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3.5 AVERAGE
3.5 AVERAGE
hm. okay. i think my main issue with this one is pacing. it really felt like a long book and i kept finding myself surprised when i looked at the percentage number on my kindle and realized there was still so much more book to go. i can't entirely put my finger on what exactly was the issue, but it felt a little repetative early on, and then the middle kind of seemed like it was picking up a little, and then it didn't as much as i thought it would.
the good: the writing was evocative and descriptive in a way that i enjoyed. the food and inscet horror was CREEPY, the themes around colonization and diaspora were fantastic, and the characters (to me) felt easy to root for. i cared abt jade and lily, but i do feel like there could have been a bit more character interaction between them, and jade and her dad? idk. it felt like a lot of it was jade alone in specific ways that felt repetative when i wanted things to kick off.
also though,
still a great read, def an author i'd want to see a second story from, and THAT COVER THOUGH!!!!
the good: the writing was evocative and descriptive in a way that i enjoyed. the food and inscet horror was CREEPY, the themes around colonization and diaspora were fantastic, and the characters (to me) felt easy to root for. i cared abt jade and lily, but i do feel like there could have been a bit more character interaction between them, and jade and her dad? idk. it felt like a lot of it was jade alone in specific ways that felt repetative when i wanted things to kick off.
also though,
Spoiler
JADE'S DAD? MY GUY, YOU ASS YOU CANNOT BLAME A 13 YEAR OLD FOR TELLING HER DRUNK DAD TO LEAVE AND STOP MAKING HER FAMILY MISERABLE. ARE YOU KIDDING ME???!! that was literally not the 13 year old's fault, ffs.still a great read, def an author i'd want to see a second story from, and THAT COVER THOUGH!!!!
This was a deeply unnerving, eerie story that's writing and aesthetic really pulled me in! I loved Jade as a main character, and her familial situation felt familiar (while not at all familiar) to me. I will say that I think a lot of really key information is dropped in the first fifth of the book, and I missed a few of those pieces and found myself pretty confused about halfway in, but I was pretty quickly able to put things together and was very invested until the end! I also found Frances to be a spunky and fun character, and I think her and I have a very similar texting style! Overall, I really enjoyed this and recommend it to all LGBT book lovers and those who seek out horror in haunted houses!
Un livre qui reprend le thème de la maison qui consomme ses habitants pour traiter des secrets de famille, du fait d'être au placard et du colonialisme.
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I loved the title of this book because it sounded edgy and spooky and like a gal getting to lose it a little bit. But it just wasn't what I was looking for. I felt like there was too much going on. There were too many ghosts to try to keep track of. I didn't feel like Jade had a really consistent characterization. Sometimes she was mature and sometimes she was really childish and illogical. And I totally accept that teenagedom can do that! But it just didn't seem to flow. Although I appreciated the sort of slow burn of Jade and Florence, I felt like it wasn't linear? Like didn't y'all already sorta get together? There was a lottt of internal feelings from Jade. And I felt like the flowers were mentioned over and over. It just all felt kind of crowded. Like spookiness and colonialism and money issues and abandonment and sisterhood and death. I'm not sure if I'd read this author again. They seem very cool, but the book would have to have a really good plot. One thing that was interesting to experience is that it sounds like Vietnamese words can have very different meanings depended on the tone/pitch in which the word is delivered, which is not something that happens in English. So then when an English narrator is using different pitches for like, narration interest, the Vietnamese words kind of shake up that flow. It's something that I wasn't used to, but I'm glad that I learned about it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment
Moderate: Death, Toxic relationship, Colonisation, Classism
Minor: Racism, Suicide, Blood, Fire/Fire injury
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I really liked this book. I love a haunted house and the exploration of how colonialism affects a haunting was really well done.
This book is a little difficult to follow, partially because the main character is very unreliable during the haunting but also because there’s just a lot the author is trying to do in the story. My edition had a bonus chapter that definitely feels like it was intended to clear a lot of that up.
Overall this is a good blend of YA and horror and I had a good time reading it. Since this is a debut, I’m excited to see what the author writes next!
This book is a little difficult to follow, partially because the main character is very unreliable during the haunting but also because there’s just a lot the author is trying to do in the story. My edition had a bonus chapter that definitely feels like it was intended to clear a lot of that up.
Overall this is a good blend of YA and horror and I had a good time reading it. Since this is a debut, I’m excited to see what the author writes next!
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Racism, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting
Moderate: Biphobia, Colonisation
dark
mysterious
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