Review: Lizzie by Dawn Ius

Summary from Goodreads:

From acclaimed author Dawn Ius comes an edge-of-your-seat reimagining of one of the most chilling mysteries in modern history—Lizzie Borden.

Seventeen-year-old Lizzie Borden has never been kissed. Polite but painfully shy, Lizzie prefers to stay in the kitchen, where she can dream of becoming a chef and escape her reality. With tyrannical parents who force her to work at the family’s B&B and her blackout episodes—a medical condition that has plagued her since her first menstrual cycle—Lizzie longs for a life of freedom, the time and space to just figure out who she is and what she wants.

Enter the effervescent, unpredictable Bridget Sullivan. Bridget has joined the B&B’s staff as the new maid, and Lizzie is instantly drawn to her artistic style and free spirit—even her Star Wars obsession is kind of cute. The two of them forge bonds that quickly turn into something that’s maybe more than friendship.


But when her parents try to restrain Lizzie from living the life she wants, it sparks something in her that she can’t quite figure out. Her blackout episodes start getting worse, her instincts less and less reliable. Lizzie is angry, certainly, but she also feels like she’s going mad… 

Review:



It took me a while to finally read this retelling because of the low rating it has on Goodreads. I'm glad that I decided to disregard the rating and just read it. It was an interesting and well-crafted retelling of the Lizzie Borden case. 

What I Liked:

Plot/Twist Ending. I found the plot interesting, it was Lizzie Borden but with a modern twist to it. I managed to guess the big twist pretty early on but it was still a solid one. 

Retelling/Historical Elements. I felt that this was a strong retelling, a modernized version of Lizzie Borden. The author did a great job of bringing elements of the Borden case with her own twist on the story but also using some of the historical aspects. 

Characters. The novel mainly follows Lizzie, her horrible home life and her descent into madness. Lizzie's family was hard to read about because of how they mistreated her. Ius did a great job of crafting the different characters and also showing the reader Lizzie's deteriorating mind. 

What I Didn't Like:

Rushed Ending/Confusing aspects. I felt that the end of the novel, the last fifty or so pages were a bit confusing. It seemed rushed and incomplete to me. I would have liked more about the court case instead of just one chapter. 

I recommend checking out this underrated retelling if you're familiar with the Lizzie Borden case. 

Rating:

4.5 Stars Out of 5 Stars.