Scan barcode
meikschi's review against another edition
4.0
I did not expect to like this as much as I did but I had a fun, artsy cartoon playing in my head the whole time while reading.
The end felt a bit off and rushed, some stories remained untold, but I closed the book feeling satisfied and entertained so I'm not complaining.
The end felt a bit off and rushed, some stories remained untold, but I closed the book feeling satisfied and entertained so I'm not complaining.
luckyniko's review against another edition
4.0
its legally 12/4 im just trying to remember
this girl can see like these demons who start fires to get stronger and she learns that she doesn't have to do it alone. but like??? written better than how i wrote that. one demon is like a goth daddy and she has a crush on him.
they live in a trailer and the towns people push it off a cliff. her mom is missing. is there a sequel?
her sister is a hairdresser and her bf is chill. thats it
this girl can see like these demons who start fires to get stronger and she learns that she doesn't have to do it alone. but like??? written better than how i wrote that. one demon is like a goth daddy and she has a crush on him.
they live in a trailer and the towns people push it off a cliff. her mom is missing. is there a sequel?
her sister is a hairdresser and her bf is chill. thats it
rwxtd's review against another edition
5.0
This book was a solid four stars up until the *very last line*. I closed it and I just gave a sort of disbelieving laugh to myself. Clever! Clever. You got me.
I will say I do still have some unanswered questions and I would love to read a sequel if there is one. In the last chapter, there were still so many unanswered questions that a sequel seemed inevitable; however, a lot of that was resolved in the last chapter. Enough so that, while there are definitely places a sequel could go and still some unknowns, a sequel isn't strictly necessary anymore. I got enough answers to be happy. That last line really is quite good.
THE VIBES: I feel like I just read a middle grade book rather than a YA. It's definitely not middle grade. There are far too many swears; the characters are too old; the themes are definitely more YA than middle grade; there's at least one mention of sex, which in my experience is somewhat of a taboo subject in middle grade; and there's a pretty graphic description of a body that just got run over by a car. It's definitely *not* middle grade. And yet it has *such strong* middle grade energy! I don't know why! Maybe it's the names of the characters and locations in town. Naming a character "Grim" is a very middle grade thing to do. The author also has some really cool art of all the characters on the title pages, which I absolutely love, but I guess that might also be what gives it middle grade energy. It was a very fun spooky Halloween book, although I don't think it's *only* for Halloween. I saw someone else's review on here compare it to Supernatural and I haven't been able to get that out of my head since. It's got the same energy as like, season three of Supernatural, except the protagonist is an ace girl with combat boots and an axe.
THE CHARACTERS: Honestly there were some great ones. I absolutely loved Zora; it was really cool to have the protagonist be ace and not have it be a plot point. She was happy with her sexuality, and comfortable with it, and made jokes about it. She had plenty of internal struggle, and she was plenty lonely, but none of that was because she was ace. She also gives off very strong ace energy, which I loved. It was also so heartbreaking to see her deal with everything all the time; she just seemed so alone, and she felt so alone, and I just wanted her to not feel like the world was against her! Poor girl deserves to feel safe and happy and loved for once in her life!
Sadie was also great. She was just out here trying to do her best and stay alive and keep everything together until her dad got back and she didn't have to be the only responsible adult anymore, and her little sister is sneaking around, getting thrown in jail and accused of arson??? That's a lot to deal with even for a full parent who signed up for this nonsense. I'm glad she had Grim. Grim was just so *good*. He was just *good* and I loved him and he and Sadie were very cute and I'm just glad that he existed. Artemis is interesting because she's kind of elitist, and I don't know if she completely gets over that, but she's at least making an effort and she does genuinely care about Zora and want to help. She's not elitist on purpose; she was just raised in a bubble, and it never really occurred to her before that there was stuff she didn't get. Bach was cool; I kind of wish he was in it more, because I did really like him, and he was less present than I was expecting. He kind of swooped in sometimes and said some stuff and then left again. If there was a love interest, it would be Bach, but Zora clearly thought he was aesthetically very attractive, and wasn't ever interested in anything beyond that. He was very ~mysterious~, which we have to love. There are so many other great/interesting/infuriating/funny characters in this book that I could talk about, but honestly, it would take far too much of your time and my time to keep going through all of them, so I'll stop here.
The villain! There was a good villain in this one. They were both terrifying and infuriating. You love to hate them. That's really all I can say about that without spoiling it, though.
Overall: a good time! Would recommend if you're in the mood for something fun, because it is really fun. The characters are great, it's got a really good protagonist, and I thought the ending was pretty clever. It has kind of weird energy? But hey, if you're in the mood for weird energy, this is definitely a good one.
I will say I do still have some unanswered questions and I would love to read a sequel if there is one. In the last chapter, there were still so many unanswered questions that a sequel seemed inevitable; however, a lot of that was resolved in the last chapter. Enough so that, while there are definitely places a sequel could go and still some unknowns, a sequel isn't strictly necessary anymore. I got enough answers to be happy. That last line really is quite good.
