Review: The Girl She was Before by Jess Kitching

Jess Kitching weaves critical issues whilst brilliantly carving a great crime/ mystery novel in The Girl She Was Before

Photo credits: Nabihah Plaatjes

As someone who is able to deduce or guess possible suspects, even I was taken aback when I finished this book. The author's skilful writing had me considering possible conspiracy theories, yet in the end, I was blown away with her ability to somehow pull the wool over my eyes.

It was an incredible feeling to finish a book that not only managed to achieve this, but to display the actual reality of society without sugar-coating issues, and narrating it exactly how it is in the world today!

Jess Kitching delves into bullying in ALL aspects: Teen, Adult and Cyber-bullying. At times, the bullying chapters were so intense that my insides felt as if they wanted to curl up and cry. However, it is with this intensity and realness that allows you to understand the long term effects as well as the impact that bullying has on a person, as well as society as a whole. 

I cannot emphasize enough how well written and "real" this novel is:

The fact that everyone turns a blind eye to bullying whether it's a child, an adult, or it's online; is so indicative of real life because I know from experiences, that people do not give a "shit" (mind the language), if it's not happening to them.

The characters also portrayed relatable people, so much so, that I felt the urge to slap some of them for their blatant disregard to recognise their own privilege! (I won't tell you who now, but once you read the book, please let me know so we can chat about it! :) )

The Girl She Was Before also touches on the topic of social media influencers and their lives... and livelihood, so if you are keen to understanding some aspect of influencers, have a read.

Overall, I can honestly say that I loved this book and at one point I got so annoyed that I'm not getting a chance to finish it, by getting interrupted (with real life ); that for the last few chapters, I stayed up until midnight reading alone in the dark while everyone was asleep, even though I needed to wake up the next morning at 5am! 

I love that the author throws me off completely! 5/5

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