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3.84 AVERAGE
3.84 AVERAGE
Another great publicist had the great idea of sending me a copy of this, and I’m really thankful even though this book has left me completely drained.
This is the two stories of Cat, who in one story is trapped in a nightmarish mirror of a school where all the outsider kids are transforming into ‘others’. Cardboard box heads, tentacles, eyeless masks instead or faces.
But the ‘popular’ kids have kept their human form and barricaded themselves against what they see as a threat.
But there is a threat stalking the halls of The School killing off the other inhabitants.
In the other story, Cat is going through various stages of the American school system as an outsider and with all the troubles this brings though she does have her best friend Jeffrey to help her through.
As these stories entwine around each other we see echoes of each seeping through into the other one.
By the end I was getting an inkling of where the story was going to go, but not the actual ending which though right for the story was still a shock.
Weaving tales of bullying and alienation in a system that doesn’t cope or sometimes feels like it doesn’t care. This is a hard hitting exploration of youth in American schools and the culture they have to try and survive.
This is the two stories of Cat, who in one story is trapped in a nightmarish mirror of a school where all the outsider kids are transforming into ‘others’. Cardboard box heads, tentacles, eyeless masks instead or faces.
But the ‘popular’ kids have kept their human form and barricaded themselves against what they see as a threat.
But there is a threat stalking the halls of The School killing off the other inhabitants.
In the other story, Cat is going through various stages of the American school system as an outsider and with all the troubles this brings though she does have her best friend Jeffrey to help her through.
As these stories entwine around each other we see echoes of each seeping through into the other one.
By the end I was getting an inkling of where the story was going to go, but not the actual ending which though right for the story was still a shock.
Weaving tales of bullying and alienation in a system that doesn’t cope or sometimes feels like it doesn’t care. This is a hard hitting exploration of youth in American schools and the culture they have to try and survive.
Find this review and more on my blog at Worlds Unlike Our Own.
Thank you to the publisher, HCC Frenzy for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Cat is trapped in her high school and she and many of her fellow classmates are transforming into monstrous creatures, while others are completely unaffected. The school building itself has been turned upside down, seemingly taking on a life of its own. When a killer begins to stalk the halls, picking them off one by one, Cat must figure out what is going on and find a way to escape, and her slowly resurfacing memories might be the key to solving it all.
This is a really hard book to review because saying just about anything would give away key points from the story, so this will probably be a short post. Katzenjammer has to be among the most bizarre books I’ve ever read, but given the comparison to The Metamorphosis and the title of the book itself, I suppose I should have expected something like this. The mood of the story is perfectly set and as a reader, I was able to feel the tension and urgency right off the bat and all the way to the end of the book. It was also quite thoroughly creepy which worked so well for this type of story. I do enjoy this author’s writing style, but this book was so drastically different from Eliza and Her Monsters (which I adored) that it took me a few chapters just to get used to the change.
The characters were interesting and as the story progressed, I enjoyed trying to figure out which characters turned into which of the Changed. The dual timeline worked perfectly, with Cat’s memories slowly returning in one, providing more and more pieces of the puzzle, while in the present, Cat sets out to track down and unmask the killer, certain that doing so will uncover a way out of the nightmare they have all been living in.
I don’t typically read horror so this was way out of my comfort zone, but I feel that even within this genre, this book was very violent and should definitely have content warnings if it doesn’t already for how bloody and gory it gets – and that’s just to start with. There was so much triggering content and it was a bit excessive for YA in my opinion. The ending, frankly, still has me confused. I kind of see where the author was trying to go with this, but I felt like there weren’t enough hints lined up to make it work and it definitely needed to be fleshed out better.
Overall, this was a very creative story and a fast paced read. Despite the weirdness, I did kind of enjoy this to an extent. It’s likely not going to be a book to everyone’s taste, but for those who are used to the genre and can stomach it, it’s probably worth a read.
Thank you to the publisher, HCC Frenzy for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Cat is trapped in her high school and she and many of her fellow classmates are transforming into monstrous creatures, while others are completely unaffected. The school building itself has been turned upside down, seemingly taking on a life of its own. When a killer begins to stalk the halls, picking them off one by one, Cat must figure out what is going on and find a way to escape, and her slowly resurfacing memories might be the key to solving it all.
This is a really hard book to review because saying just about anything would give away key points from the story, so this will probably be a short post. Katzenjammer has to be among the most bizarre books I’ve ever read, but given the comparison to The Metamorphosis and the title of the book itself, I suppose I should have expected something like this. The mood of the story is perfectly set and as a reader, I was able to feel the tension and urgency right off the bat and all the way to the end of the book. It was also quite thoroughly creepy which worked so well for this type of story. I do enjoy this author’s writing style, but this book was so drastically different from Eliza and Her Monsters (which I adored) that it took me a few chapters just to get used to the change.
The characters were interesting and as the story progressed, I enjoyed trying to figure out which characters turned into which of the Changed. The dual timeline worked perfectly, with Cat’s memories slowly returning in one, providing more and more pieces of the puzzle, while in the present, Cat sets out to track down and unmask the killer, certain that doing so will uncover a way out of the nightmare they have all been living in.
I don’t typically read horror so this was way out of my comfort zone, but I feel that even within this genre, this book was very violent and should definitely have content warnings if it doesn’t already for how bloody and gory it gets – and that’s just to start with. There was so much triggering content and it was a bit excessive for YA in my opinion. The ending, frankly, still has me confused. I kind of see where the author was trying to go with this, but I felt like there weren’t enough hints lined up to make it work and it definitely needed to be fleshed out better.
Overall, this was a very creative story and a fast paced read. Despite the weirdness, I did kind of enjoy this to an extent. It’s likely not going to be a book to everyone’s taste, but for those who are used to the genre and can stomach it, it’s probably worth a read.
challenging
dark
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I wish I could give this book six stars.
My review contains major spoilers…
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I agree with others about content warnings. This is a jarring book that I wish I knew what it was actually about before reading. Such a sad book. I will admit it’s a unique take on the horrors of a school shooting
Tw: gun violence, bullying, school shooting, homophobia, gore, youth deaths
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.
.
.
.
I agree with others about content warnings. This is a jarring book that I wish I knew what it was actually about before reading. Such a sad book. I will admit it’s a unique take on the horrors of a school shooting
Tw: gun violence, bullying, school shooting, homophobia, gore, youth deaths
challenging
dark
sad
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:
Complicated
Dark, twisty, and filled with trippy illustrations; this young adult book will stay with you. Cat is stuck in hell, or at least she imagines what hell would be. She's trapped in a living, breathing high school and she and the other students are slowly being transformed into monsters. If that wasn't bad enough something is roaming the halls and killing students. None of the teens have any memory of how they got there or what life was like before, but they are all desperate to escape. As Cat tries to find out who is killing her friends she starts to get flashbacks from her old life. Her life where she was an artist and her best friend was Jeremy. Are these memories a clue to how she got here? Are they clues on how to escape. The whole book is so weird and I had no idea where it was going until the very end. Inventive and unique storytelling. No spoilers, but it's pretty heartbreaking.
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Well. This was a really well written book. The illustrations are beautiful. I did not like it quite as much as Eliza and Her Monsters.