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djohan's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
michael_benavidez's review
5.0
Jay Alexander does something wickedly fun here.
One of my favorite things about this book is how the author manages to bypass the silly trope of "i'm the only one seeing this."
I lead with this because it says a lot about the book itself. Creating what should be a cute little puppet character (that already sounds spooky to me even before all the creepy shit happens, a la Chucky) we're treated to something outright spooky. In fact, much like Chucky, while it's a fun and silly premise that makes me think of something out of Tales From The Crypt, Jay's treatment of it in a serious way allows it to go full tilt horror.
Not diving into the trope that only the husband is seeing it for what it is, allows for a larger scope of horror, crazier highs as we're treated to a devilish plot that kept me entertained and tense. Butthole squeezed tight, i was fully invested in how this story would play out.
And being a novella only made the rather short ride all the more thrilling, as the pages dwindled and the crazy escalated.
One of my favorite things about this book is how the author manages to bypass the silly trope of "i'm the only one seeing this."
I lead with this because it says a lot about the book itself. Creating what should be a cute little puppet character (that already sounds spooky to me even before all the creepy shit happens, a la Chucky) we're treated to something outright spooky. In fact, much like Chucky, while it's a fun and silly premise that makes me think of something out of Tales From The Crypt, Jay's treatment of it in a serious way allows it to go full tilt horror.
Not diving into the trope that only the husband is seeing it for what it is, allows for a larger scope of horror, crazier highs as we're treated to a devilish plot that kept me entertained and tense. Butthole squeezed tight, i was fully invested in how this story would play out.
And being a novella only made the rather short ride all the more thrilling, as the pages dwindled and the crazy escalated.
georgesreads's review
4.0
3.5 stars rounded up. This was fun, and a nice break from the none stop misery in the other books I’ve read today. Don’t get me wrong the events weren’t pleasant, but it was just so ridiculous that it was funny. That’s not always a bad thing.
The Lunchling is a puppet, used by two struggling parents to get their child to eat. He simply won’t without the Lunchling present. The two parents find it a mere inconvenience, until some supernatural events take place and the Lunchling doesn’t seem so friendly anymore..
The Lunchling is a puppet, used by two struggling parents to get their child to eat. He simply won’t without the Lunchling present. The two parents find it a mere inconvenience, until some supernatural events take place and the Lunchling doesn’t seem so friendly anymore..
booksonawire's review
4.0
This was just a fun read, I strictly read it over lunch so it took longer than necessary but I was always able to jump right back in.
bobmetal's review
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
lolabug's review
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
angelinarainey's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
inkedwxtchreads's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Very much not what I wanted or expected but it wasn’t horrible. I was expecting chucky or slappy the dummy vibes but this wasn’t exactly that. It seems a bit more folky, and while I’ve realized I love folk horror recently this one wasn’t really one I LOVED. I felt like it was honestly kind of slow, for how short it is, and was written in a style I don’t totally love (I’m not a prude but too much cussing in a book that doesn’t excel in the other areas too kinda gives me all edge no point vibes and this had lots of cussing just to be edgy/half hearted attempts at being funny moments to make up for lack of interesting stuff happening ). A lot of the meat of this story which we could have used for more creepy puppet scenes were used for a weird cheating backstory between the parents that I felt wasn’t necessary.
While I do wish more time was spent on the puppet I did like the section that was basically commentary on homophobia. That was pretty good!
Some of the imagery was chilling… but I felt like it was lessened by again- trying to give a comedic effect by having the puppet cuss and stuff.
Also not sure I liked the characters and in this you’re definitely supposed to, despite their flaws. Also Lennon’s reasons for not eating don’t make sense at all and you can tell the author didn’t care to make it make sense, so a big part of the book felt like a plot hole to me or at least an important plot point that should have been expanded on but wasn’t.
It was fun at times, but also just anti climatic too. The puppet and the way it operated in attacking was really intriguing. I wish this was executed differently, is all. But I really didn’t hate it. It wasn’t all bad. I’d probably read from this author again!
Though this does open up for a sequel at the end, and I don’t think I would pick that specific book up if it were to come out!
While I do wish more time was spent on the puppet I did like the section that was basically commentary on homophobia. That was pretty good!
Some of the imagery was chilling… but I felt like it was lessened by again- trying to give a comedic effect by having the puppet cuss and stuff.
Also not sure I liked the characters and in this you’re definitely supposed to, despite their flaws. Also Lennon’s reasons for not eating don’t make sense at all and you can tell the author didn’t care to make it make sense, so a big part of the book felt like a plot hole to me or at least an important plot point that should have been expanded on but wasn’t.
It was fun at times, but also just anti climatic too. The puppet and the way it operated in attacking was really intriguing. I wish this was executed differently, is all. But I really didn’t hate it. It wasn’t all bad. I’d probably read from this author again!
Though this does open up for a sequel at the end, and I don’t think I would pick that specific book up if it were to come out!
kirstycarson1's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0