The Grownup by Gillian Flynn

Aaaahhhhh, short stories. My favorite, because most of the time they give you the full pleasure of a novel in under an hour of reading. I think I reviewed Gone Girl a while back, and if I didn't, let it be known that it was COMPLETELY AMAZING IMO. Gillian Flynn is one of my modern favorite authors. So, this short story was snagged off the shelf IMMEDIATELY at Books-A-Million. I've decided to stop doing The Big Five and just give my opinions in a paragraph-form (pls don't hate me).

The Grownup is a short story about a woman who lived a rough life, begging on the streets and living life as a con-artist. She has a less than respectable profession, so when she gets offered an opportunity to become a "psychic" of sorts, she takes it, putting her con-skills to good use. She comes into contact with a woman who really stands out to her, and she embarks on a "journey" with this woman, exploring her family life and the dark past behind some of her relatives and her new home.

First of all, the story kept me guessing until the very last page--this is one of my favorite qualities in any work that I read. It's a ghost story of sorts, and I always admire a good, well written ghost story.

The writing was simple and easy to comprehend, but at the same time, there were complex, hidden meanings that were hard to miss. I love Gillian Flynn, and I think this short work really conveyed her style just as well as some of her longer works.

The characters in this story were so well developed. I felt genuine emotions for all the characters, and that's hard for authors to do in long works, so the fact that Flynn accomplished this in such a short work really speaks volumes about the work and the author. I was empathetic, scared for, and intrigued by almost every character that was introduced. Not only are the characters well developed, but the plot is, as well. It takes a lot to confuse me or keep me guessing, and this story did just that. There's so many twists and turns that your head will spin--and in this case, it's a good thing.

I really, really loved this work. It took me all of an hour to read (maybe not even that long), so I would suggest this to anyone who

A) Wants a quick and intriguing read.
B) Loves ghost stories, or anything with a hint of mystery.
C) Likes Flynn's other works.

10/10 would read again and recommend.