was going on but liked the turn in the last few pages
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 16, 2017
Very poorly written. It was difficult to get in a grove with the writing style. Didn't even finish it.
May 23, 2017
A savage, unflinching book. One of my new faves.
August 30, 2017
Disclaimer: I kind of barely knew Jennifer back in college (out of respect for her, I won't say how long ago!) - she was a friend of a friend. And we have not interacted at all since then.
Whooo, how to talk about this without giving anything away?
Once I got started, I read this book for Rayelle, one of the main characters. I enjoyed her POV chapters and the reveal of her personality and story. I was never able to connect with Khaki, the other main character - maybe because I couldn't find any common ground with her. I could never understand her motivation, even after it was more-or-less revealed.
I found Pashley's style jarring at first, but once I accepted it as a conversation, I found it easier to follow and more comfortable. So stay with it, any grammarians out there!
"Scamp" here is not used in the sense of "lovable little scamp", so get a sense of what the book is about before you dive into it, as I suspect that it won't be everyone's cup of sweet tea.
Overall, I liked it - I was always eager to keep reading, to keep learning about these people.
Whooo, how to talk about this without giving anything away?
Once I got started, I read this book for Rayelle, one of the main characters. I enjoyed her POV chapters and the reveal of her personality and story. I was never able to connect with Khaki, the other main character - maybe because I couldn't find any common ground with her. I could never understand her motivation, even after it was more-or-less revealed.
I found Pashley's style jarring at first, but once I accepted it as a conversation, I found it easier to follow and more comfortable. So stay with it, any grammarians out there!
"Scamp" here is not used in the sense of "lovable little scamp", so get a sense of what the book is about before you dive into it, as I suspect that it won't be everyone's cup of sweet tea.
Overall, I liked it - I was always eager to keep reading, to keep learning about these people.
August 3, 2025
Good writing style, beautiful images, clever thoughts, realistic
descriptions of a certain social class. But: the story is unbalanced. We have two main characters: the first one, Rayelle, that is interesting, perfectly round and fun to read and the second one, Khakhi, rather flat too bloody and too mean to be able to really entertain a reader. I found that there were too many victims and too many killings. In the end Khakhi does become a little more interesting, but there are some central chapters that I found immensely boring. When I was reading Khakhi I couldn't wait to change to Rayelle. There is moreover too little stylistic change between the two. The author should have worked more on Khakhi to make her more real.
Bad ending. I haven't enjoyed it at all.
descriptions of a certain social class. But: the story is unbalanced. We have two main characters: the first one, Rayelle, that is interesting, perfectly round and fun to read and the second one, Khakhi, rather flat too bloody and too mean to be able to really entertain a reader. I found that there were too many victims and too many killings. In the end Khakhi does become a little more interesting, but there are some central chapters that I found immensely boring. When I was reading Khakhi I couldn't wait to change to Rayelle. There is moreover too little stylistic change between the two. The author should have worked more on Khakhi to make her more real.
Bad ending. I haven't enjoyed it at all.
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