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sammyisobsessed24's review against another edition
5.0
SUCH a good contribution to the Vampire Mythos
Having seen the 2008 film, I was familiar with the story. Experiencing it in its full content through the novel, however, is something all vampire fiction lovers need to do. Let the Right One In is such a tragic, gory, and beautiful tale, and it will be a highlight of the books I've read this year. There's something so endearing and horrific about child vampires. Remaining physically youthful while maturing mentally in the hundreds+ years of a depraved, lonely, and animalistic life is a fate I cannot imagine enduring.
Eli is a wildly fascinating character. The relationship she develops with young Oskar is as beautiful as it is upsetting. Two social outcasts (though they are for vastly different reasons) find a life-changing bond. Eli, a centuries-old vampire, is allowed to behave like a child for the first time in so long. Oskar finds a reprieve from his lonely, bullied existence and makes a connection he so desperately needs.
This is one of the strongest horror novels I've ever read. I strongly recommend giving it a go (but please mind the trigger warnings. Take care of yourself)
Having seen the 2008 film, I was familiar with the story. Experiencing it in its full content through the novel, however, is something all vampire fiction lovers need to do. Let the Right One In is such a tragic, gory, and beautiful tale, and it will be a highlight of the books I've read this year. There's something so endearing and horrific about child vampires. Remaining physically youthful while maturing mentally in the hundreds+ years of a depraved, lonely, and animalistic life is a fate I cannot imagine enduring.
Eli is a wildly fascinating character. The relationship she develops with young Oskar is as beautiful as it is upsetting. Two social outcasts (though they are for vastly different reasons) find a life-changing bond. Eli, a centuries-old vampire, is allowed to behave like a child for the first time in so long. Oskar finds a reprieve from his lonely, bullied existence and makes a connection he so desperately needs.
This is one of the strongest horror novels I've ever read. I strongly recommend giving it a go (but please mind the trigger warnings. Take care of yourself)
andybourne's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
res_curans's review against another edition
2.0
I'd seen the movie a number of years ago and I had liked it but not loved it - and then I read somewhere that the original English subtitles were botched, and that the re-tooled subtitles did the movie better justice... but I never got around to seeing that version. So, when I saw a copy of the original novel for 25ยข in the bargain bin, I picked it up hoping to get a better handle on the substance of the movie.
It's been a while now since I've seen the movie, but it seems like there's a lot in the book that didn't make it in. Which is actually ok. There are a lot of parallel plots in the book, some of them more interesting than others, and one that is particularly unsavory... I was okay with it all until the last 50 pages or so when it became clear that none of them were going to either (a) resolve satisfactorily, nor (b) that they were going to integrate with each other in a significant way. Most troublesome was that even the main storyline didn't resolve satisfactorily. We are essentially cheated out of the final payoff. And there were a lot of transitions/decisions that didn't make a whole lot of sense, and/or weren't clearly explained. It was too bad, because it's rare that a popular fiction book can hold me longer than halfway, so there had to have been potential there.
This was the author's first novel as I understand, so maybe he bit off more than he could chew. It could have been a good short novel if he'd just focused on the main story and cut out some of the unnecessary extras, but it's bloated into a near-500-page tome (with relatively small type). Sadly, I can't recommend. But I will say I'm still interested in watching the movie again, to see a more coherent version of this story, and maybe get some of the payoffs I was missing from the book...?
It's been a while now since I've seen the movie, but it seems like there's a lot in the book that didn't make it in. Which is actually ok. There are a lot of parallel plots in the book, some of them more interesting than others, and one that is particularly unsavory... I was okay with it all until the last 50 pages or so when it became clear that none of them were going to either (a) resolve satisfactorily, nor (b) that they were going to integrate with each other in a significant way. Most troublesome was that even the main storyline didn't resolve satisfactorily. We are essentially cheated out of the final payoff. And there were a lot of transitions/decisions that didn't make a whole lot of sense, and/or weren't clearly explained. It was too bad, because it's rare that a popular fiction book can hold me longer than halfway, so there had to have been potential there.
This was the author's first novel as I understand, so maybe he bit off more than he could chew. It could have been a good short novel if he'd just focused on the main story and cut out some of the unnecessary extras, but it's bloated into a near-500-page tome (with relatively small type). Sadly, I can't recommend. But I will say I'm still interested in watching the movie again, to see a more coherent version of this story, and maybe get some of the payoffs I was missing from the book...?
kaila_bergmann's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
gumbyreads's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
nothing like a good ol vampire book! i enjoyed thoroughly, though some descriptions made me wanna crawl outta my skin. shivers. great way to get into a spooky mood tho!
thejuicyjoe's review against another edition
3.0
Maybe an unpopular opinion but was so slow it really made it hard for me to get through.
zaisgraph's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Wasn't really prepared for the variety of truly horrific things tackled in a book that read more or less like a middlegrade fantasy-romance... but these almost had it all... sorta reminded me of Perfume Story of a Murderer a bit in terms of vibes... this book is way more dark and (as expected) detailed than the movie.
wickedtears's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
classyslip's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
hambo221's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Gore, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death, Drug use, Self harm, and Cannibalism