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3.51 AVERAGE
3.51 AVERAGE
This was such a fun read! It gave me the perfect amount of Halloween vibes, while still being an entertaining read. I do wish that it were a bit longer, as the ending did feel a tad rushed, but overall, I had such a good time with this book. I know there’s a film adaptation coming out sometime in the near future, and I am very excited to see this story put onto the. If screen.
A fun Cabin in the woods style folk horror tale that felt like the perfect blend of depraved with a dash of cultish. I enjoyed the story of Pete, Jim, and the October Boy and the sickening legend that laid behind all of it.
A good read if you’re looking for something quick and fun.
A good read if you’re looking for something quick and fun.
Mostly entertaining and kept me turning pages. Pretty unsatisfying ending with rather flat characters and setting. What actually fascinated me most was Partridge tells the story from third person perspective but dips in and out of second person by either outlining a character and then making "you" (the reader) inhabit them for a bit or making the reader a part of the story through direct "you" references or collective references to "we" (as if the reader were not only familiar with the narrator but on the same "side" so to speak). I'm not sure I've ever seen this done before... At least, not in this way.
Spoiler
Partridge also flips the scrip on who the monster(s) are in this story, which had a lot of potential.
fast-paced
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
“Tonight, everything’s just the way it is.”
Imaginative, scathing, and fresh — this is a horror novel with bite and heart. The monsters we hide from (or chase with pitchforks) aren’t always the monsters we think they are. And the people who walk around just like us might be the most monstrous of all.
The film adaptation to this novel slaps and should be a must-watch for any fan of the book. In a rare instance, I honestly prefer it to the source material.
A well-deserved 3.5 stars.
Imaginative, scathing, and fresh — this is a horror novel with bite and heart. The monsters we hide from (or chase with pitchforks) aren’t always the monsters we think they are. And the people who walk around just like us might be the most monstrous of all.
The film adaptation to this novel slaps and should be a must-watch for any fan of the book. In a rare instance, I honestly prefer it to the source material.
A well-deserved 3.5 stars.
An unnamed town in 1963 is home to a yearly event on Halloween called the "Run" which tracks down a thing called October Boy. Grown each year and set free on Halloween, he is given a butcher knife to use against boys between the ages of 16 to 19. The boy that kills October Boy is free to leave the town and his family does not have to pay for a thing for the next year. However, this year the Run is going to be different.
I thought this book was equal parts the Lottery and also The Long Walk. I think my biggest issue is that you don't ever get an explanation on the first Run. How in the world did the townspeople even know how to do the things that they did. Why can't people leave the town? It doesn't seem that something terrible will occur. I think the only reason for things to keep continuing is for the harvest, but the town is small and does not seem well off so I had a hard time with the rationalization for any of this. But that's my big problem with most horror books, it has to make sense to me otherwise I don't enjoy it.
The book switches perspectives a bunch of times. We go from the October Boy, to Pete McCormick, Officer Ricks, Mitch Crenshaw, and a few others. No one gets much development besides Pete McCormick and I would say the October Boy. Everyone else is paper thin as anything.
For example, we get a young girl who is somehow part of the Run. It doesn't even make sense since girls are not to participate. But this one is and when you hear the reasoning why I had to go huh a dozen or so times to myself. It was like that a few times when I came to certain parts.
The writing was repetitive and nothing earth shattering to me. I never want to read the words licorice road again. It is said repeatedly about a road that leads out of town. Maybe because I hate black licorice it was just enough to set me off. Who knows.
The flow was kind of a mess from the frog leaping among characters. There are certain things left unexplained that I decided in the end where not worth the headache of trying to see if it was explained elsewhere.
The setting of a small town gone mad has obviously been done before. I think that besides the cool reveal, there was not much here for me to recommend reading it. It honestly was not scary to me. There are a couple of gruesome things talked about and done, but I have read worse.
The ending definitely leaves one wondering what is going to happen to the town.
I read this for Halloween Bingo 2016 and the "Set on Halloween" square. I also was lucky enough to have this count for Horror Aficionados September runner up group read.
I thought this book was equal parts the Lottery and also The Long Walk. I think my biggest issue is that you don't ever get an explanation on the first Run. How in the world did the townspeople even know how to do the things that they did. Why can't people leave the town? It doesn't seem that something terrible will occur. I think the only reason for things to keep continuing is for the harvest, but the town is small and does not seem well off so I had a hard time with the rationalization for any of this. But that's my big problem with most horror books, it has to make sense to me otherwise I don't enjoy it.
The book switches perspectives a bunch of times. We go from the October Boy, to Pete McCormick, Officer Ricks, Mitch Crenshaw, and a few others. No one gets much development besides Pete McCormick and I would say the October Boy. Everyone else is paper thin as anything.
For example, we get a young girl who is somehow part of the Run. It doesn't even make sense since girls are not to participate. But this one is and when you hear the reasoning why I had to go huh a dozen or so times to myself. It was like that a few times when I came to certain parts.
The writing was repetitive and nothing earth shattering to me. I never want to read the words licorice road again. It is said repeatedly about a road that leads out of town. Maybe because I hate black licorice it was just enough to set me off. Who knows.
The flow was kind of a mess from the frog leaping among characters. There are certain things left unexplained that I decided in the end where not worth the headache of trying to see if it was explained elsewhere.
The setting of a small town gone mad has obviously been done before. I think that besides the cool reveal, there was not much here for me to recommend reading it. It honestly was not scary to me. There are a couple of gruesome things talked about and done, but I have read worse.
The ending definitely leaves one wondering what is going to happen to the town.
I read this for Halloween Bingo 2016 and the "Set on Halloween" square. I also was lucky enough to have this count for Horror Aficionados September runner up group read.
Absurdly, underwhelming. I either missed a bunch of pages or there was absolutely no point to any of that.....
dark
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
The story of October Boy, born each Halloween in the cornfield at the edge of town, and the game of predator and prey that's played with the town's children (exclusively male) felt like the essence of Halloween distilled into 169 pages of lyrical prose.
The book begins in a way that feels as though you're floating throughout the town, stopping in on various characters as the night begins, then seamlessly moving out the door and down side streets, on to the next character. In that way, it felt like like one of my favorite horror anthologies, Trick 'r' Treat.
You could see the ending of this book coming from at least 40-50% in, but that doesn't matter, because getting there is still just as enjoyable. I may have to make this a yearly Halloween tradition.
The book begins in a way that feels as though you're floating throughout the town, stopping in on various characters as the night begins, then seamlessly moving out the door and down side streets, on to the next character. In that way, it felt like like one of my favorite horror anthologies, Trick 'r' Treat.
You could see the ending of this book coming from at least 40-50% in, but that doesn't matter, because getting there is still just as enjoyable. I may have to make this a yearly Halloween tradition.