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3.6 AVERAGE
3.6 AVERAGE
The greatest fears are the ones we create inside our ourselves. That is one thing I took from this intriguing book. This book also has a very original villain, as well as a fascinating, dark history to the town that I think everyone will enjoy. I really admire authors who create a rich history because I think, personally, that is so damn hard! My biggest criticism is the means by which the villain was destroyed. It did not fit the haunting, supernatural themes of the book and frankly, I just didn’t get it. In fact, it reminded me of my biggest criticism of The Matrix. Overall, though, a range of diverse, interesting characters and a pretty original plot. Get ready to embrace the dark!
dark
emotional
slow-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
I really wanted to like this, it puts you in the mind of Stephen King’s “It”. It’s semi dark/mystery with a dystopian feel to it but it did feel flat in a lot of chapters. Mystical and witchy at the same time with a bit of bisexuality…such an interesting combination. I felt Isadora rambled quite a lot which often led me to being confused about a few things at times. The storyline is great just wish it was more in depth and not so repetitive. The writer overused the “Angel” word in my opinion. I do give it 3.75 stars because as a debut writer, this was good and I’ll possibly read another by the author and see if she has growth.
dark
emotional
sad
medium-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
3.5/5 ⭐️ for this read! This was an audio book for me, found on hoopla, and at times I forgot what I was listening to. I feel as through the book couldn’t decide if it wanted to be a spokesperson and mental health representation for depression and suicide, or it wanted to be scary. All that to say that if I would have picked this up and read it in high school, I would have appreciated it much more than I did now.
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I think it’s important for teenagers and brains that are reading that are not fully developed to understand that while reading horror and scary books can be entertaining. It doesn’t necessarily mean you have to always choose death as the way out of life. You can also choose to live and overcome your hardships and what you’re scared of.
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As an adult who reads for fun, I think that I I’m not going to lower my score for this read because I know that this read can make such an impact for the YA genre. However, for an adult reading this for fun, I think there was too much to be desired. At times, it felt like we lost the plot a little bit. The ending left me with more shrugs than I would have liked. The character development was well done, I liked our main character Isa, who is a young Chinese American bisexual female. It was a nice change of pace from the typical female main character we usually see in trending literature. Wasn’t a fan of the mom character at all, she felt too detached from our main character.
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Hmmmm over all this was a decent read but not something I’m chomping at the bit to recommend for anyone. Maybe this gets filed in the lite horror fic section. Good for someone who likes a little horror but isn’t wanting anything too extreme.
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I think it’s important for teenagers and brains that are reading that are not fully developed to understand that while reading horror and scary books can be entertaining. It doesn’t necessarily mean you have to always choose death as the way out of life. You can also choose to live and overcome your hardships and what you’re scared of.
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As an adult who reads for fun, I think that I I’m not going to lower my score for this read because I know that this read can make such an impact for the YA genre. However, for an adult reading this for fun, I think there was too much to be desired. At times, it felt like we lost the plot a little bit. The ending left me with more shrugs than I would have liked. The character development was well done, I liked our main character Isa, who is a young Chinese American bisexual female. It was a nice change of pace from the typical female main character we usually see in trending literature. Wasn’t a fan of the mom character at all, she felt too detached from our main character.
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Hmmmm over all this was a decent read but not something I’m chomping at the bit to recommend for anyone. Maybe this gets filed in the lite horror fic section. Good for someone who likes a little horror but isn’t wanting anything too extreme.
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dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The plot, setting, and character development didn't feel quite polished/fully developed to me, and the author tries to fit a LOT into one book. That said, the story pulled me in pretty quickly, and I was really invested in the characters by the end. Also love to see bi and Chinese-American representation in a small town setting. I'd recommend it if you're interested in the premise and okay with the trigger warnings (it is SAD sad).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent
Moderate: Physical abuse, Religious bigotry
On audio, honestly wasn't paying enough attention, is problably good and might be worth revisiting if I run out of audiobook options at some point. It does happen, stow the lifted eyebrow.
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
reflective
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
what does it mean to forgive, others & ourself? what do we leave behind when we move on from a home that hurt us? who do we leave behind? what else do we forget when we forget all of the hurt?
i was so utterly hooked on this surreal, eerie, poetic, haunting horror. the writing was somehow both descriptive & abstract, bringing scenes to life in my head but making me question what my mind was cooking up. the continual mixing of reality with the supernatural was done super well & really heightened the overall spooky factor, so much so that i was definitely on edge reading this while camping (especially in the mountains!! iykyk)
the character work was excellent as well. having teenage protagonists made their internal battles so much more poignant, thinking about how much grief they were holding at such young ages & how deeply that affected their dreams, & their relationships, & their sense of self
i did not expect a YA horror to gut me so deeply, but man oh man, it did. the melancholic atmosphere, the page-turning plot, the exploration of grief & suicidal ideation, the representation of qtpoc youth in a small homogenous town — all of it was done brilliantly
this would be a great read for people who enjoyed any of gillian flynn’s books or BAD CREE by jessica johns, relate a little too much to tis the damn season by taylor swift, & have ever felt haunted by ghosts of their past
i was so utterly hooked on this surreal, eerie, poetic, haunting horror. the writing was somehow both descriptive & abstract, bringing scenes to life in my head but making me question what my mind was cooking up. the continual mixing of reality with the supernatural was done super well & really heightened the overall spooky factor, so much so that i was definitely on edge reading this while camping (especially in the mountains!! iykyk)
the character work was excellent as well. having teenage protagonists made their internal battles so much more poignant, thinking about how much grief they were holding at such young ages & how deeply that affected their dreams, & their relationships, & their sense of self
i did not expect a YA horror to gut me so deeply, but man oh man, it did. the melancholic atmosphere, the page-turning plot, the exploration of grief & suicidal ideation, the representation of qtpoc youth in a small homogenous town — all of it was done brilliantly
this would be a great read for people who enjoyed any of gillian flynn’s books or BAD CREE by jessica johns, relate a little too much to tis the damn season by taylor swift, & have ever felt haunted by ghosts of their past