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This was basically what I expected, and a lot of details were given away on the podcast that made me decide to read it.

Crystal was vulnerable and lacked a strong male presence in her life. Hugh is a narcissist who lacked human connection and took advantage of vulnerable girls. Hugh lived what a teenage boy considered a fantasy but was ultimately pretty empty. None of that was a surprise, but it was interesting to hear the details. Crystal seems like a pretty good, ordinary person, but I would have liked to have heard some of the stories from other perspectives.

The writing was nothing special, but it was tight and logically arranged.

Very quick read. Short and direct.

Heard an interview with the author on a podcast and it sounded interesting. Quick read before I start my next book club pick.

Read this one in fits and starts because I was travelling for work and off my regular schedule.

Continuing my non-fiction kick.

This overall did a much better job than the movie of explaining why the central thesis MATTERED, although I think I may have enjoyed the illustrative stories more if I hadn't already seen the movie.

Most importantly, it gave me several mental tools for thinking about race and caste that will be very useful going forward. I think the tallness/shortness metaphor as a way of addressing unconscious bias will stay with me for a long time.

Some parts were less rigorous than they could have been and I think overstated causation, but that's a social science problem, not a this book problem.

Black History Month pick after seeing the movie a few weeks ago.

Very well written and, after a somewhat slow start, gets the reader very interested in the personalities and story. Cheap, Bulkeley, and Byron were all well drawn and distinct.

I enjoyed the novelistic history format and the tighter focus compared to Killers of the Flower Moon, and I was thinking four stars right up until the last fifth or so. The trial is a fizzling anticlimax. I get that it's a history book and Grann can't change what happened, but he chose the subject and the structure of the book. The trial felt like a let down after all the buildup of the shipwreck and the conflicting accounts.

I've read five novels in a row, so reading a non-fiction book I've been meaning to. Will be good to read while waiting to see if Flower Moon wins the Oscar.

The characters continued to be a delight and I enjoyed spending time with them.

The ending was strong and satisfying, although the middle third was a bit of a slog and less enjoyable than the prior two books. It took some time for the book to find its footing outside of the school setting.

The allegory was a little heavy handed and didn't always work, but I enjoyed what it was going for.

Retroactively upgrading Book 2 to five stars, because one book in the series deserves it and 2 was the best.

Liesel is best girl.