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3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
At first Ruin Road sounded like a typical YA horror, a genre I'm not particularly fond of. However, after reading it, I realize that this book was far from typical. Intertwined with heavy topics such as racism, grief, and gang violence was a unique telling of an age-old trope.
After a poorly timed wish Cade, a high school football prodigy, makes in a sketchy pawnshop, he finds that anyone who goes near him looses their sense of fear. This leads to a multitude of problems that all stem from one man's deal with a 'devil'. The book's vivid imagery of suffering and terrifying scenes of demonic horror caused me to rethink my entire opinion on YA horror. The characters were memorable and complex, each one adding something new to the story.
Overall Ruin Road was a thrilling, tear-jerking, and film-worthy read. I hope to read more by this author soon and recommend anyone a fan of horror/thrillers to do the same.
After a poorly timed wish Cade, a high school football prodigy, makes in a sketchy pawnshop, he finds that anyone who goes near him looses their sense of fear. This leads to a multitude of problems that all stem from one man's deal with a 'devil'. The book's vivid imagery of suffering and terrifying scenes of demonic horror caused me to rethink my entire opinion on YA horror. The characters were memorable and complex, each one adding something new to the story.
Overall Ruin Road was a thrilling, tear-jerking, and film-worthy read. I hope to read more by this author soon and recommend anyone a fan of horror/thrillers to do the same.
I always think that YA horror is going to hit the spot for me, and luckily I was right this time! While this book obviously took inspiration from Stephen King's Needful Things, it put it's own twist on it in a way that I really appreciated. The trope of a pawnshop that can grant your greatest wish at the cost of something that seems so minor will always be one of my favorite things to read about. And I think this book did a really good job talking about the lengths people will go to get what they want. The horror in this is super ligbht but it was still creepy enough that I was invested in what was going on, but it felt more like a thriller than a true horror. As always, I enjoyed the social commentary about racism and how it affected the main character and it wasn't the main "Big Bad" in the story, which I will always enjoy more than books about black trauma. My biggest complaint is that the characters felt very 2 dimensional and I never really grew to care about any of them. Cade is "The Football Guy" and his little sister is just "Little Sister" and I wish we had gotten to know a bit more about them so I could feel more connected, but this could've just been a personal preference thing. Overall though, I had a good time and I was invested in the plot! Despite my struggles with the characterization, I think I would check out other books this author writes in the future!
Thank you to Scholastic Press for providing me with an eBook copy to review on NetGalley.
Thank you to Scholastic Press for providing me with an eBook copy to review on NetGalley.
dark
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This story was incredibly interesting. It took a turn on the whole be careful what you wish for. I wasn't super horrified and being classified as YA I didn't expect to be. The story moved along very well. There was intrigue that continuously popped up. The ending was fascinating.
challenging
emotional
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:
Complicated
This book had me stressed!!
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Cancer, Racism, Death of parent
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
adventurous
dark
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
There is so much to love here, and I feel like Giles's books are getting progressively better and honing in on his particular niche. This would be 5 starts, but it's just too slow of a start.
i absolutely sped through this. so good, perfect amount of suspense and horrifying-ness (also gorgeous cover)