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lezreadalot's review against another edition
3.0
It is not in my nature to be interested in the living, but there are many things, I have found, that defy nature.
3.5 stars. YA horror is definitely a departure from my normal fare, but I liked this a lot. I wasn't super interested in any of the characters other than the main character, but she was such a good main character that the book managed to keep my interest. The POV is fascinating, because it's a mix of first person, from the perspective of our ghost girl, but it's also kinda omniscient, because she narrates the feelings and thoughts of the other characters. I found those so fascinating, and definitely a unique way to approach omniscient POV, which I usually hate. It was so interesting to have these classic horror events/motifs described, like seeing something behind you in a mirror, or a hand grasping the edge of a bathtub, and then you'd get a line like, "And then he saw me." I just thought that was cool, getting the haunting/scary moment from the perspective of the person doing the haunting, rather than the person experiencing the fear.
The concept was cool, in that it drew on some classic Japanese myths and figures from popular culture. Those were my favourite bits. Again, I wasn't totally interested in the other characters and how they fit into the plot (which is basically about a teen boy possessed by a malevolent spirit) but it was enjoyable enough. This was surprisingly dark for a YA book, wrt the content it covered and some of the violence, but I still found it apt. Not too scary, but that's never what I actually want from these books.
Listened to the audiobook as read by Andi Arndt, and I liked it a lot. This seems like it was written very stylistically (though I've not had actual sight of the book) and I feel like she did a good job of conveying that. I'm probably not interested enough in this to read the companion book (though I might, since it's narrated by one of my faves). But I'm happy to have discovered this; definitely a unique take on the typical ghost story.
Content warnings:
Spoiler
murder, death, gore, kidnapping, attempted child molestation/rape, discussion of past csa and child murder_atarry07's review against another edition
2.0
Genuinely so boring. The plot was so basic and nothing really happened.
dsaiz's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
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? It's complicated
3.75
justmudlynnabout's review against another edition
4.0
I read this as a part of the Read Harder challenge- not my normal cup of tea but it was very good. Perhaps it'll take a me a little while to forget the imagery of the girl from the well but that's ok. It's very well written and the story keeps you turning the pages to see how it all resolves.
jessicafarmer80's review against another edition
3.0
I listened to this on audiobook. To be honest - I think I would have enjoyed reading it more. It didn’t draw me in as much as I would have liked. However I loved reading the Bone Witch series by this author.
victoria80's review against another edition
4.0
Really enjoyed this. A bizarre narrator in the story (an actual Japanese demon/ghost) Plenty of gore, nice scene setting and some very interesting characters. Would have been a 5 star but I feel the ending was rushed. I suppose they want to get you to pick up book 2 straight away.
The audio reader is fantastic. Would recommend to anyone who likes Japanese folk lore, customs and beliefs. This gave extra meat to the bones of the book and made me want to go there soon. I googled quite a bit from this book. I think physical copies at a good price would be perfect!
The audio reader is fantastic. Would recommend to anyone who likes Japanese folk lore, customs and beliefs. This gave extra meat to the bones of the book and made me want to go there soon. I googled quite a bit from this book. I think physical copies at a good price would be perfect!
justlily's review against another edition
DNF at around 20 pages. The writing style just isn't for me, I found it too hard to connect to when every other line was something I had to decipher quickly before I could move on.
slavicsongbird's review against another edition
5.0
A really good book, especially since it deals with a topic not many books I've come across do. The only thing I would have to complain about is the ending, but that's due to subjective reasoning as I don't like real-life people or legends being overly influenced, for the lack of a better word, by fictional characters since it trivialises them in my opinion. But the book is fantastic despite that.