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4.07 AVERAGE
4.07 AVERAGE
THE GOOD HOUSE is an engrossing story of four generations of a family cursed by the matriarch's misuse of magic. Powers of good and evil battle within the land, the house, and the characters themselves. I particularly enjoyed the duality of the house.
The main timeline follows pragmatic lawyer/agent Angela, but we also dip into the pasts of Angela's grandmother (the matriarch) and Angela's son Corey, from their points of view. Unfortunately, this narrative choice drags out the plot; the reader can piece together Corey's story without these sections. I would've preferred if Angela had pried Corey's story from his friend Sean, who instead remains stubbornly silent to maintain plot tension.
There are also chapters from Angela's ex-husband's, Tariq's, point of view, which were deeply unpleasant, though not gratuitously so. We also get the points of view of various minor characters, all of whom die. Needless to say, that predictability defused tension and left the book feeling bloated.
Also problematic for me: the matriarch's decision not to inform her family of the danger she'd unleashed. It made no sense to me that she'd leave anything to chance, so the decision felt like a plot convenience.
There's a good story buried in these pages, but I didn't enjoy the execution. I have, however, enjoyed Due's short fiction, so I'll try another novel of hers in the future.
The main timeline follows pragmatic lawyer/agent Angela, but we also dip into the pasts of Angela's grandmother (the matriarch) and Angela's son Corey, from their points of view. Unfortunately, this narrative choice drags out the plot; the reader can piece together Corey's story without these sections. I would've preferred if Angela had pried Corey's story from his friend Sean, who instead remains stubbornly silent to maintain plot tension.
There are also chapters from Angela's ex-husband's, Tariq's, point of view, which were deeply unpleasant, though not gratuitously so. We also get the points of view of various minor characters, all of whom die. Needless to say, that predictability defused tension and left the book feeling bloated.
Also problematic for me: the matriarch's decision not to inform her family of the danger she'd unleashed. It made no sense to me that she'd leave anything to chance, so the decision felt like a plot convenience.
There's a good story buried in these pages, but I didn't enjoy the execution. I have, however, enjoyed Due's short fiction, so I'll try another novel of hers in the future.
(3.5/5) Haitian vodou and Southern gothic meet in the atmospheric Pacific Northwest small town of Sacajawea, Washington. As Angela Toussaint returns to her late grandmother's home, the Fourth of July party she hosts ends in tragedy. While she dives into work as a lawyer in Los Angeles, calls to sell her the "Good House" has her returning to Sacajawea. As sinister incidents begin to crop up around town, Angela must figure out how to listen to her grandmother's voice and combat the curse that follows their family.
The descriptions of life in a small town – deeply rooted in its own traditions, folk beliefs, and yes, prejudices – are incredibly well done. Though Angela grew up in Sacajawea, her race still clearly sets her apart from others; her son, Corey, faces racist slurs from other teens in the community. Local tensions are further heightened by the mysterious deaths and murders that plague the locals. Weaving in elements of Haitian vodou, this novel was a darkly lush and unsettling read. From Papa Legba to the baka – evil spirits with a trickster element – the Toussaint family is dancing with powers they don't quite understand.
There were parts of the novel that did feel a little slow, but not enough to significantly impact my reading enjoyment. Overall, a deeply unsettling and yet, ultimately hopeful and uplifting read.
The descriptions of life in a small town – deeply rooted in its own traditions, folk beliefs, and yes, prejudices – are incredibly well done. Though Angela grew up in Sacajawea, her race still clearly sets her apart from others; her son, Corey, faces racist slurs from other teens in the community. Local tensions are further heightened by the mysterious deaths and murders that plague the locals. Weaving in elements of Haitian vodou, this novel was a darkly lush and unsettling read. From Papa Legba to the baka – evil spirits with a trickster element – the Toussaint family is dancing with powers they don't quite understand.
There were parts of the novel that did feel a little slow, but not enough to significantly impact my reading enjoyment. Overall, a deeply unsettling and yet, ultimately hopeful and uplifting read.
dramatically haunting. I will never read it again, it was that subtly frightening. Loved every creepy second of it.
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
CRITICALLY UNDERRATED.
Honestly, I think horror explores family better than any other genre. The switching perspectives of seemingly mild interactions between Miles (a teenager) and (Angela) his mother, were honestly beautiful. Well-described and honest. The ideas of inherited guilt, trauma, and burden are wonderfully woven throughout.
