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3.41 AVERAGE
3.41 AVERAGE
didn't fully hate it, which is a massive win for male authors who write young women protagonists everywhere. liked the way it handled anxiety. however, it was soooo repetitive and the ending was so rushed and not that satisfying.
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
What happens when you combine a slasher, a ghost story, and the struggle with anxiety? This book.
After hearing the urban legend about a 7-foot-tall metal-head who had been murdered by basketball players from the high school (depending on who tells the story), Kit start to think about her constantly. Which is, as the legend goes, the worst thing you can do, because it summons her.
To make it worse, Kit suffers from anxiety and feels a lot of shame about it. (SO FREAKING RELATABLE). Despite being a star basketball player and a good student, the one thing she struggles with is ANXIETY. While she isn't the only person to get this ghost story out of her head, she definitely feels responsible for everything that happens because she can't.
This novel was an excellent representation of how anxiety can affect every aspect of your life and the shame some people experience when they aren't able to control their thoughts/body responses. It is the underlying theme for the whole story.
People are dying.
Specifically, female basketball players are dying.
They are being killed by a mysterious weapon that leaves no trace (bare hands).
The adults in this story struggle to believe it could be anyone but a male, because what female could have that kind of strength? Or could be that brutal?
But DAPHNE does.
And she is coming, in her KISS makeup and her denim jacket. She's worse than Jason. She's more like Freddy, as adults can't seem to see her and she gets her power from being in people's thoughts.
When you have anxiety, DAPHNE becomes all you can think about, even when you try not to.
This novel was a pretty brilliant way of combining mental health, a ghost story, and real life consequences of obsession. Definitely recommend for anyone who has ever experienced a panic attack or intrusive thoughts, OR if you love slashers that really do have a good twist.
After hearing the urban legend about a 7-foot-tall metal-head who had been murdered by basketball players from the high school (depending on who tells the story), Kit start to think about her constantly. Which is, as the legend goes, the worst thing you can do, because it summons her.
To make it worse, Kit suffers from anxiety and feels a lot of shame about it. (SO FREAKING RELATABLE). Despite being a star basketball player and a good student, the one thing she struggles with is ANXIETY. While she isn't the only person to get this ghost story out of her head, she definitely feels responsible for everything that happens because she can't.
This novel was an excellent representation of how anxiety can affect every aspect of your life and the shame some people experience when they aren't able to control their thoughts/body responses. It is the underlying theme for the whole story.
People are dying.
Specifically, female basketball players are dying.
They are being killed by a mysterious weapon that leaves no trace (bare hands).
The adults in this story struggle to believe it could be anyone but a male, because what female could have that kind of strength? Or could be that brutal?
But DAPHNE does.
And she is coming, in her KISS makeup and her denim jacket. She's worse than Jason. She's more like Freddy, as adults can't seem to see her and she gets her power from being in people's thoughts.
When you have anxiety, DAPHNE becomes all you can think about, even when you try not to.
This novel was a pretty brilliant way of combining mental health, a ghost story, and real life consequences of obsession. Definitely recommend for anyone who has ever experienced a panic attack or intrusive thoughts, OR if you love slashers that really do have a good twist.
Review in the June 2022 issue of Library Journal and on the blog: https://raforall.blogspot.com/2022/05/what-im-reading-june-2022-library.html
Three Words That Describe This Book: slasher, disturbing, thought-provoking
Draft Review:
Kit is on the heralded Samhattan High School Girls Basketball team, but before the biggest game of summer league, the night before Kit made the winning shot, the girls heard a terrible story from a teammate, a myth from Samhattan history, the tale of Daphne, a murdered Giantess, who comes back from the dead, dressed all in denim, who smells of smoke and whiskey, who murders anyone who thinks about her too much. Daphne’s story is one everyone in town knows and yet, they have been trained to forget for self preservation. Readers watch on the edge of their seat as Kit and her teammates are gruesomely picked off, while an outsider cop is desperate to understand and stop the violence. But how can anyone be saved if no one will talk about the undead killer who is never more than a thought away? Maybe Kit, who has openly battled with her own anxiety, can rise to be the final girl they need.
Verdict: Crafting a thought provoking and honest conversation with anxiety wrapped around a Freddy Krueger-esque slasher, Malerman has delivered another winner, an utterly original, and extremely personal Horror story. For fans of cursed small towns like in Hex by Olde Heuvelt or other fresh takes on the teen slasher like Cirque Berserk by Guess.
Notes: A original take on the slasher. As I noted when reading, it is the bets slasher movie you have read. A new kind of "Freddy" story, a monster who comes after you when you think about her
Daphne feeds off of the obvious fear of being stalked and murdered, but it goes deeper than that, as Malerman use anxiety itself as a stepping off point for the terror.
This is an extremely personal story and it shows. Anxiety is the scourge here but Daphne is also there, personifying it.
It is an ode to the slasher, a ode to basketball, and a scary conversation with anxiety== a very personal one for Kit, our final girl and Malerman, the author.
Gruesome killings are present, yes. Young girls die, yes. But there is much to think about as well.
Readalikes: The small town curse that everyone is forced to keep a secret from HEX by Ole Heuvelt fixed with new takes on the teenage slasher like Jessica Guess' Cirque Beserk. And of course for fans of Nightmare on Elm Street.
Three Words That Describe This Book: slasher, disturbing, thought-provoking
Draft Review:
Kit is on the heralded Samhattan High School Girls Basketball team, but before the biggest game of summer league, the night before Kit made the winning shot, the girls heard a terrible story from a teammate, a myth from Samhattan history, the tale of Daphne, a murdered Giantess, who comes back from the dead, dressed all in denim, who smells of smoke and whiskey, who murders anyone who thinks about her too much. Daphne’s story is one everyone in town knows and yet, they have been trained to forget for self preservation. Readers watch on the edge of their seat as Kit and her teammates are gruesomely picked off, while an outsider cop is desperate to understand and stop the violence. But how can anyone be saved if no one will talk about the undead killer who is never more than a thought away? Maybe Kit, who has openly battled with her own anxiety, can rise to be the final girl they need.
Verdict: Crafting a thought provoking and honest conversation with anxiety wrapped around a Freddy Krueger-esque slasher, Malerman has delivered another winner, an utterly original, and extremely personal Horror story. For fans of cursed small towns like in Hex by Olde Heuvelt or other fresh takes on the teen slasher like Cirque Berserk by Guess.
Notes: A original take on the slasher. As I noted when reading, it is the bets slasher movie you have read. A new kind of "Freddy" story, a monster who comes after you when you think about her
Daphne feeds off of the obvious fear of being stalked and murdered, but it goes deeper than that, as Malerman use anxiety itself as a stepping off point for the terror.
This is an extremely personal story and it shows. Anxiety is the scourge here but Daphne is also there, personifying it.
It is an ode to the slasher, a ode to basketball, and a scary conversation with anxiety== a very personal one for Kit, our final girl and Malerman, the author.
Gruesome killings are present, yes. Young girls die, yes. But there is much to think about as well.
Readalikes: The small town curse that everyone is forced to keep a secret from HEX by Ole Heuvelt fixed with new takes on the teenage slasher like Jessica Guess' Cirque Beserk. And of course for fans of Nightmare on Elm Street.
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
“Daphne” by Josh Malerman
The kind of scary story we’ve old told our friends late at night. Sort of a Bloody Mary story.
Solid B
Why did he have to say “ballers” so much.
The kind of scary story we’ve old told our friends late at night. Sort of a Bloody Mary story.
Solid B
Why did he have to say “ballers” so much.
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I wanted to love this, and there were some really great spooky parts, but ultimately it fell a bit flat for me.