Although the revelations where a little clumsy and could have used more foreshadowing, they weren't that hard to grasp.
Every clue and dialog had two possibilities and had me thinking about them after finishing each chapter. More than misleading it was mysterious. From the beginning there were hints that everything from both sides could be a lie or mistake, encouraging the reader to tie and compare clues instead of just reading along and expect answers. That's why I read the last chapter as an epilogue instead of an ending. The only new pieces of info were the blood on the drawer and the real girl in the photograph (although the writing in the room was way hard to solve). So I don't think it was meant as a wrap up chapter but as a goodbye one.
I liked how there was the possibility of there being a real ghost. The last appearance of it was not really ghost worthy, just giving the girl what she wanted, courage to speak. When you look back, it could work either way. When the ghost took the weapon from the smart kid, it could have been his subconscious wish to not hurt the headmaster or the ghost protecting the headmaster.
Commenting about other posts:
About the dog, it was actually clever. From the moment the leg wound appeared, just after the chicken cutting flashback, it was clear from where those deep cuts came. Linking it with the reactions against a similar weapon made complete sense. After they healed the dog, I couldn't help but think it was following them all the way through. When it was revealed the dog was the cause of the fall, it was a "oh, that's how it was!" moment for me. Every time a character said to drop the weapon after that, it was obvious they had seen the dog following close by not long ago. It was more like a bound to happen event and not a cheat. If you stopped to think for a second before hand, it didn't feel random at all! Of course, it would have worked better if the dog was more of a present character at the beginning or if we could have seen him slightly following the group after their first encounter on the mountain, but you can't have it all.
About the fat kid not being killed. You have to take into account that no matter how twisted the bad guy was, he was not a killer, or a full blown rapist for that matter (a potential one in a secluded situation), nor he was thinking straight at that moment because of the pain. Those contradictions actually makes him more than a one dimensional villain.
About the grinning. I don't remember the headmaster grinning... Yukino's disturbed personality was touched upon her flashback chapter. And the good guy teacher... yeah that was weird. Oh, and the machete, it is used to cut down paths.
As for the deaths. The kid who fell from the cliff, it was explained at the end. The crazy teacher was most likely the same reason. There was always the possibility of the other two kids being alive. Granted, I expected the fat kid to have exaggerated or lied about what he saw, not completely mistaking the situation. I guess he ran away before seeing what really happened and filled the rest.
I was able to read it in one go and enjoyed it. I'd understand why it wouldn't be fully enjoyed forgetting details between chapters though. |