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4.24 AVERAGE
4.24 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
“‘How do we know if the bad things will make us better or make us worse?’ …. ‘I think we get to choose.’” (295)
Sayers Wayte has the perfect life.
He’s rich, popular, and handsome.
His parents aren’t around too much and his grades aren’t great and some kids at school don’t think he’s all that nice but does any of that stuff really matter?
It didn’t.
Then, Sayers is taken.
And, everything changes.
A man kidnaps him, tells Sayers that he’s not the boy he thinks he is. The man tells Sayers that the life he had was actually a lie.
And, after a while alone in a windowless room, Sayers begins to believe.
Maybe his life was a lie. Maybe he was a lie.
Maybe it’s easier to survive if he believes the lie.
Will Sayers be able to overcome this ordeal and make it out unscathed or will he find himself not only trapped but lost in the lies he must make himself believe to survive?
This is such an oddly engaging story.
The start of this book is so fast-paced and ensnaring. It captures you and you get lost in the thrill and danger. This book wastes no time sliding into being a dark and disturbing mystery.
And, this book is genuinely disturbing.
I’d say it’s one of the few YA books classified as “horror” that could hold its own in the genre at large.
I very distinctly felt unsettled reading this book.
There’s a sharp moment about a third of the way in when you realize about Sayers’ situation , “oh, this is going to be bad.” The antagonist in this book is quite a well-crafted one. The antagonist feels far more like a potential real, disturbed person than a full-fledged, literary villain — which makes them all the more truly horrifying.
All that said, the third act of this book leaves me a bit uncertain.
Like, I’m not sure how I feel about it. The last part of this book is, somewhat, so wholly unexpected of a dark thriller like this book. Most of these types of stories never pick up after the climactic escape — that this one does was so peculiar to me and just set me so off-kilter.
And, the third act is not bad.
It’s definitely interesting to read about how someone who survives such a traumatic ordeal carries on after. Again, it’s uncommon for a dark thriller and a trauma exploration to be ONE book. (Right????) To be honest, I found some sections of the third act to be boring. Like, I’m supposed to enjoy a normal story about Sayers’ life after everything???
It felt weird — but maybe that’s the point? Life is hard and odd but it goes on regardless, relentless.
If it weren’t for the afterword, I’ll tell you I’m not sure I’d have understood fully the intentions of this book. (It’s an interesting approach, I’ll give the author that.)
Anyway, all this is to say that I don’t think I’ve read a book quite like this one before. I think it has a lot of appeal for readers who enjoy thrillers or horror or, even, true-crime-esque books. This is an unsettling story no matter my own thoughts on plot and intention.
I’d recommend giving it a read if you want a uniquely profound story~
Sayers Wayte has the perfect life.
He’s rich, popular, and handsome.
His parents aren’t around too much and his grades aren’t great and some kids at school don’t think he’s all that nice but does any of that stuff really matter?
It didn’t.
Then, Sayers is taken.
And, everything changes.
A man kidnaps him, tells Sayers that he’s not the boy he thinks he is. The man tells Sayers that the life he had was actually a lie.
And, after a while alone in a windowless room, Sayers begins to believe.
Maybe his life was a lie. Maybe he was a lie.
Maybe it’s easier to survive if he believes the lie.
Will Sayers be able to overcome this ordeal and make it out unscathed or will he find himself not only trapped but lost in the lies he must make himself believe to survive?
This is such an oddly engaging story.
The start of this book is so fast-paced and ensnaring. It captures you and you get lost in the thrill and danger. This book wastes no time sliding into being a dark and disturbing mystery.
And, this book is genuinely disturbing.
I’d say it’s one of the few YA books classified as “horror” that could hold its own in the genre at large.
I very distinctly felt unsettled reading this book.
There’s a sharp moment about a third of the way in when you realize about Sayers’ situation , “oh, this is going to be bad.” The antagonist in this book is quite a well-crafted one. The antagonist feels far more like a potential real, disturbed person than a full-fledged, literary villain — which makes them all the more truly horrifying.
All that said, the third act of this book leaves me a bit uncertain.
Like, I’m not sure how I feel about it. The last part of this book is, somewhat, so wholly unexpected of a dark thriller like this book. Most of these types of stories never pick up after the climactic escape — that this one does was so peculiar to me and just set me so off-kilter.
And, the third act is not bad.
It’s definitely interesting to read about how someone who survives such a traumatic ordeal carries on after. Again, it’s uncommon for a dark thriller and a trauma exploration to be ONE book. (Right????) To be honest, I found some sections of the third act to be boring. Like, I’m supposed to enjoy a normal story about Sayers’ life after everything???
It felt weird — but maybe that’s the point? Life is hard and odd but it goes on regardless, relentless.
If it weren’t for the afterword, I’ll tell you I’m not sure I’d have understood fully the intentions of this book. (It’s an interesting approach, I’ll give the author that.)
Anyway, all this is to say that I don’t think I’ve read a book quite like this one before. I think it has a lot of appeal for readers who enjoy thrillers or horror or, even, true-crime-esque books. This is an unsettling story no matter my own thoughts on plot and intention.
