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3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
This is a eerie horror fantasy, about an anxious boy coming to terms with what 'normal' means and learning about the questionable desirability of perfection. Evocative spare prose and unsettling illustrations. See my full review here.
A nice little strange & creepy story. I’m definitely not the target audience for this one but there were some parts that definitely would have scared me when I was younger! I listened to this one and the narrator was wonderful.
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
So terrifying and creepy. I wouldn't have picked this up had the audiobook cover given a better hint as to what this is about, but I had seen it mentioned in several ads and such in SLJ so I thought I'd try it. Not a book to read if you're pregnant or have a baby. I'm not really sure who the audience is for this. Certainly not me. However, it is very well written and affecting, so much so that in spite of having a feeling of horror and disgust throughout most of my listening to it, I kept going till the end (and glad I did).
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-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
I can’t believe I haven’t read this book before now! This is an amazing middle grade horror book that deftly shows that life can be scary and complicated, but that you are strong enough to face it. It also reminds the reader that imperfect is okay. It’s better than okay. Those imperfection are hard, but they are what makes us who we are.
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-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
This was such a strange book. The writing wasn't my favorite, which is surprising, because I loved The Boundless by Kenneth Oppel. The writing in The Boundless was rich and lively, but the writing in The Nest was a little bit dry for my liking. I did enjoy the pictures drawn by illustrator John Klassen. Unfortunately though, this book just fell short for me.
This book was freaky and terrifying. Horror is not my genre of choice so at times if felt a little too scary to be YA. It has a whimsical feel which immediately reminded me of Coraline which I LOVE! A lot of details that seemed unrelated to the plot were tied to the ending which I thought was done really well. Also the illustrations are amazing. I thought that Steve’s fear was really well portrayed as through the eyes of a child although it was hard for me to tell exactly how old he was.
This is a book that I feel like I would have absolutely obsessed over as a child, what with the wasps, the worry, the man with only eight fingers. The utterly believable part of Steve that has OCD, that worries too much, that doesn't know enough.
The Nest hangs around the divide between belief and disbelief, providing just enough information to make things seem real, and taking away just enough to make us wonder whether it had all really happened. It's a layer away from reality, one where dreams are real, and white wasps exist, and where sometimes you can love someone the wrong way. The hard questions also appear in this book--what would you do if somebody offered to completely fix the one person in your family that was sick? What if you were allergic to the very thing trying to kill you? And what if the responsibility of your family's whirlwind of emotions all rested upon your shoulders?
Review cross-listed here!
The Nest hangs around the divide between belief and disbelief, providing just enough information to make things seem real, and taking away just enough to make us wonder whether it had all really happened. It's a layer away from reality, one where dreams are real, and white wasps exist, and where sometimes you can love someone the wrong way. The hard questions also appear in this book--what would you do if somebody offered to completely fix the one person in your family that was sick? What if you were allergic to the very thing trying to kill you? And what if the responsibility of your family's whirlwind of emotions all rested upon your shoulders?
Review cross-listed here!