Cover Image: The Eighth Girl

The Eighth Girl

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This book sounded like it was going to be a fun thriller - multiple personalities are always a hit with me! But this one felt very clunky and technical, too many fancy words and not enough action at times. Overall I was left disappointed with this one.

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This is the story of Alexa Wu, a girl who suffers from DiD. Because of some serious childhood trauma she has created 'the flock' a group of personalities that help her deal with her life and her past trauma.
The book is written from two points of view, Alexa and her personalities, and Daniel, her psychiatrist.
The writing is compelling and the story very engaging. Alexa's life is still difficult and she has to deal with a lot.
There were some very unexpected turns and twists that kept me glued to the page.

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I went into The Eight Girl expecting a really dark psychological 5 star read and while it was good unfortunately I think I had my expectations set too high.

The story centres around Alexa Wu and her struggles with DID (Dissociative Identity Disorder). Quite early on we're introduced quite openly to some of her personalities. There's Runner who seems quite brutish but will always have Alexa's back, there's Dolly an adorable childlike persona who exudes pure innocence, Oneiroi the only voice of reason and The Fowls who are there to wreak havoc. This is where the book flourishes as it's fascinating to see how the personalities interact and the impact that they have, both positive and negative, on her everyday life.

Parts of the book are also told from the POV of Alex's psychiatrist Daniel Rosenstein and to be honest this is where it starts to get messy and unrealistic. It's incredibly hard to see his character as a plausible medical professional due to a host of issues including gross breaches in patient confidentiality and huge multiple crossings of many boundaries. If this was part of the storyline fair enough but this is passed off as pretty normal behaviour and not really addressed.

Overall, an interesting read but I think I would have enjoyed it so much more if it concentrated mainly on Alexa, her personalities and their origins, interactions and impacts.

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A really easy read, I raced through it. Characters were interesting and layered, a real page turner. Gripping and clever writing

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I really enjoyed this book! It is a bit slow at the beginning, but I promise it is worth it! Although it is a really hard book to read at times, as it deals with DID and trauma, it is very intriguing and I would especially recommend it to anyone who loves psychological thrillers and unreliable narrators.

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Wow! This is amazing you never know who is actually narrating in this book! The story is absolutely fascinating!

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Thank you Netgalley and publisher for giving me an arc. Wow! I love this book so much. This book has 2 point of view which are from Alexa Wu and her therapist. Alexa Wu is a girl who have a multiple personalities due to DID. As someone that never read book about DID, the storyline is fresh. However, in the middle of this book, it started to slow pace and then go back to fast pace again. The ending is marvellous. I also love the author's writing style. This book has a trigger warning. Make sure to check them first. I recommend everyone who love thriller to purchase this. Look forward for the next book from this author.

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What a fascinating read. Dark and disturbing, intricately plotted and tremendously well written. Thumbs up from me!

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I haven't read any books about DID before, I enjoyed the premise and found it to be an interesting read.

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Wow! This was stunning. I loved the writing sooo much and can’t wait to check out more from this author. Such a good thriller!

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This is an outstanding debut from Maxine Mei-Fung Chung. I loved it and literally devoured it over one weekend.

The book is written from the perspectives of two people: Alexa Wú, and her therapist Daniel Rosenstein. Alexa suffers from DID – dissociative identity disorder (previously known as multiple personality disorder), which is caused by many factors, including trauma in early childhood. Alexa experienced trauma in her childhood, and over the course of the years, she has developed eight different personalities to help her cope. She named all these personalities as the Flock. One of the personas is a young child called Dolly, and angry and resentful Runner, whose aim is to protect the Flock from any harm.

Alexa is a very talented photographer and she is currently searching for work in this field. In the meantime she works in a Chinese restaurant. She lives with her stepmother, Anna, who knows about Alexa’s condition, but doesn’t understand it. This sometimes can cause friction between the two women.

Alexa’s best friend is called Ella. She is fashionable and always searches for approval from men – something that annoys Alexa. I felt that Alexa was jealous of Ella’s beautiful looks and body. Ella finds work in a nightclub as a waitress, however, this soon turns to strip work. As you can imagine this causes a lot of resentment from Alexa, and arguments. Soon, Ella and Alexa discover that something isn’t right at the club. They begin to investigate, but find themselves in danger…

Amongst Alexa’s story, we meet Daniel, who is a therapist. He is widowed, still grieves for his late wife, but is dating a woman called Monica. As I was reading the book, I got the impression that he didn’t appear very committed to their relationship. He also has a grown up daughter, but they talk sporadically. He becomes engrossed in Alexa’s case (probably too much): he talks about her with Monica, and even dreams about her. Alexa shares all about Ella’s work and what they had uncovered. As the two women embark on a dangerous journey involving the club and its people and with Alexa’s behaviour becoming more unstable, will he be able to help?

I have to stop here as I don’t want to give anything away. I feel like I’ve already said too much. You will love this book, the ending was an absolute cracker. I sat dumbfounded for a good couple of minutes. It’s beautifully crafted, you can tell that it was written by a psychotherapist, as Mei-Fung Chung’s knowledge and expertise shines through each page.

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A book that drew me right in ,a story told from the perspective of a woman with multi personality disorder is a page turner,So dark so chilling I could not put it down highly recommended an author to follow.#netgalley #pushkinpress

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The premise really interested me as I have never read a book from the perspective of a person with multiple personality disorder. On top of this, it was also written from an Asian perspective so I just thought all in all, this was a very original premise and I was so excited to read it!

