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3.24 AVERAGE
3.24 AVERAGE
This was so creepy and totally felt like a YA version of something Grady Hendrix or Stephen King would write.
I found this genuinely unsettling, reading it as an adult. It’s got a very effective claustrophobic feeling running through it. And the writing is pretty good! Cooney really makes the suburban setting feel so sinister, which was one of my favorite parts. It does get a little repetitive at times with the main character’s circular ruminations, but the juicy horror of the story made it well worth the repetition for me.
I wanted the ending to crank up the horror and really go there, but this has a very YA friendly ending, which makes sense, considering the intended audience.
I found this genuinely unsettling, reading it as an adult. It’s got a very effective claustrophobic feeling running through it. And the writing is pretty good! Cooney really makes the suburban setting feel so sinister, which was one of my favorite parts. It does get a little repetitive at times with the main character’s circular ruminations, but the juicy horror of the story made it well worth the repetition for me.
I wanted the ending to crank up the horror and really go there, but this has a very YA friendly ending, which makes sense, considering the intended audience.
In my opinion this is one of the better Caroline B. Cooney books but I haven't read it in a long time so my opinion may have changed,
Chilling novel, written in deceptively simplistic, childlike language, that reflects the age of the narrator and adds an eeriness to the actions of the characters - kids can be so cruel. The tension and character progression are well-developed, dove-tailing with each other to reach a satisfying and rather unexpected conclusion (fairly unique in this series). I would rate this 3.5 if I could.
This book.
I loved it. Reread it every chance I got as a kid. Kinda messed up story but guess that's why I loved it.
I loved it. Reread it every chance I got as a kid. Kinda messed up story but guess that's why I loved it.
The prologoue on it's own would have been one of my favorite short stories I've read this year. Loved this entire story though. I need to track down more Caroline B. Cooney.
I liked the idea of this one and it had some interesting concepts, I just don't think the structure was there to hold up the ending, which could have been really powerful but ended up more left field. Even short books for a younger audience need an awareness of pacing. The yes no flipflopping and repetitious plot really undercut the power and threat of the antagonist, but somehow still didn't introduce enough sympathy to justify the ending. Interesting Ice Queen-ish concept with faulty execution.
As a teen, blissfully happy in first love, our protagonist is confronted by the consequences of a strange event from her childhood. Teenage love, blackmail, the world's weirdest superpower and a winter setting that fits it perfectly, and Cooney's remarkable, metaphor-laden, taut voice - the last of which elevates this far beyond ... what, its deserving? the YA thriller genre? maybe just my expectations. This is worth it for the childhood prologue alone, which is phenomenal; the teenage parts grow melodramatic, but I like that this finds so much tension in the lingering, haunting imprint of that one childhood evening. Of course an outsider wouldn't believe: our protagonist can barely believe - it's too strange, too unsettling, for her to view directly, and that strengthens the horror elements in a book that sometimes errs towards thriller territory. The thematic development has some YA heavy-handedness, but the uneasy ending is equally successful, especially compared to, again, my expectations of its particular trope.
Somehow, I never encountered Cooney as a kid, but she was ridiculously prolific, particularly in this genre. I'll have to look into more of her work.
Somehow, I never encountered Cooney as a kid, but she was ridiculously prolific, particularly in this genre. I'll have to look into more of her work.
Reading for the Don’t Point That Horror at Me Podcast. I quite enjoyed this one. Not your typical Point Horror and had an interesting twist at the end.