Book Review: The Girl on the Train

Rating: 4 out of 4 stars

Title: The Girl on the Train

Author: Paula Hawkins

Published: January 2015

Publisher: Penguin Random House

EVERY DAY THE SAME
Rachel takes the same commuter train every morning and night. Every day she rattles down the track, flashes past a stretch of cozy suburban homes, and stops at the signal that allows her to daily watch the same couple breakfasting on their deck. She’s even started to feel like she knows them. Jess and Jason, she calls them. Their life—as she sees it—is perfect. Not unlike the life she recently lost.

UNTIL TODAY
And then she sees something shocking. It’s only a minute until the train moves on, but it’s enough. Now everything’s changed. Unable to keep it to herself, Rachel goes to the police. But is she really as unreliable as they say? Soon she is deeply entangled not only in the investigation but in the lives of everyone involved. Has she done more harm than good?

I have been in a serious reading rut! I have wanted to update the blog and get back into it, but I just wasn’t finding anything that peaked my interest long enough to complete in its entirety. Then my husband said, “Hey, did you ever read The Girl on the Train like I mentioned to you? They were talking about it on the radio again”. I had been on hold for so long at the library for this book that I completely forgot about it. Well, I checked back and decided that I didn’t want to wait any longer and rented the e-book instead. I am so glad I did! This was just the book to get me out of my reading rut.

Initially, I was very confused by Rachel’s character. In the beginning, Hawkins is vague about her character and what is causing all of her issues. As it turns out (small spoiler) Rachel is an alcoholic. At times I found myself frustrated with her character. Personally, I have never suffered from an addiction, but do know people who have. I know that it can be devastating as well as a daily struggle for the addict. As I was reading I kept thinking “Why are you drinking?!?!? You know know something bad will happen!”, but of course I knew she could not help it. It often left me frustrated, but in a good way. I always wanted to see what would happen next for her. From the beginning I sympathized with Rachel and found I wanted what was best for her just as a mother would for their child.

One of the biggest things that I took away from this novel was that the grass is always greener on the other side. Rachel builds up the lives of Megan and Scott, only to find out that not everything is as great as it seems. My heart continuously went out to Rachel and her constant hope for something good. I could not imagine her betrayal by her husband Tom and what kind of devastation she or anybody who had gone through that could feel. I could only imagine that she continuously hoped that there were others who believed in love and marriage.

We, as you human beings, often see something that others may have and want it for ourselves. I know for me there have been a number of life decisions that I thought were going to be so great, only to find that everything was great before. I thought the grass was greener, like Rachel, there were times that I had to come to terms where that was not the case. I think we all have had that occur at one point or another.

I do not want to spoil anything for those who have not read it, but this is definitely a psychological thriller worth reading. There are many twists and turns, some you can see coming and many others that you do not. I would highly recommend this book. It definitely makes you think about the actions of others and your own.

Have you read The Girl on the Train? If so what did you think? I would love to hear from you!