Surprisingly good eventually ( )

Honestly, this book was just okay. Nothing really stood out to me. The characters were just okay and the ending was just meh. ( )

Crushed is reminding me quite a bit of The Penderwicks. Both books feature a setting that would have been perfectly natural in a book from 50 or 100 years ago: The Penderwicks' summer vacation cottage, and in Crushed, the one-room private school the lead character, Audrey, attended before going to public high school.

I'm just a few chapters in, but the characters in Crushed are becoming very well rounded, especially the mysterious boy who's always staring at Audrey. ( )

I've read all of their books so far, and they always surprise me with their intensity. ( )