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"And really, the best way to describe living with multiple personalities is to say it’s like taking care of a family— a very, very large family with me at the center— each personality in possession of different hopes, fears, desires, interests, aspirations and memories."

Alexa Wú is a brilliant yet darkly self-aware young woman whose chaotic life is manipulated and controlled by a series of alternate personalities. Only three people know about their existence: her therapist Daniel; her stepmother Anna; and her enigmatic best friend Ella.

When Ella gets a job at a high-end gentleman's club, she is gradually drawn into London's cruel underbelly. With lives at stake, Alexa follows her friend on a daring rescue mission. Threatened and vulnerable, she will discover whether her multiple personalities are her greatest asset, or her biggest obstacle.

The implied thriller combined with Dissociative Identity Disorder is what caught my attention though it takes time to sink your teeth in this book. The complicated relationship Alexa and her ‘flock’ of personalities share with Daniel is perhaps the only reason I was compelled to keep turning the pages. However, the story taking a dramatic turn when Daniel has an unexpected visitor during a session with Alexa is what takes the win.

This wasn't an ordinary read and took incredible patience on my part to stick with it. And I’m glad I did, for not only is it an insight on the delicate subject of mental health, it does so with a remarkably multi-layered plot that is both sensitive and original.

This ARC courtesy of NetGalley and Pushkin Press.

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𝙍𝙀𝙑𝙄𝙀𝙒

THE EIGHTH GIRL
Author: Maxine Mei-Fung Chung


#gifted by @netgalley in exchange for an honest review
pub date (UK): 4 November 2021

⚠️ TW: mental illness, self-harm, rape, sexual assault, child abuse, incest, drug use, mentions of alcoholism, slurs, animal death* (*not very detailed but it's there)

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This is a complicated book for me to review. I spend a good amount of time wanting to DNF it, because the whole thing just seemed so outlandish and far-fetched, but I ended up reading until the end. Which was good, because from chapter 73 on some things were revealed that shed a new light into the rest of the story.

The writing is fluid and the chapters short, which are always positive aspects in a book. The main character, Alexa, invented the concept of an "unreliable character".

I don't have the mental illness the main characters suffers from, and I don't personally know anyone who has so I have no way of commenting on the accuracy or thoughtfulness put towards describing it in this story. All I can say is that to me it seemed like a raw, incredibly detailed portrayal of life with a severe mental illness.

Not everything about the book was bad but I can't say I want to reread it ever again.

💬 If you've read this book and suffer from DID, or know anyone who does, and you feel comfortable talking about it feel free to share your insights with me. If you feel like I should correct the trigger warnings please let me know as well, so I can fix them right away.

#TheEighthGirl #NetGalley #bookreview

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Well this is a book that sets you up for a roller coaster, and I thank Net Galley for giving me an ARC to join in.

I however found it a bit of a struggle to remain interested. I can't say why, but something about the start just throws you off. I will try again, but for now I would say it's not something that will get you out of a reading rutt in an instant

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Wow. I was not expecting the ending of this book. I have always enjoyed books on multiple personalities, the subject fascinates me so I had high hopes for this one. I was intrigued in the beginning where we begin to meet the different personalities and the therapist that is working with Alexa- Wu. I dont want to give too much away by explaining the book just now that its a very good read. The only reason this books gets a 4 star instead of a 5 is that I found it slightly long winded in the middle. On reading the end I do understand why the book was written in this manner, but could of been a little shorter. However, saying that, I absolutely adored the ending. It was unexpected, shocking, and incredibly sad. If you are interested in psychological thrillers you'll definitely enjoy this. Be warned though, it is not easy reading and trigger warnings include grooming and rape. Highly recommend. It has apparently been optioned for Netflix too. I think an adaption of this book could be quite incredible.

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I received an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review

I loved this one. Very fast paced, had me turning pages as I tore through it – I had to see how it would end. The characters were well rounded and the narrative felt believable. Gave me chills. Solid five

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Quite an interesting book with a main character suffering from a mental illness. For once, the main character is not the criminal, which is becoming tiresome in the genre and, I find, unnecessarily vilifies mental illness. Most characters were refreshing, my only issue being with the doctor, who seemed rather weak to me and I struggled to really enjoy his parts of the book. I also found it dragged slightly at points. But all in all, this is a book I would recommend.

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I love a good ol' dark and twisty thriller, and I was hoping that this would satisfy that craving. Whilst it was a good read, it wasn't quite what I was expecting!

Alex Wu has Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID), which means she lives with multiple personalities (known as her "Flock"). When Alex's best friend lands a new job at a high-end gentlemen's club they find themselves getting sucked into the cruel and dangerous underbelly of London and a nightmarish secret.

It's really clear that the author is a mental health practitioner. Alex's DID was written in a manner that didn't feel gimmicky. Instead, we were able to learn about the clinical basis of DID without treading into the stereotypical portrayal. The book deals with some really heavy topics, such as mental illness, sex trafficking, and suicide, and I thought they were all handled well. It definitely wasn't fast-paced or suspenseful but it did a great job at breaking Alex down as a character and giving us a chance to experience DID. The twist had me so surprised, which is a bonus in itself as I'm normally the Queen of predicting endings, but it also meant that things ended on a bit of an unbelievable note. It ruined things for me a bit as it didn't seem plausible in the grand scheme of things!

This may have not been the fast-paced thriller that I was anticipating, but it did offer a dark character study.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for sending me a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

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