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3.73 AVERAGE
3.73 AVERAGE
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I'm a big fan of ghost stories and stories from the POV of "monsters," so those elements worked really well for me. This is quite dark, though, and the pacing/plotting is a bit strange and erratic. In some ways it almost felt like a series of short stories (or short horror movies) connected by the same POV character, with diversions from the main plot that never seemed to make it back around to being relevant.
I think the narrator did a great job maintaining a narrative voice for Okiku, particularly the sections where the ghost's thoughts are more chaotic/intrusive.
I think the narrator did a great job maintaining a narrative voice for Okiku, particularly the sections where the ghost's thoughts are more chaotic/intrusive.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Blood, Murder
Moderate: Child death
Minor: Animal death, Child abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, Torture
Honestly I found myself laughing at and being overly critical of the author's descriptions of certain aspects of Japanese culture and usage of certain words... Like as someone who lives in Japan, speaks Japanese: a) no one who speaks Japanese would refer to their spouse as "anata" in English. It's a pronoun NOT a pet name and it sounds weeby as hell to imagine a native japanese speaker randomly inserting it into English sentences B) why does everyone in Japan so conveniently speak English?? This has overwhelmingly NOT been my experience and I find it hard to believe that you'd find an inaka shrine maiden who speaks like a fuckin English Lit. professor. I don't buy it. And C) no one who is new to the Japanese language is going to be able to have a full ass conversation even in "broken japanese" after a month. This is literally one of the 3 hardest languages to learn for English speakers to the fact that these white characters come over to japan and are like immediately able to speak and understand japanese had me rolling my eyes SOO hard.
Soo.. there's that. Plus, rhe writing style switched between 1st and 3rd person omniscient like, within paragraphs. The "main character" is the ghost, which is cool but not really, because she only does like 3 things the whole book and the rest of the time just. Watches. Observes. Follows. Waits. Etc. This results in the main characters just being referred to as "the boy" and "the teachers assistant" for at least half of the book and its kind of disorienting.
Overall I didn't hate this book, just found it kind of cringe, but like, in a funny way? It definitely was not even a little bit scary lmao 3 stars I guess
Soo.. there's that. Plus, rhe writing style switched between 1st and 3rd person omniscient like, within paragraphs. The "main character" is the ghost, which is cool but not really, because she only does like 3 things the whole book and the rest of the time just. Watches. Observes. Follows. Waits. Etc. This results in the main characters just being referred to as "the boy" and "the teachers assistant" for at least half of the book and its kind of disorienting.
Overall I didn't hate this book, just found it kind of cringe, but like, in a funny way? It definitely was not even a little bit scary lmao 3 stars I guess
Another great book from Rin. Definitely one of my favorite authors. It was a unique, and interesting story. I'm excited to see what book 2 is about.
Chupeco's "The Girl from the Well, #1"was a fun read with a very unique main character. The story comes from the point of view of Okiku, a 300 years-old onryuu (vengeful spirit in Japanese) whose existence becomes enmeshed with a teenaged boy named Tarquin and his older cousin Callie. Japanese lore is combined with modern-day storytelling to produce this simultaneously bone-chilling and heartwarming adventure.
~The previous owners left nothing of themselves here: no happiness, no grief, no pain. It is the best anyone can wish for in a place to stay.~
~It would surprise these reporters to know that few stories begin with death. Often, they start with grief.~
~For a ghost...you sure do have a ridiculously low opinion of yourself.~
~But I have found that people are strange because they have something most others lack.~
~I am not used to...this. I do not often commune with the living.~
~Sometimes it is better to be a little unusual every now and then than to be common all the time.~
~It would surprise these reporters to know that few stories begin with death. Often, they start with grief.~
~For a ghost...you sure do have a ridiculously low opinion of yourself.~
~But I have found that people are strange because they have something most others lack.~
~I am not used to...this. I do not often commune with the living.~
~Sometimes it is better to be a little unusual every now and then than to be common all the time.~
Ghosts, Japanese mythology, and some creepy/gorey parts. Binge listened to most of it in one afternoon, highly recommended if you like horror and hauntings for a quick story and some cultural learning. I especially liked the vengeance aspects and the descriptions during some of the more intense parts of the book.
This was a cute little YA/middle grade ghost story. This was fun, if a bit predictable. I liked how Japanese folklore was implemented into the story. The pacing was a bit off but not so badly the story was erratic or unimaginable. Solid kids horror story.
Wow, this book was absolutely wonderful to read. I loved how the author took a legend and japanese culture and made it into her own story. I loved learning about Japanese words and their meanings. This book was absolutely entertaining and it was absolute brilliant thinking having the misunderstood "monster" narrate the story. i didn't want it to end but i was pleased with the ending.
A solid debut effort. There were several things about it, like the use of an omniscient narrator, that took away from the suspense of the book and the reader's ability to really in habit their own worlds. And at times, it was easy to get the sense that Chupeco was too enamored of her own darlings.
