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3.61 AVERAGE
3.61 AVERAGE
dark
hopeful
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
2024 reads: 231/250
i received an advanced review copy from the publisher via netgalley in exchange for an honest review. this did not affect my rating.
isadora chang never planned on returning to slater. between her bisexuality and two of her childhood friends dying, the former mining town doesn’t feel very welcoming to her. but when isa’s abusive father dies, she comes back just to collect the inheritance. while there, though, she runs into mason, the local medium’s son, who says their friends were killed by a supernatural being, and the two need to put a stop to it before it claims more of the town’s children.
first, i want to highlight that this book was no light read (not that any horror book is). content warnings include suicide, violence, child abuse, child death, religious trauma, and transphobia. i think the author gave each of these topics respect. i also want to say that i appreciate that, while deadnaming is present in this book, the deadname isn’t found on page. rather, the part of the dialogue containing the deadname is replaced by an em dash. i thought this was a great way of showing the injustices that character faced while still respecting him.
the horror aspect was very unique. as i mentioned before, this book includes depictions of religious trauma, and the religion (more like cult) followed by many in the town is directly tied to the horror aspect. i loved seeing how this element unfolded.
i’d recommend this to ya horror readers, and i’d be interested in reading more from wen-yi lee!
i received an advanced review copy from the publisher via netgalley in exchange for an honest review. this did not affect my rating.
isadora chang never planned on returning to slater. between her bisexuality and two of her childhood friends dying, the former mining town doesn’t feel very welcoming to her. but when isa’s abusive father dies, she comes back just to collect the inheritance. while there, though, she runs into mason, the local medium’s son, who says their friends were killed by a supernatural being, and the two need to put a stop to it before it claims more of the town’s children.
first, i want to highlight that this book was no light read (not that any horror book is). content warnings include suicide, violence, child abuse, child death, religious trauma, and transphobia. i think the author gave each of these topics respect. i also want to say that i appreciate that, while deadnaming is present in this book, the deadname isn’t found on page. rather, the part of the dialogue containing the deadname is replaced by an em dash. i thought this was a great way of showing the injustices that character faced while still respecting him.
the horror aspect was very unique. as i mentioned before, this book includes depictions of religious trauma, and the religion (more like cult) followed by many in the town is directly tied to the horror aspect. i loved seeing how this element unfolded.
i’d recommend this to ya horror readers, and i’d be interested in reading more from wen-yi lee!
This was pretty good!
I thought it was a really good exploration of trauma and had some good characters. I enjoyed the complication friendship dynamic and how that relationship developed. And of course I always enjoy a book with no romance (there is past relationships here but no romance subplot)
I didn’t find myself super engaged with the main plot/mystery - some of the elements felt a bit random/ not meshed together enough for me? It wasn’t quite as atmospheric as i wanted. I also wanted a bit more exploration of her relationship with her parents?
love a good m/f friendship tho
love a good m/f friendship tho
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
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
It was very fortunate that the moment I swore off pre-ordering books from Gillian Flynn’s imprint, I was granted an ARC of its next upcoming book, The Dark We Know! This YA story follows Isadora as she returns to her hometown to receive an inheritance from her father’s death, only to find out once she gets there that an old friend, Mason, needs her help taking down the evil spirit that is suspected of causing the deaths of children in town, including two of Isa’s and Mason’s best friends.
My favorite part of this novel was the atmosphere. I kept picturing an abandoned town in Appalachia with views of the surrounding forest and ancient houses. This pairs well with the horror elements, which were also extremely well done. It had rat attacks, bloated bodies, decrepit libraries and more! There is also great gender and sexual orientation diversity in this book, which we love to see in a YA book. I would describe the writing style as lyrical, especially the portions of the book from the Angel’s POV. Because of the writing style, I would consider this a slower paced book so keep that in mind if you decide to pick it up.
On the downside, I felt that the flow and pacing of the novel were off. I was so interested in the main storyline that the growing number of side plots and adventures started to tire me out, not to mention that everything that happens in this book feels like a major surprise. I wanted to feel like I knew where the story was headed but the twists and turns didn’t allow for that.
*Thank you to NetGalley for exchanging an e-ARC of this book for an unbiased review!
dark
sad
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:
Complicated
here is a lot of suicide in this book. While that suicide might be driven by an outside supernatural force, it's still a heavy read. I think there could have been more aftercare or healing for the surviving family members. I felt like for such a heavy topic there could have been a resources page either in the front or back of the book. Heavy topic aside, there were two other big issues I had with the book. The first was the timeline and the second was the vague location.
At the beginning of the book, it's mentioned that Isa runs away at 16 with a full-ride scholarship to art school. It's made to seem like this book takes place in the United States and if that's the case then she would still be a minor. She wouldn't have been able to attend university at 16 without parental consent. Throughout the book, it mentions she's 18 but is close to graduating. She's only been gone 2 years! How could she graduate? Also, the history of the town continuously references a plague in the past of the town. Which makes it seem like that event happened in like the 1800s, but it ends up being much more recent. It just bothered me, why not add dates to flesh the story out?
The second issue was a matter of place. Slater is the town and Isa goes to university in "the city", but they never say WHERE that it. Like no state or country. It pulled me right out of the story. I could tell it was a mining town by a body of water and mountains. So maybe Virginia? Maybe Pennsylvania? Maybe Wales? It was just frustrating. There was so much care and detail given to the lore and horror, but the actual details of the place/timeline were sloppy. I get that this is meant for young adults, but still. It wouldn't have been hard to flesh out.
The actual psychological horror aspect is good and the trauma of losing people you love in complicated ways was well done. But I just couldn't get past the glaring issues above. It's a no for me.