THE VIBES: I feel like I just read a middle grade book rather than a YA. It's definitely not middle grade. There are far too many swears; the characters are too old; the themes are definitely more YA than middle grade; there's at least one mention of sex, which in my experience is somewhat of a taboo subject in middle grade; and there's a pretty graphic description of a body that just got run over by a car. It's definitely *not* middle grade. And yet it has *such strong* middle grade energy! I don't know why! Maybe it's the names of the characters and locations in town. Naming a character "Grim" is a very middle grade thing to do. The author also has some really cool art of all the characters on the title pages, which I absolutely love, but I guess that might also be what gives it middle grade energy. It was a very fun spooky Halloween book, although I don't think it's *only* for Halloween. I saw someone else's review on here compare it to Supernatural and I haven't been able to get that out of my head since. It's got the same energy as like, season three of Supernatural, except the protagonist is an ace girl with combat boots and an axe.
THE CHARACTERS: Honestly there were some great ones. I absolutely loved Zora; it was really cool to have the protagonist be ace and not have it be a plot point. She was happy with her sexuality, and comfortable with it, and made jokes about it. She had plenty of internal struggle, and she was plenty lonely, but none of that was because she was ace. She also gives off very strong ace energy, which I loved. It was also so heartbreaking to see her deal with everything all the time; she just seemed so alone, and she felt so alone, and I just wanted her to not feel like the world was against her! Poor girl deserves to feel safe and happy and loved for once in her life!
Sadie was also great. She was just out here trying to do her best and stay alive and keep everything together until her dad got back and she didn't have to be the only responsible adult anymore, and her little sister is sneaking around, getting thrown in jail and accused of arson??? That's a lot to deal with even for a full parent who signed up for this nonsense. I'm glad she had Grim. Grim was just so *good*. He was just *good* and I loved him and he and Sadie were very cute and I'm just glad that he existed. Artemis is interesting because she's kind of elitist, and I don't know if she completely gets over that, but she's at least making an effort and she does genuinely care about Zora and want to help. She's not elitist on purpose; she was just raised in a bubble, and it never really occurred to her before that there was stuff she didn't get. Bach was cool; I kind of wish he was in it more, because I did really like him, and he was less present than I was expecting. He kind of swooped in sometimes and said some stuff and then left again. If there was a love interest, it would be Bach, but Zora clearly thought he was aesthetically very attractive, and wasn't ever interested in anything beyond that. He was very ~mysterious~, which we have to love. There are so many other great/interesting/infuriating/funny characters in this book that I could talk about, but honestly, it would take far too much of your time and my time to keep going through all of them, so I'll stop here.
The villain! There was a good villain in this one. They were both terrifying and infuriating. You love to hate them. That's really all I can say about that without spoiling it, though.
Overall: a good time! Would recommend if you're in the mood for something fun, because it is really fun. The characters are great, it's got a really good protagonist, and I thought the ending was pretty clever. It has kind of weird energy? But hey, if you're in the mood for weird energy, this is definitely a good one.
jessicareads85's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
hopeful
mysterious
sad
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? Yes
3.0
thistleonions's review against another edition
5.0
Absolutely loved this book. Great concept, great execution. And what a fucking STELLAR ending. I'm gonna be thinking about that forEVER.
paradeoflaughter's review against another edition
4.0
This was a fun book! I love mysteries and the paranormal/strange parts of it made it perfect for this time of year. It was a bit hard to keep track of all the characters - even with the nice photo pages of some of them, but I managed. Also I loved that there was a map and it was as if a character from the book had drawn it. The only bummer about the map was that you miss part of it in the edge by the binding. Anyways! This was a solid, fun read and I definitely would love to read more of this story/mystery!
emilie_rose's review against another edition
4.0
This is a book that is going to stick with me for a while. Honestly I want to go back and reread it right now, simply because now that I know the ending, I feel like that would change the way I read it.
Also, if Zappia does ever write a sequel, I will be immediately there
Also, if Zappia does ever write a sequel, I will be immediately there
allmadhere106's review against another edition
4.0
I've been reading a lot of adult romance lately, so this was a nice break. Zora is spunky and strong while still being vulnerable with the reader (never with the people she knows though--she's gotta be tough). I loved the mystery of it all and how I was encouraged to work for my own answers. I also liked that not everything is explained. The book could have a sequel to answer some leftover issues, but it also rests with the theme that one needs to stop looking for answers eventually. The characters were awesome too and I enjoyed their caricatures in the beginning of the book. A fun read with its own unique mythology.
For: horror/mystery fans; readers looking for a book that asks a lot of questions and doesn't answer everything; readers looking for a compelling book.
Possible red flags: death; murder; arson; missing/presumed dead mother; incarcerated father; mentions of sex, but not the main character/POV; sexual harassment; assault; property damage; more arson; false accusations; privilege; prejudice; mentions of LGBTQ+; possession; ghosts and hauntings; being isolated and ostracized.
For: horror/mystery fans; readers looking for a book that asks a lot of questions and doesn't answer everything; readers looking for a compelling book.
Possible red flags: death; murder; arson; missing/presumed dead mother; incarcerated father; mentions of sex, but not the main character/POV; sexual harassment; assault; property damage; more arson; false accusations; privilege; prejudice; mentions of LGBTQ+; possession; ghosts and hauntings; being isolated and ostracized.
_nutella52's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0