Its a slow build horror/mystery and its one no one should skip.
Honestly, I think horror explores family better than any other genre. The switching perspectives of seemingly mild interactions between Miles (a teenager) and (Angela) his mother, were honestly beautiful. Well-described and honest. The ideas of inherited guilt, trauma, and burden are wonderfully woven throughout.
Its a slow build horror/mystery and its one no one should skip.
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was quite the ride!! I was completely sucked in from the very beginning. I really liked the way that Due slowly revealed answers to the mystery, creating more questions at the same time. The different timelines all came together spectacularly many times over, and it was so fun to piece things together.
Then a chapter around the halfway point completely blew my mind, which was so fun until every other reveal after that started to feel underwhelming, with some scenes feeling unnecessary because we had already gotten the gist from earlier scenes, and I'm not sure if we really needed the detail. So that's when I started to lose some steam. The climax also felt pretty rushed after such a long build-up, and the ending was really disappointing at first.It seemed to have erased everything that came before it, like everything was a dream. But the more I think about it, and the more reviews I read, the more I like it. Black horror stories deserve happy endings, so I understand why Due went the route of cancelling Cory's death, even if it went unexplained (apparently Grandma Marie is more powerful than we thought...). And Angela did learn how to connect to her son and how to stand up for herself and the true love she wanted and not to settle for Tariq. So even if she doesn't remember the exact events that happened, she will implement what she learned. And honestly, it is a relief for Cory to be alive, cause that was so fucking depressing.
But man, even with some quibbles, I'm really impressed with this book. The characters felt like real, complex people, with all the real strengths and flaws that entails. The different POVs really felt like different people, unlike a lot of books I've read. I liked that Cory's POVs really felt like a naive and at times overconfident teenager without being extremely annoying and sanctimonious (like in Girl, Woman, Other lol). I completely understood the choices the characters were making, and really empathized with their struggles and also appreciated their triumphs. This was seriously such an emotional rollercoaster of a read! The only thing I didn't like about the characters was that Miles felt too perfect and I didn't love all the focus on him and Angela's second chance romance, thoughit was a relief when they got together again so we didn't have to experience their sexual tension anymore lol. They were cute but it just got tiring.
Also, this book is very firmly set in the early 2000s, so sometimes reading this felt like time travel, lol. What a journey. I'd definitely recommend this, especially to people who like social horror and haunted houses!
Then a chapter around the halfway point completely blew my mind, which was so fun until every other reveal after that started to feel underwhelming, with some scenes feeling unnecessary because we had already gotten the gist from earlier scenes, and I'm not sure if we really needed the detail. So that's when I started to lose some steam. The climax also felt pretty rushed after such a long build-up, and the ending was really disappointing at first.
But man, even with some quibbles, I'm really impressed with this book. The characters felt like real, complex people, with all the real strengths and flaws that entails. The different POVs really felt like different people, unlike a lot of books I've read. I liked that Cory's POVs really felt like a naive and at times overconfident teenager without being extremely annoying and sanctimonious (like in Girl, Woman, Other lol). I completely understood the choices the characters were making, and really empathized with their struggles and also appreciated their triumphs. This was seriously such an emotional rollercoaster of a read! The only thing I didn't like about the characters was that Miles felt too perfect and I didn't love all the focus on him and Angela's second chance romance, though
Also, this book is very firmly set in the early 2000s, so sometimes reading this felt like time travel, lol. What a journey. I'd definitely recommend this, especially to people who like social horror and haunted houses!
Characters: 4.5
Plot / Pacing: 4
Setting / World Building: 4
Writing Style: 4.5
Themes: 4.5
Rating: 4.25
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
This is an incredible book. The plot is fairly slow and there’s a lottttt of backstory and world building to read before you get anywhere close to the climax, but I loved Due’s writing, characters, and the way she wove social commentary into the many horrors of this story. Everything — the scenery, the lore, the characters’ inner lives/motivations, the magic — is infused with immense detail, and although some parts of this very long book lag, it’s well worth sticking with. I will say the ending was just okay in my opinion, but I don’t think it really could’ve ended any other way so I’m mostly fine with it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Suicide
Moderate: Sexual violence
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated