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4.07 AVERAGE
4.07 AVERAGE
dark
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
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:
Yes
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
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
this book has some of my favorite character moments in the john dies series so far!! pargin's writing only gets stronger as the series goes on
3.5/5
while this is my least favourite of the jdate books, it isnt without its merits; for one, having some hilarious running gags as well as bone chilling running spooks. BATMANTIS??? and the concrete snowman respectively
i think the exploration of dave and amy’s relationship is So good and So important, especially since their beginnings aren’t exactly the healthiest (trauma bonding, amirite??) so getting into the ways in which they dont work is interesting to me
that being said, this book is pretty damn bleak and confusing. daves depression is hauntingly accurate to real life, the subject matter is quite unpleasant, and even now on my 3rd read through, i find some moments hard to keep track of. though i suppose thats the nature of this particular beast
while this is my least favourite of the jdate books, it isnt without its merits; for one, having some hilarious running gags as well as bone chilling running spooks. BATMANTIS??? and the concrete snowman respectively
i think the exploration of dave and amy’s relationship is So good and So important, especially since their beginnings aren’t exactly the healthiest (trauma bonding, amirite??) so getting into the ways in which they dont work is interesting to me
that being said, this book is pretty damn bleak and confusing. daves depression is hauntingly accurate to real life, the subject matter is quite unpleasant, and even now on my 3rd read through, i find some moments hard to keep track of. though i suppose thats the nature of this particular beast
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The last time I read a Jason Pargin book was 5 years ago when I read the first Zoey Ashe book, even longer since I read a John, Dave, Amy book, and this was on purpose. It's because Jason Pargin is an author I completely trust to give me exactly what I love, no matter the content. Looking at my history of this book on GR, I can see I added it to my TBR about seven years ago, and it's been in my collection for about that long, survive 2 moves, always sitting faithfully on my shelf, never having been opened for even a second. This is because I read Pargin books in the same way people only get CPR when they are in need of chest compressions: I read them when I feel like I'm about to hit a reading slump so bad, that nothing but a mouthful of 5 star is going to save me. I'm happy to say that once again, I can award a 5 star to this.
This book has everything you never knew you wanted, in classic JDA fashion. Reading this book, I was somewhat confused a bit because all the while I was reading, I felt like something was missing. Dave's depression seemed worse. Amy seemed more tired and sad, but that wasn't unusual during a case.
Then I realized what it was: Molly was gone.
I had completely forgotten in the 7 year gap I took of reading these books that this takes place after TBIFOS and I forgot that Molly died. Dave's depression was bad, but Molly seemed to keep him going in the last book. She helped him get out of bed in the morning and added levity. Now it was just him and Amy, and they were suffering without her.
This book is ROUGH with Dave and Amy. They love each other so much, but this book puts them both, particularly Amy, through a LOT. I was reminded about another quote from one of JP's earlier JDA books, though I'm not sure which one it's from. It revolves around saving your love for something that can love you back, because loving things like a car, or a house, or a favorite coffee mug goes nowhere. This book seems to echo that, revolving around squirming maggot creatures that use your love against you to let them feed on you. Love isn't a two way street, as mentioned in the book. Sometimes you just pour your love into a black hole and it goes nowhere.
But sometimes, you're the black hole and you're resisting every attempt done by your girlfriend and your best friend to not be a black hole, and you don't want to be a black hole either, but the fact that you've sort of always been a black hole is comforting and familiar, plus you think it might just be your entire identity at this point, and if you're not a black hole, then what are you?
This book understands something that a lot of books these days don't, and it's this: sometimes, maybe even most of the time, love is not enough. You can't just be a hole that your loved ones just dump love into and never give back in any way. Because it sucks for everyone involved. Because otherwise you're no different than the giant maggots disguising themselves as something lovable so that they can eat the thing that loves them alive, and you don't want to be that. You want to be the guy with the giant gun with a silicon butt gun that's shooting the maggot monster.
I think this might be the best JDA book yet.
This book has everything you never knew you wanted, in classic JDA fashion. Reading this book, I was somewhat confused a bit because all the while I was reading, I felt like something was missing. Dave's depression seemed worse. Amy seemed more tired and sad, but that wasn't unusual during a case.
Then I realized what it was: Molly was gone.
I had completely forgotten in the 7 year gap I took of reading these books that this takes place after TBIFOS and I forgot that Molly died. Dave's depression was bad, but Molly seemed to keep him going in the last book. She helped him get out of bed in the morning and added levity. Now it was just him and Amy, and they were suffering without her.
This book is ROUGH with Dave and Amy. They love each other so much, but this book puts them both, particularly Amy, through a LOT. I was reminded about another quote from one of JP's earlier JDA books, though I'm not sure which one it's from. It revolves around saving your love for something that can love you back, because loving things like a car, or a house, or a favorite coffee mug goes nowhere. This book seems to echo that, revolving around squirming maggot creatures that use your love against you to let them feed on you. Love isn't a two way street, as mentioned in the book. Sometimes you just pour your love into a black hole and it goes nowhere.
But sometimes, you're the black hole and you're resisting every attempt done by your girlfriend and your best friend to not be a black hole, and you don't want to be a black hole either, but the fact that you've sort of always been a black hole is comforting and familiar, plus you think it might just be your entire identity at this point, and if you're not a black hole, then what are you?
This book understands something that a lot of books these days don't, and it's this: sometimes, maybe even most of the time, love is not enough. You can't just be a hole that your loved ones just dump love into and never give back in any way. Because it sucks for everyone involved. Because otherwise you're no different than the giant maggots disguising themselves as something lovable so that they can eat the thing that loves them alive, and you don't want to be that. You want to be the guy with the giant gun with a silicon butt gun that's shooting the maggot monster.
I think this might be the best JDA book yet.
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes