The Eighth Girl

Author: Maxine Mei-Fung Chung

Publisher: William Morrow

Release Date: March 17, 2020

Rating: 3.5 Stars

Reviewer: Jessica Higgins

A book with some many personalities it will make your head spin!

Alexa Wu suffers from dissociated identity disorder (DID); but she is self-aware of the multiple personalities that she has living insider of her head. She believes her true self to the be the host. Her other identities represent certain aspects of her personality. Dolly is a young girl and has stayed the same age since she showed up. Runner stays in a constant angry and aggressive state. The fouls torment her regularly. Only a handful of people know about her other personalities. Her stepmother Anna, her best friend Ella, and her new psychiatrist Daniel.

Alexa relies mostly on Ella for emotional support. When Ella chooses to take a job at a lower class gentleman’s club, Alexa fears the worst. Ella’s life and that of her little sister are quickly placed in danger and Alexa gets drug into a web of deceit that she and her personalities must band together to save Ella.

So, I knew that going into a novel with the main character having DID that some of the secondary characters were going to be part of the personality. What I didn’t expect were how many of them were going to be part of it or who they would be. If that doesn’t pique your interest to read this book, then I’m not sure what will. The story line was a little slow to take off, but it quickly did and was fast paced with a very dark setting in London’s underworld. It wasn’t too difficult to follow which personality took control of Ella or when they were talking back and forth as the author did a great job identifying each voice. If you enjoy fast paced, twisted tales, this is your story for the year.

There is a lot of content including drinking, recreation drug use, explicit sex, and language that will make some readers uncomfortable.

I received a complimentary copy of this title from the publisher. The views and opinions expressed within are my own.