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wrentheblurry's review against another edition
3.0
The main premise for this title echoes the one for [b: Room|7937843|Room|Emma Donoghue|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1344265419s/7937843.jpg|9585076], namely that family members must live underground in a basement and pretend it's a normal thing. Instead of a mother and her son, it's parents and their three kids plus a grandma. A couple of other characters come into play later, but mostly story revolves around the youngest son's point of view and how he sees the family dynamic.
Things creep along a bit the first half of the book; mostly we learn about the characters and how dysfunctional the family is. At the 50% mark, we finally begin to discover why the family lives in the basement. Things get pretty whacked at this point, but the pace is sped up, and my interest increased in a desire to find out what was going to happen.
The ending was not to my liking, and I rolled my eyes and curled my lips more than once. Had the momentum continued, it would have been 3.5 stars.
Things creep along a bit the first half of the book; mostly we learn about the characters and how dysfunctional the family is. At the 50% mark, we finally begin to discover why the family lives in the basement. Things get pretty whacked at this point, but the pace is sped up, and my interest increased in a desire to find out what was going to happen.
The ending was not to my liking, and I rolled my eyes and curled my lips more than once. Had the momentum continued, it would have been 3.5 stars.
lisawhelpley's review against another edition
4.0
Started out super odd. But wrapped up pretty well. Definitely captured my attention!
lusimusi's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
4.25
tartaruga_b's review against another edition
dark
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
littletaiko's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
medium-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
3.0
devoe1se's review against another edition
5.0
I haven’t read an entire book in less than a week in I don’t know how long. This story is dark, but deeply engaging. The characters have no names, which I found very interesting. The book goes back and forth from a boy’s first person perspective to a third person perspective/flashback to before he was born to give some of the backstory, which deepens the plot. You’ll change your mind of who the bad guy is several times before the book ends. A very good book!!!
starlinger's review against another edition
4.0
Fast read!
This story was a little dark but also quite believable! I read it very quickly as the events unfold very quickly. I would recommend this book to anyone who I felt could read it without letting it get them down.
This story was a little dark but also quite believable! I read it very quickly as the events unfold very quickly. I would recommend this book to anyone who I felt could read it without letting it get them down.
jamiemerritt0's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, and Mental illness
Minor: Rape