The Girls on the Train - Paula Hawkins

"The Girl on the Train"Paula Hawkins

Overview

"The Girl on the Train" by Paula Hawkins was a fun and twisting adventure of two women, whom never meet, but their lives are intertwined. One is observing from a train, and the other is being observed until one frightening day she disappears. 

The main character of the book, Rachel, is the girl on the train. Out of work and down on her luck she rides the train into town each day. Her train rides are routine and almost a comfort to her. While on these train rides she observes two people living in a neighborhood she used to call home. She has create their whole lives in her head, as well as name them Jason and Jess. 

One day Rachel sees Jess with a man, not Jason, but another man. Since Rachel has observed Jess and Jason every day she starts to worry. When the man kissed Jess, Rachel's perfect little world crumbles down. To make matters worse, shortly after she witnesses the kiss Jess disappears. 

Later Rachel reads about Jess' (who's name is actually Megan) disappearance and becomes distraught. Rachel reaches out to Jason (who's name is actually Scott), Megan's wife, to try and tell him what she saw. 

Through the twists and turns, detectives questioning motives and Rachel's attempt at uncovering the truth you are taken through a crazy whirlwind of love, hate, obsession and excitement. Rachel discovers the truth to overcome her alcoholic addictions and Scott learns the truth about Megan's disappearance.

My Opinion

This book was suggested to me by my Mom. The first chapter was well written and pulled me in almost immediately. However, it wasn't a book that I couldn't put down... just yet. ;) 

The second chapter introduces Megan and her husband, Scott. This made me pretty excited since my name is Megan.... and I'm dating a Scott... Gotta love the irony! As the chapters about Megan went on I dialed down the excitement. At one point it points out that Scott is under accusation for the abuse and death of his wife. Yikes! That's not my Scott at all, so the similarities ended there. 

However, the similarities between Megan and myself were astonishing. I felt that I could really relate to her character, and more than just by name. The way she thought, the fears she had, and the confusion she lived life with just seemed so real and understandable to me. 

Rachel, however, I did not relate to as much. However, Rachel's story is very well laid out and easy to follow. There are times where you will find yourself sympathetic with her, and other times where you're rooting for her from the sidelines and telling her to go be her brave self. I enjoyed reading her journey to find her inner strength and self. 

Overall, this book was awesome. If you remember me saying before that this book wasn't a book that I couldn't put down in the beginning? Well, I'd say about 1/3 into it I got hooked. Towards the end I just couldn't get enough of the story. I read it at lunch, read it while cooking, and read it before bed. In the end I wished that the story would continue just so I could see what happened to the characters after the mystery was solved. A sequel would be highly appreciated!