Cartwheel by Jennifer duBois

Cartwheel

by Jennifer duBois

"Written with the riveting storytelling and moral seriousness of authors like Emma Donoghue, Adam Johnson, Ann Patchett, and Curtis Sittenfeld, Cartwheel is a suspenseful and haunting novel of an American foreign exchange student arrested for murder, and a father trying to hold his family together. When Lily Hayes arrives in Buenos Aires for her semester abroad, she is enchanted by everything she encounters: the colorful buildings, the street food, the handsome, elusive man next door. Her studious roommate Katy is a bit of a bore, but Lily didn't come to Argentina to hang out with other Americans. Five weeks...Read more

Reviewed by Whitney @ First Impressions Reviews on

3 of 5 stars

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I have always been interested in true crime. Some may call it a sickness. I'm an avid watcher of the Investigation Discovery channel and have also followed such cases as Casey Anthony, Natalee Holloway and Amanda Knox. The premise of Jennifer Dubois' novel Cartwheel seemed reminiscent of Amanda Knox, thus peeking my interest.

At first, and despite it being a work of fiction, I had a hard time getting into Cartwheel as the similarities between it and the Amanda Knox trial were too great. It took me a while but I finally got over the "this is the Amanda Knox trial" and see it for what it was, a wonderfully written character study.

Cartwheel was an enjoyable read. The characters were well developed and exhibited the emotions one may feel while going through such a horrific ordeal. A father's desperation to save his daughter from an unbearable fate, a sister constantly left in the shadows of her "perfect" older sister and the slow decent of a young girl who got more than she bargained for. Not to be forgotten is the shady boyfriend who I felt had a devil and angel on each shoulder and the prosecutor who gave a "Law and Order" vibe to the book. While these descriptions are brief, duBois spends ample time on each character in Cartwheel giving a well-rounded view of all those involved.

I had an idea where the plot could lead, but I found the trail created by Jennifer duBois intriguing. Through multiple points of view Lily Hayes' character is slowly revealed with explanations for her DNA being found in key elements. The explanation of the knife and bra clasp are effortlessly inserted into the storyline, with only the reader ever really knowing, giving a leg up or jubilant feeling of a five year old "I know something you don't know". Thus, while perhaps a little predictable, the author threw in enough curve balls to keep me on my toes.

Cartwheel was well paced until we reach the ending. While I was satisfied with the conclusion I felt the plot was a little rushed and wished it had slowed down a little. Overall, Cartwheel was an enthralling read, but with the Amanda Knox undertones I did feel like I was reading a rehashed headline.

I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 4 October, 2013: Finished reading
  • 4 October, 2013: Reviewed