I almost never say this, but: this book needs a sequel. Um, I can't say more than that or I'll spoil the end. But this needs a sequel.
I almost never say this, but: this book needs a sequel. Um, I can't say more than that or I'll spoil the end. But this needs a sequel.
Odds are you’re familiar with the image of an onryō, the vengeful spirit of Japanese tradition who can affect the world of the living. Shown in movies like The Ring and The Grudge, the onryō is usually depicted in a certain, semi-traditional way – long white dress and long, dark hair hanging down, partially concealing pallid, corpse-like skin.
Okiku, the main character of The Girl From The Well, is such a spirit.
Once an innocent young girl before being brutally murdered, Okiku has been exacting her revenge for the last 300 years, horrifically killing those who hurt innocent young children or teens. Okiku wanders the earth, from one blood-soaked revenge killing to the next. It is during one of her wandering that she catches sight of Tarquin, a teen boy covered with intriguing tattoos. There is a darkness in the boy, something evil contained within his body. Intrigued by something other than vengeance for the first time in a very long time, Okiku sets out, with the help of Callie, Tarquin’s eighteen year-old cousin, to assist the boy in his battle with the evil within.
The Girl From The Well is not a book for the faint of heart – it’s bloody and gory and contains multiple scenes of violent murder. The level of blood, gore, and violence is on par with Kendare Blake’s Anna Dressed In Blood (Tor, 2011) or the movies mentioned above (both rated PG-13). Okiku is much more than just an antihero, she’s a vengeful serial-killing ghost who doesn’t think twice about murdering those she thinks deserves it in drawn-out, gruesome ways. But deep inside the murdering spirit is the young, innocent girl she used to be. It is that part of herself that Tarquin calls to, and it that part of herself that is drawn to the teen boy. The connection between Okiku and Tarquin is not romantic, not at all really, it’s more like the two share a mutual fascination with one another.
Written in a somewhat stream of conscience style, the book is narrated by Okiku and told through her first person, omniscient perspective, giving the reader an insider view into the thoughts of the other characters as well as a bird’s eye view of everything going on. Using the real life legend of Okiku as a jumping off point, the author does a great job of combining Japanese lore, legends, and locations together in this imaginative and wholly unique story.
I haven’t been this excited about and utterly enthralled by a YA horror book in a long time. Absolutely unique and original, I highly recommend this The Girl From The Well to anyone and everyone who likes horror and/or Japanese culture and legends (which the author does a great job of weaving the story around). I will not only read this author again, but I will squeal with joy and make grabby hands when I see the name Rin Chupeco on upcoming books.
*I received an ARC of this book to review. You can find this review and others like it at BookAndCoffeeAddict.com, along with recommendations for a fantastic cup of coffee.
Okiku, the main character of The Girl From The Well, is such a spirit.
Once an innocent young girl before being brutally murdered, Okiku has been exacting her revenge for the last 300 years, horrifically killing those who hurt innocent young children or teens. Okiku wanders the earth, from one blood-soaked revenge killing to the next. It is during one of her wandering that she catches sight of Tarquin, a teen boy covered with intriguing tattoos. There is a darkness in the boy, something evil contained within his body. Intrigued by something other than vengeance for the first time in a very long time, Okiku sets out, with the help of Callie, Tarquin’s eighteen year-old cousin, to assist the boy in his battle with the evil within.
The Girl From The Well is not a book for the faint of heart – it’s bloody and gory and contains multiple scenes of violent murder. The level of blood, gore, and violence is on par with Kendare Blake’s Anna Dressed In Blood (Tor, 2011) or the movies mentioned above (both rated PG-13). Okiku is much more than just an antihero, she’s a vengeful serial-killing ghost who doesn’t think twice about murdering those she thinks deserves it in drawn-out, gruesome ways. But deep inside the murdering spirit is the young, innocent girl she used to be. It is that part of herself that Tarquin calls to, and it that part of herself that is drawn to the teen boy. The connection between Okiku and Tarquin is not romantic, not at all really, it’s more like the two share a mutual fascination with one another.
Written in a somewhat stream of conscience style, the book is narrated by Okiku and told through her first person, omniscient perspective, giving the reader an insider view into the thoughts of the other characters as well as a bird’s eye view of everything going on. Using the real life legend of Okiku as a jumping off point, the author does a great job of combining Japanese lore, legends, and locations together in this imaginative and wholly unique story.
I haven’t been this excited about and utterly enthralled by a YA horror book in a long time. Absolutely unique and original, I highly recommend this The Girl From The Well to anyone and everyone who likes horror and/or Japanese culture and legends (which the author does a great job of weaving the story around). I will not only read this author again, but I will squeal with joy and make grabby hands when I see the name Rin Chupeco on upcoming books.
*I received an ARC of this book to review. You can find this review and others like it at BookAndCoffeeAddict.com, along with recommendations for a fantastic cup of coffee.