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mellabella's review
4.0
Set in the late 80's, this is a good coming of age horror read.
The group of friends (Garett, Jose, Lynn, Shane, and Ray) are a group of boys that are picked on. One or two of them might not have the best home lives. But they have each other. At 12, that's all you need.
In the vein of Stephen King and Dan Simmons.
The group of friends (Garett, Jose, Lynn, Shane, and Ray) are a group of boys that are picked on. One or two of them might not have the best home lives. But they have each other. At 12, that's all you need.
In the vein of Stephen King and Dan Simmons.
madlymusing's review against another edition
4.0
When I was about a third of the way through this, I almost gave up. It wasn't even the horror - it was the grim nature of the lives of a couple of these boys (especially Ray and Garrett). It was almost poverty porn and felt exploitative. But, I have to say, it did improve.
Look, this book is gross. There are SO many bodily secretions, plus it's told from the point of view of 12 year old boys, so it's like the volume is turned up on references to genitalia, the objectification of women, and descriptions of bodies and monsters. I also felt that most of the main characters were almost caricatures, which was disappointing.
But for all that, I quite enjoyed it. It was tense and visual, even if it took a while to get going. While it could have used a bit more description of the creatures themselves and fewer chapter breaks, it was a pretty good read. Would this book have existed without Stranger Things? No, I don't think so, and this book pales in comparison to that show. Still, it ended up being a solid 3.5/5 for me.
Look, this book is gross. There are SO many bodily secretions, plus it's told from the point of view of 12 year old boys, so it's like the volume is turned up on references to genitalia, the objectification of women, and descriptions of bodies and monsters. I also felt that most of the main characters were almost caricatures, which was disappointing.
But for all that, I quite enjoyed it. It was tense and visual, even if it took a while to get going. While it could have used a bit more description of the creatures themselves and fewer chapter breaks, it was a pretty good read. Would this book have existed without Stranger Things? No, I don't think so, and this book pales in comparison to that show. Still, it ended up being a solid 3.5/5 for me.
shrikekali's review against another edition
4.0
Coming-of-age horror...
I would give this a solid 3 1/2 stars. This is one of my favorite sub genres and I think it was very close to earning 5 stars. The characters were well done but could’ve been even more realistic and the plot was also good, not great. I look forward to trying some of the his other books!
I would give this a solid 3 1/2 stars. This is one of my favorite sub genres and I think it was very close to earning 5 stars. The characters were well done but could’ve been even more realistic and the plot was also good, not great. I look forward to trying some of the his other books!
relliepi's review against another edition
5.0
This book was a fun read. I felt invested in the young protagonists. The writer has a fondness for grotesque descriptions of biological horror, so be warned.
damarisr's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
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