I’d recommend giving it a read if you want a uniquely profound story~
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
My official rating: 7 out of 10 view finders
My husband's official review: 9 out of 10 VHS tapes
Read our full twofer review here: https://www.storybookem.com/post/twofer-review-dark-room-etiquette-possible-spoilers
My husband's official review: 9 out of 10 VHS tapes
Read our full twofer review here: https://www.storybookem.com/post/twofer-review-dark-room-etiquette-possible-spoilers
Note, our full review does include spoilers which we have tried to mark so you can easily skip them if you wish.
This story of a kidnapped, rich, entitled boy who finds himself fighting for his life and then learning how to cope in the aftermath was full of a lot of em0tions, but also a lot of convocations between my husband and I as we listened through it.
This story of a kidnapped, rich, entitled boy who finds himself fighting for his life and then learning how to cope in the aftermath was full of a lot of em0tions, but also a lot of convocations between my husband and I as we listened through it.
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A thoughtful but haunting YA story about trauma and its aftermath. I don't typically enjoy thrillers but this was a quiet character-driven thriller heavily focused on the main character's journey through a traumatic event and how his life is affected after, rather than a story driven by action and plot, and I think this book is better for it. I read Robin Roe's debut shortly after its release and it stuck with me for a long time. At first I wasn't sure how I felt about the resolution, and kind of wished it had involved clinical therapy and had more resolution with Luke beyond seeing the text messages, but the more I think about it, the more I think it's important to reflect the reality that recovery from trauma is going to be messy and people won't get professional help on the timeline we think they should and people should be allowed to make their own choices on how to move forward because actually it's none of our business Regardless, I am so pleased that she has delivered with another masterpiece of a story on the topic of trauma and resiliency and if she wasn't already an auto-buy author, she sure is now.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Kidnapping
Moderate: Bullying, Drug use, Suicide, Murder, Gaslighting
Minor: Sexual assault
Fascinating premise and a real page turner. Sayer Wayte is a boy who is privileged beyond measure, popular, charming, and cruel. It was fascinating to read about his life before his kidnapping, specifically how his privileged upbringing resulted in him being a bystander and enabler of bullying. The author is a psychologist and her insight and knowledge about trauma makes Saywers trauma feel all to real and heartbreaking. Scenes where he desperately attempted to escape only to feel hopeless, helpless and ultimately succumb to his fear were gripping and painful.
Unfortunately, despite everything that was so interesting, so right, about the first 2/3rds of novel- resulted in a conclusion that was unsatisfying, rushed, and strange. The last quarter of the novel attempts to analyze how Sayer is changed by his trauma, a total juxtaposition to who he once was. I find it hard to suspend my disbelief and believe that Sawyer was not provided with therapy, that he was rushed into school, that no guardian in his life paused for a moment to say- “hey this kid was kidnapped for a year, has Stockholm syndrome, and really needs deprogramming\psychiatric care?” It just doesn’t feel real, it’s not how society reacts when children are saved from their high profile kidnappings. Especially and very unfortunately when it happens to kids like Sayer, who is white, privileged, and has ever resource available to him. The conclusion with Sayer befriending Evan, the boy who his friends tormented before his kidnapping, was sweet. However I felt as if I needed a better conclusion with Luke, his mother, even his teacher Mr. Rivas who was so prominent in the first half of the novel only to totally disappear. Also, the inclusion of Penny was so out of left field- especially since she introduced qualms about religion and faith- a theme that was never really resolved or wrapped up?
I was a little disappointed because the premise of this novel had so much potential, but I won’t say I didn’t enjoy this novel- I did, I flew through the pages it was very engrossing- but the ending was so clunky and unrealistic I really don’t know how to feel.
Unfortunately, despite everything that was so interesting, so right, about the first 2/3rds of novel- resulted in a conclusion that was unsatisfying, rushed, and strange. The last quarter of the novel attempts to analyze how Sayer is changed by his trauma, a total juxtaposition to who he once was. I find it hard to suspend my disbelief and believe that Sawyer was not provided with therapy, that he was rushed into school, that no guardian in his life paused for a moment to say- “hey this kid was kidnapped for a year, has Stockholm syndrome, and really needs deprogramming\psychiatric care?” It just doesn’t feel real, it’s not how society reacts when children are saved from their high profile kidnappings. Especially and very unfortunately when it happens to kids like Sayer, who is white, privileged, and has ever resource available to him. The conclusion with Sayer befriending Evan, the boy who his friends tormented before his kidnapping, was sweet. However I felt as if I needed a better conclusion with Luke, his mother, even his teacher Mr. Rivas who was so prominent in the first half of the novel only to totally disappear. Also, the inclusion of Penny was so out of left field- especially since she introduced qualms about religion and faith- a theme that was never really resolved or wrapped up?
I was a little disappointed because the premise of this novel had so much potential, but I won’t say I didn’t enjoy this novel- I did, I flew through the pages it was very engrossing- but the ending was so clunky and unrealistic I really don’t know how to feel.
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
fast-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
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Kidnapping
Moderate: Rape
dark
emotional
reflective