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3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
slow-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Homophobia, Gaslighting, Dysphoria
Moderate: Self harm, Sexual assault
Minor: Schizophrenia/Psychosis
emotional
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Hard to put my feelings about this into thoughts. But why I love Shaun David Hutchinson, is because he can make you question supernatural storylines while at the same time writing about supernatural things. It was a good book, the subtext, the meta will stick with me and a few phrases might just haunt me.
dark
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I feel the book was building quite well, and then came to an abrupt end. I wanted more. I did really enjoy the book though
I quickly requested this book because I loved Shaun David Hutchinson's book We Are the Ants. While I did love We Are the Ants more than this one for personal experience reasons, this one was really good too!
It starts out with an absolute bang, Virgil has been attacked and crawls bloody and battered to the ice cream shop where he gets help. This is his first impression in a new town, unfortunately. His experience does not get better. He claims to have been attacked by a monster (no, not a bear or gator) and no one believes him. He gets bullied and harassed by peers as well as guilt tripped by his dad and grandparents because his hospital bill was so expensive. And to make matters worse, his boyfriend and best friend from back home are becoming more and more distant.
I liked Virgil, but he was just super passive about literally everything and that kind of bothered me. He just wanted to keep his head down and become friends with people who were obviously not people to be friends with, Jarritt and Finn. My absolute favorite characters were Virgil's cousin Astrid and the actual good friend he makes, Tripp. Astrid is literally the only "different" person in Marritt and she sticks up for herself and for Virgil. Tripp is just a good guy. He's funny and loyal and every time Virgil blew off Tripp for Jarritt I was so mad because it's so obvious Tripp is such a better friend. I also loved Virgil's drama teacher Mr. Hiliker. He was very supportive of Virgil's love of acting and even recommended a therapist for him.
This book is almost trippy. We never really get the full account of Virgil's encounter with the monster because he doesn't completely remember himself despite only having one drink. We just get snippets here and there. So we are left wondering the entire book, did an actual monster attack him, or is he blocking out what really happened by imagining this horrific "monster?"
This attack gave Virgil PTSD and extreme anxiety. He had to sleep in his closet, he jumped when anyone touched him. He was constantly triggered by little every day things that happened throughout the whole book. The mental illness in this book was not shunned (except by certain older characters typically), therapy was welcomed, with both a one on one therapist as well as group therapy. This book was set in a town set in it's old ways where anything to do with mental health is NOT OK. It was hard for Virgil coming from Seattle where mental health and being gay is totally accepted going to Merritt where he is an anomaly and it was really nice to see the characters who did accept him for who he was and did want to help him get better and not just take what happened to him and shut it away in the back of his mind.
Definitely one to check out if you enjoy LGBTQ+ horror!
It starts out with an absolute bang, Virgil has been attacked and crawls bloody and battered to the ice cream shop where he gets help. This is his first impression in a new town, unfortunately. His experience does not get better. He claims to have been attacked by a monster (no, not a bear or gator) and no one believes him. He gets bullied and harassed by peers as well as guilt tripped by his dad and grandparents because his hospital bill was so expensive. And to make matters worse, his boyfriend and best friend from back home are becoming more and more distant.
I liked Virgil, but he was just super passive about literally everything and that kind of bothered me. He just wanted to keep his head down and become friends with people who were obviously not people to be friends with, Jarritt and Finn. My absolute favorite characters were Virgil's cousin Astrid and the actual good friend he makes, Tripp. Astrid is literally the only "different" person in Marritt and she sticks up for herself and for Virgil. Tripp is just a good guy. He's funny and loyal and every time Virgil blew off Tripp for Jarritt I was so mad because it's so obvious Tripp is such a better friend. I also loved Virgil's drama teacher Mr. Hiliker. He was very supportive of Virgil's love of acting and even recommended a therapist for him.
This book is almost trippy. We never really get the full account of Virgil's encounter with the monster because he doesn't completely remember himself despite only having one drink. We just get snippets here and there. So we are left wondering the entire book, did an actual monster attack him, or is he blocking out what really happened by imagining this horrific "monster?"
This attack gave Virgil PTSD and extreme anxiety. He had to sleep in his closet, he jumped when anyone touched him. He was constantly triggered by little every day things that happened throughout the whole book. The mental illness in this book was not shunned (except by certain older characters typically), therapy was welcomed, with both a one on one therapist as well as group therapy. This book was set in a town set in it's old ways where anything to do with mental health is NOT OK. It was hard for Virgil coming from Seattle where mental health and being gay is totally accepted going to Merritt where he is an anomaly and it was really nice to see the characters who did accept him for who he was and did want to help him get better and not just take what happened to him and shut it away in the back of his mind.
