Rating: 2.5/5 
 I have never understood how people can blithely disregard the damage they do by following their hearts. 
 Jess and Jason have perfect lives; Rachel doesn't. With a drinking problem, an obsession with her ex-husband and no job, Rachel's life is in tatters. The only solace she can find is on the train each morning, searching for the row of houses that she knows the train will stop next to, each and every day. To everyone else in the carriage, Rachel looks normal, no one special; she does exactly what they do: commuting to work, making appointments, ticking things of lists. Except for the small things, the small bottles of liquor, the bags under her eyes, the desperate need in her eyes that only disappears when the train stops by a row of houses. Rachel feels like she knows a couple living in one of the houses, Jess and Jason, beautiful, perfect, untouchable. Until one day, Rachel sees something different, something shocking. And then everything changes; she can become part of their lives, and be the girl on the train no more. 
 Okay. My mum and I did this thing where I gave here a book and she gave me one. I gave her Lexicon by Max Barry (it's brilliant go read it) and she gave me this book; The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins. I felt a bit out of my depth when reading this. The main character cannot do anything with her life, has a drinking problem, no job, a fierce obsession with her ex-husband, some weird connection with a couple she has never met and the list goes on and on. Imagine this and then stick her into a murder investigation. There was nothing about the protagonist that made me even remotely like her or have any other feelings towards her than pity. Taking into account that I am a fourteen year old who reads a lot of YA, this just made me pity adults. Which sounds like a bratty teenager thing to say but really it did. This book isn't aimed towards teenagers, or maybe it is, but with the excessive use of the word fucking and some rather psychopathic characters, I just didn't enjoy it that much. 
 The way the book was written is something that I liked though. It helped the book get straight to the point without any obvious plot holes or waffle. Paula Hawkins writing was also in a style that I enjoyed! The plot was good and the ending (if a tiny bit obvious), was fantastic! It answered nearly all of my questions and it did live up to the expectations of it being a thriller. I think that the reason I didn't like this book was because I simply couldn't connect with the characters and their choices. A teenager's brain works differently than an adult's so I found myself thinking that some of the choices that the characters made were just a bit illogical - I don't know if adult readers found this or not but that is how I did. The cover is brilliant though, I love the UK edition so much more than the US one (sorry), just because it fits the story better; the cover is dark and foreboding, and the title stands out and the font fits the overall cover very well. 
 I conclusion, I think if I had read this book in four or five years time I might of enjoyed it more, but the plot and the actual story was brilliant! 
 Thank you for reading - ella