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4.47 AVERAGE
4.47 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-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
Thanks to NetGalley and Scholastic for allowing me to read this ARC of The Dead of Summer by Ryan La Sala.
This horror had a great cast of characters and I was able to feel such a strong connection to them. Right down to the bachelorette party as a whole who is just one big character morphed together, we know how annoying that can sometimes be.
Ollie and his mom Gracie’s relationship seemed to be frayed because she wanted to see the positive in the world after fighting a cancer diagnosis over the last year. Ollie, like most teen boys decided to take the world onto his shoulders and all of these decisions have lasting effects on the story.
When he left he also shut out his besties Bash & Elisa throughout the story they’re trying to find their way back to the way their friendship was before Ollie left, but literal disaster keeps interrupting the argument between Ollie & Elisa, repeatedly. The universe literally saying hey this isn’t important right now.
The weepers were actually terrifying the water zombies as I kept calling them throughout. The book were so beautiful yet scary at the same time because the ocean is scary and that’s all I could think throughout this entire story, the ocean is coming to attack us. The visiuals of slow yet beautifully scary coral and sea creatures walking on land was so fun.
the villain(s) in this story Has this thought that they are the savior of this town but like man are they wrong.
I’m happy I know this is book one since the book ends on a cliffhanger, but I really need a few big questions answered. First, Sam seems like he’s set up to be a very important character and, much like Gracie & Willy(WendyPretendy) his presence is felt through out the book, I still don’t fully trust him, but it doesn’t matter or does it? Second Ollie baby you good girl?!
I would definitely recommend this to anyone who likes found footage horror, the book does a great job of tying in first hand accounts with interviews at a later date.
Safe to say Ryan La Sala has done it again.
(Poor Dakota 😜)
This horror had a great cast of characters and I was able to feel such a strong connection to them. Right down to the bachelorette party as a whole who is just one big character morphed together, we know how annoying that can sometimes be.
When he left he also shut out his besties Bash & Elisa throughout the story they’re trying to find their way back to the way their friendship was before Ollie left, but literal disaster keeps interrupting the argument between Ollie & Elisa, repeatedly. The universe literally saying hey this isn’t important right now.
The weepers were actually terrifying the water zombies as I kept calling them throughout. The book were so beautiful yet scary at the same time because the ocean is scary and that’s all I could think throughout this entire story, the ocean is coming to attack us. The visiuals of slow yet beautifully scary coral and sea creatures walking on land was so fun.
the villain(s) in this story Has this thought that they are the savior of this town but like man are they wrong.
I’m happy I know this is book one since the book ends on a cliffhanger, but I really need a few big questions answered. First, Sam seems like he’s set up to be a very important character and, much like Gracie & Willy(WendyPretendy) his presence is felt through out the book, I still don’t fully trust him, but it doesn’t matter or does it? Second Ollie baby you good girl?!
I would definitely recommend this to anyone who likes found footage horror, the book does a great job of tying in first hand accounts with interviews at a later date.
Safe to say Ryan La Sala has done it again.
(Poor Dakota 😜)
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
There was a bit of dissonance between characters but I can look past that. Overall the story was good, I just felt like some of the characters acted "out" of character.
A queer read for the beach that will knock the barnacles off of your soul. Travel on a monstrous journey in the ocean that will chill you down to your core. A gay couple who explores the monstrosity of what is around them. But what is it? Get lost along the sandy beaches with a cliffhanger to die for!
Gay representation. Queer representation. Drag queen representation. Fall in love with a narrative that dives into the deep with real representation between the reefs. Read between the lines of Ryan La Sala’s eloquent writing, witty puns, and descriptive scene setting. Solve the mystery between each letter in between chapters unraveling the truth. The exchange between the past and present lives in the undying words of the past. The only thing I wanted more of is more narrative! Thankyou Net Galley and the publisher for an advanced digital copy in exchange for a review.
Read more reviews and recommendations on https://brujerialibrary.wordpress.com
Gay representation. Queer representation. Drag queen representation. Fall in love with a narrative that dives into the deep with real representation between the reefs. Read between the lines of Ryan La Sala’s eloquent writing, witty puns, and descriptive scene setting. Solve the mystery between each letter in between chapters unraveling the truth. The exchange between the past and present lives in the undying words of the past. The only thing I wanted more of is more narrative! Thankyou Net Galley and the publisher for an advanced digital copy in exchange for a review.
Read more reviews and recommendations on https://brujerialibrary.wordpress.com
adventurous
dark
emotional
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:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
tense
fast-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
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
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:
Complicated
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
The Last Of Us meets Ocean Barnacle Horror. I really liked how the author has two timelines but chapters were long enough to not confuse the narrative. I cared about all the characters: Ollie, Gracie, Bash, Elisa and I was intrigued by the story when it kept getting more adventurous into the weepers and the research.
I can’t wait to own a physical copy of this book!
I can’t wait to own a physical copy of this book!
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
fast-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
From the lovingly crafted setting to the deeply unsettling nautical horror to the messy and lovable characters, La Sala is at the top of their game with this one. In his usual fashion, the prose is tense, cinematic, funny, and undeniably heart-wrenching— which is only amplified by the epistolary sections and graphics. The horror that he crafts for Anchor's Mercy is terrifying and immensely creative, and manages to be vivid without being too graphic for upper YA readers. This book grabbed me from the first page, and I genuinely could not put it down.
If you're looking for innovative and heartfelt queer YA horror and are open to oceanic zombies, this is absolutely the book for you.
If you're looking for innovative and heartfelt queer YA horror and are open to oceanic zombies, this is absolutely the book for you.