Definitely one to check out if you enjoy LGBTQ+ horror!
4☆ for the audiobook
I especially like it when he went "You’re a monster, baby. Be a monster."
I especially like it when he went "You’re a monster, baby. Be a monster."
fast-paced
When Virgil stumbles into town bleeding and disorientated, no one believes he was attacked by a monster. Instead, they blame him for drinking; for wandering into danger; and for not being able to move on with his life. Doxxed, mercilessly bullied, harassed at school and finding no compassion at home, Virgil finds his life disintegrating around him, as his body begins to change, and it seems the monster never left.
First, massive content warnings necessary for anyone considering reading Howl. The whole book feels like a metaphor for rape, so there's that, plus gaslighting; victim-blaming; doxxing; bullying; gay-bashing; f-slurs; homophobia; kidnapping/abduction; date rape; sexual assault; body horror. This is about as far from a cute m/m shifter romance as you could possibly expect; it definitely leans towards horror, particularly the psychological, regarding Virgil's flashbacks and the visceral nature of his experience being attacked.
Honestly I found this book incredibly sad. I would go so far as to say needlessly bleak and hopeless. Between wilfully incompetent authority figures who are arguably corrupt and certainly gaslighters, to Virgil's family who are full of victim-blamers and have no character development throughout the story, reading Howl was like being trapped in a nightmare. Perhaps that's the point, but for me, dark books like these need a touch of light, SOMETHING to make me feel there's some reason a character like Virgil wouldn't kill himself after his experiences.
I found it strange that someone who was comfortable in his sexuality would have any time for the boys he attempts to befriend, after their treatment of him alongside the fact there are multiple other characters who welcome him, and who he also seems to like and not want to push away. It felt more convenient to the plot that Virgil happens to keep going to these parties, rather than there being any need for him to do so in terms of his character development. He doesn't really ever attempt to hunt the monster actively, he's a much more passive character than he could have been, and although he's dealing with extreme trauma, I do think the story could have been stronger had he taken a more active role as the protagonist.
I think on balance Howl feels more like trauma porn than a fulfilling story, because to me Virgil's experiences and powerful inner psychological flashbacks are only there to elicit a visceral emotional response, rather than to drive him to act. The ending wraps up far too neatly for my preferences, and overall I found it an unsatisfying though disturbing read. Not badly written by any means, but not a book I would recommend.
First, massive content warnings necessary for anyone considering reading Howl. The whole book feels like a metaphor for rape, so there's that, plus gaslighting; victim-blaming; doxxing; bullying; gay-bashing; f-slurs; homophobia; kidnapping/abduction; date rape; sexual assault; body horror. This is about as far from a cute m/m shifter romance as you could possibly expect; it definitely leans towards horror, particularly the psychological, regarding Virgil's flashbacks and the visceral nature of his experience being attacked.
Honestly I found this book incredibly sad. I would go so far as to say needlessly bleak and hopeless. Between wilfully incompetent authority figures who are arguably corrupt and certainly gaslighters, to Virgil's family who are full of victim-blamers and have no character development throughout the story, reading Howl was like being trapped in a nightmare. Perhaps that's the point, but for me, dark books like these need a touch of light, SOMETHING to make me feel there's some reason a character like Virgil wouldn't kill himself after his experiences.
I found it strange that someone who was comfortable in his sexuality would have any time for the boys he attempts to befriend, after their treatment of him alongside the fact there are multiple other characters who welcome him, and who he also seems to like and not want to push away. It felt more convenient to the plot that Virgil happens to keep going to these parties, rather than there being any need for him to do so in terms of his character development. He doesn't really ever attempt to hunt the monster actively, he's a much more passive character than he could have been, and although he's dealing with extreme trauma, I do think the story could have been stronger had he taken a more active role as the protagonist.
I think on balance Howl feels more like trauma porn than a fulfilling story, because to me Virgil's experiences and powerful inner psychological flashbacks are only there to elicit a visceral emotional response, rather than to drive him to act. The ending wraps up far too neatly for my preferences, and overall I found it an unsatisfying though disturbing read. Not badly written by any means, but not a book I would recommend.