Scan barcode
matt4hire's review
4.0
A boy sees his long-dead father at night, and learns some things about himself and his past.
Okay, so that sounds really trite, but it’s not. For one, there are lots of cultural insights going on (Jones is a Native writer who writes almost exclusively Native horror); for another, not everything we learn about ourselves and our pasts is happy stuff. Jones’ narrator is interesting, and the odd things that happen keep the reader engaged.
Definitely recommended.
Okay, so that sounds really trite, but it’s not. For one, there are lots of cultural insights going on (Jones is a Native writer who writes almost exclusively Native horror); for another, not everything we learn about ourselves and our pasts is happy stuff. Jones’ narrator is interesting, and the odd things that happen keep the reader engaged.
Definitely recommended.
tregina's review
3.0
This one really got me in the gut, but somehow I'm not convinced the ending was entirely earned. That said, I might be coming back and bumping the rating up anyway because this was a really effective human horror—we are the worst monsters—and I'm here for it. And it certainly didn't help that based on the description I imagined the entire thing taking place in the house I grew up in.
bishop_504's review
dark
mysterious
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? It's complicated
5.0
The last book I had to read for my writing class.
This book immediately drew me in with its opening line, “I was twelve the first time I saw my dead father cross from the kitchen doorway to the hall that led back to the utility room.” The premise of the story is established incredibly quickly with no over-the-top buildup or useless fluff. We know from the start the paranormal aspects of this book and the young child protagonist. The sleepwalking scenes help establish Junior’s character, and how desperately he wants to have his father back. The description of him making his legs fall asleep with the jump-rope was incredibly well done and horribly visceral. However, it was difficult for me to appreciate because I felt like I was going to throw up, which I would argue shows how talented the writer is.
Part of what made this book so great in my opinion, is how Junior acts so intelligently, but still child-like. He comes to conclusions not in spite of the fact that he is a child, but because of the fact that he is able to see the world from this viewpoint. He has a child-like faith in his father that fuels his return to a physical form. His impulsive gifts of Dino’s toy and his mother’s cigarette butts are healing to his father, and no adult would have thought to have given those things or would have thought to give anything at all. Once he realizes that his father is hurting Dino, he protects his brother by using cinnamon toothpicks laced with mace that he bought at school. This seems like an odd way of trying to protect him, but it works and the mace repels his father from his strange soul sucking of his youngest son. Even the final blow to his father, which is done by drowning a toy, seems representative of this child-like mentality. This is such detailed and precise characterization, and I want to keep it in mind if I ever write a child character dealing with more serious “adult” problems.
The one aspect of the story that did not feel as developed as the rest in my opinion, was Junior possessing the other Junior that drowned his father in the lake. This happened fairly late in the story, and it felt like a completely new paranormal idea to introduce as the novella was beginning to wrap up. Potentially introducing this idea earlier, or maybe implying that Junior was possessed by someone else during his sleepwalking might have helped this feel more natural. This is especially confusing given that Junior describes sleepwalking as being possessed by yourself, rather than someone else. However, given the context of this paranormal event, I like the implication that neither Junior nor his father fought the rabid dogs. The book explains that the other Junior was no memory of drowning his father, just like the protagonist Junior has no memory of defeating the dogs. It is interesting to ponder which person from the past or future possessed Junior and why.
The ending of the story made the whole plot come together in a horrifying full circle moment. Despite everything that Junior went through and how fiercely he fought to protect his family as a child, he makes the same mistakes as his parents as an adult. This is especially heart-wrenching when considering his previous characterization on page 84, “Standing there, I promised myself that if I ever had kids, I was going to be different. It’s a promise every Indian kid says at some point. You mean it when you say it though. You mean it so hard.” He is absent from his son Collin’s life, hardly ever seeing him. His decision to attempt to resurrect Collin makes him just as bad, if not worse than, his father. He will force his teenage son to exist in a twisted half-alive state and sacrifice his younger brother he tried so desperately to save during his childhood. Just like his father, he considers Dino lesser than him and worth the benefit that his death would bring. The reader is left with the knowledge that Junior will murder his brother to try to bring his son back the way that his father tried to return and knowing that there is no way this could possibly end well.
This book immediately drew me in with its opening line, “I was twelve the first time I saw my dead father cross from the kitchen doorway to the hall that led back to the utility room.” The premise of the story is established incredibly quickly with no over-the-top buildup or useless fluff. We know from the start the paranormal aspects of this book and the young child protagonist. The sleepwalking scenes help establish Junior’s character, and how desperately he wants to have his father back. The description of him making his legs fall asleep with the jump-rope was incredibly well done and horribly visceral. However, it was difficult for me to appreciate because I felt like I was going to throw up, which I would argue shows how talented the writer is.
Part of what made this book so great in my opinion, is how Junior acts so intelligently, but still child-like. He comes to conclusions not in spite of the fact that he is a child, but because of the fact that he is able to see the world from this viewpoint. He has a child-like faith in his father that fuels his return to a physical form. His impulsive gifts of Dino’s toy and his mother’s cigarette butts are healing to his father, and no adult would have thought to have given those things or would have thought to give anything at all. Once he realizes that his father is hurting Dino, he protects his brother by using cinnamon toothpicks laced with mace that he bought at school. This seems like an odd way of trying to protect him, but it works and the mace repels his father from his strange soul sucking of his youngest son. Even the final blow to his father, which is done by drowning a toy, seems representative of this child-like mentality. This is such detailed and precise characterization, and I want to keep it in mind if I ever write a child character dealing with more serious “adult” problems.
The one aspect of the story that did not feel as developed as the rest in my opinion, was Junior possessing the other Junior that drowned his father in the lake. This happened fairly late in the story, and it felt like a completely new paranormal idea to introduce as the novella was beginning to wrap up. Potentially introducing this idea earlier, or maybe implying that Junior was possessed by someone else during his sleepwalking might have helped this feel more natural. This is especially confusing given that Junior describes sleepwalking as being possessed by yourself, rather than someone else. However, given the context of this paranormal event, I like the implication that neither Junior nor his father fought the rabid dogs. The book explains that the other Junior was no memory of drowning his father, just like the protagonist Junior has no memory of defeating the dogs. It is interesting to ponder which person from the past or future possessed Junior and why.
The ending of the story made the whole plot come together in a horrifying full circle moment. Despite everything that Junior went through and how fiercely he fought to protect his family as a child, he makes the same mistakes as his parents as an adult. This is especially heart-wrenching when considering his previous characterization on page 84, “Standing there, I promised myself that if I ever had kids, I was going to be different. It’s a promise every Indian kid says at some point. You mean it when you say it though. You mean it so hard.” He is absent from his son Collin’s life, hardly ever seeing him. His decision to attempt to resurrect Collin makes him just as bad, if not worse than, his father. He will force his teenage son to exist in a twisted half-alive state and sacrifice his younger brother he tried so desperately to save during his childhood. Just like his father, he considers Dino lesser than him and worth the benefit that his death would bring. The reader is left with the knowledge that Junior will murder his brother to try to bring his son back the way that his father tried to return and knowing that there is no way this could possibly end well.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Self harm, and Animal death
devinjking's review
dark
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
justgj's review against another edition
dark
emotional
slow-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
3.0
angus_mckeogh's review against another edition
2.0
Thought it would be chock-full of Native American lore, loads of horror, and general spookiness. It was really weak on all three. More of a short treatise on brotherhood and not scary in the least.