Thanks to NetGalley and Zando Gillian Flynn Books for the ARC, all opinions are my own.
At the beginning of the book, it's mentioned that Isa runs away at 16 with a full-ride scholarship to art school. It's made to seem like this book takes place in the United States and if that's the case then she would still be a minor. She wouldn't have been able to attend university at 16 without parental consent. Throughout the book, it mentions she's 18 but is close to graduating. She's only been gone 2 years! How could she graduate? Also, the history of the town continuously references a plague in the past of the town. Which makes it seem like that event happened in like the 1800s, but it ends up being much more recent. It just bothered me, why not add dates to flesh the story out?
The second issue was a matter of place. Slater is the town and Isa goes to university in "the city", but they never say WHERE that it. Like no state or country. It pulled me right out of the story. I could tell it was a mining town by a body of water and mountains. So maybe Virginia? Maybe Pennsylvania? Maybe Wales? It was just frustrating. There was so much care and detail given to the lore and horror, but the actual details of the place/timeline were sloppy. I get that this is meant for young adults, but still. It wouldn't have been hard to flesh out.
The actual psychological horror aspect is good and the trauma of losing people you love in complicated ways was well done. But I just couldn't get past the glaring issues above. It's a no for me.
Thanks to NetGalley and Zando Gillian Flynn Books for the ARC, all opinions are my own.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Homophobia, Transphobia, Violence
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
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
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
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:
Yes
I think I read this in some kind of fever dream trance state because I cannot remember a single thing about it, except that it consumed me and I was having a great time letting it do so.
<i>The Dark We Know</i> is a haunting and atmospheric debut, with an emphasis on LGBT+ representation in a suffocatingly small town, religious-induced horror elements, and how trauma shapes our present. It's achingly beautiful, and I look forward to my preorder arriving so I can reread is a more present state of consciousness.
<i>The Dark We Know</i> is a haunting and atmospheric debut, with an emphasis on LGBT+ representation in a suffocatingly small town, religious-induced horror elements, and how trauma shapes our present. It's achingly beautiful, and I look forward to my preorder arriving so I can reread is a more present state of consciousness.
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I received a complimentary copy from Zando – Gillian Flynn Books via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. This doesn’t affect my thoughts about the book in any way.
The Dark We Know will be out on August 13, 2024. This is a YA lyrical horror standalone perfect for fans of She is A Haunting & Nestlings. I am someone who doesn’t read the synopsis before going in, so the turn of events was unexpected. Small towns and thrillers are my thing, and yet I never expected how dark this would be.
This was a perfect read for Pride Month as TDWK has a bisexual Chinese FMC and is moreover a book that allowed the characters to explore their sexual identity. The journey into reading this book is similar to spiraling into a certain darkness, with its creepy atmosphere and deep writing that analyzes grief and specifically depicts religious trauma. Wen Yi-Lee was able to write a book about innocence and childhood with a deliciously sinister turn. I highly recommend for others to add this to their TBR and read it in the future!
The Dark We Know will be out on August 13, 2024. This is a YA lyrical horror standalone perfect for fans of She is A Haunting & Nestlings. I am someone who doesn’t read the synopsis before going in, so the turn of events was unexpected. Small towns and thrillers are my thing, and yet I never expected how dark this would be.
This was a perfect read for Pride Month as TDWK has a bisexual Chinese FMC and is moreover a book that allowed the characters to explore their sexual identity. The journey into reading this book is similar to spiraling into a certain darkness, with its creepy atmosphere and deep writing that analyzes grief and specifically depicts religious trauma. Wen Yi-Lee was able to write a book about innocence and childhood with a deliciously sinister turn. I highly recommend for others to add this to their TBR and read it in the future!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Medical content, Suicide attempt
Moderate: Deadnaming
Minor: Child abuse
Thank you to NetGalley and Gillian Flynn books for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!
I saw one of Wen-yi Lee's tweets about this book being inspired by Spring Awakening a couple weeks ago and immediately requested it on NetGalley and added it to my TBR. I'm a big fan of haunted narratives, characters, and hometowns and this book absolutely captivated me from the start. It's not just haunting though; it's intimate, painful, jarring, full of grief, and a little unsettling in the best way. Lee's writing style absolutely lends itself to these feelings, and there are some beautiful, lyrical reflections on the self, family, and relationships threaded throughout the horror and mystery aspect. This book is tearing open old scabs of childhood memories and pain, haunting imagery, weird ghosts and angels, and navigating grief and horror. While horror has a tendency to be viewed as needing to be at the edge of your seat and waiting for a scare, Lee does a great job of building the tension slowly, and showing us that horror isn't always big scares, but can be something more overarching and a slow burn that leaves you aching to know what's going on and how it will be resolved.
I saw one of Wen-yi Lee's tweets about this book being inspired by Spring Awakening a couple weeks ago and immediately requested it on NetGalley and added it to my TBR. I'm a big fan of haunted narratives, characters, and hometowns and this book absolutely captivated me from the start. It's not just haunting though; it's intimate, painful, jarring, full of grief, and a little unsettling in the best way. Lee's writing style absolutely lends itself to these feelings, and there are some beautiful, lyrical reflections on the self, family, and relationships threaded throughout the horror and mystery aspect. This book is tearing open old scabs of childhood memories and pain, haunting imagery, weird ghosts and angels, and navigating grief and horror. While horror has a tendency to be viewed as needing to be at the edge of your seat and waiting for a scare, Lee does a great job of building the tension slowly, and showing us that horror isn't always big scares, but can be something more overarching and a slow burn that leaves you aching to know what's going on and how it will be resolved.