Reviews

Malorie by Josh Malerman

mayonnaise12's review

dark emotional tense medium-paced

4.0

cyris_reads's review

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

ellis_eden's review against another edition

2.0

If I found Malerman’s writing in Bird Box to be a bit undercooked, this current effort is also disappointing. It has, like Bird Box, some interesting concepts. However, the attempts at character development read mostly flat and I found it tedious to read most of each character’s inner monologues. Much of the story was too predictable. This needed another few passes of rewriting and a tougher edit. Because it really IS an interesting world, and deserved better prose.

readinginmaine's review against another edition

4.0

Birdbox was an amazing read for me: intense, page turner, and a horror read perfect for someone who is too sensitive for horror. Birdbox didn’t need a sequel. However, I enjoyed this book and found it easy to read. It isn’t a book I’ll remember or press into someone’s hands, but I was happy to read it.

issysarchives's review against another edition

3.0

I wasn't expecting this to be as good as Bird Box, and it wasn't- very little of the original tension purely because its a sequel was the main culprit for that. Some little mysteries and solid writing keep this at a 3.5

afterglobe's review

adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

holliemae's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

alwaysreading2023's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.5

kellylam's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

alli_thebookgiraffe's review against another edition

2.0

Well, I think Malorie and Bird Box could have been one large book. I really don't like the ending and I don't think this needed to be an add on to Bird Box.

Spoiler

It is oddly convenient that this has gone on for 17 years, and one random teen just figures out how to fix the problem. He doesn't even struggle through fixing it. Also, the ending just being one of those 'and then they lived happily ever after' types wasn't my favorite. This was not a necessary add on, in my opinion. This is supposed to be a horror novel, but we didn't get much of any horror. I don't really love when books just add miscommunication as a plot device. There could have been so much more to it, if Olympia had just told her early on that they couldn't go mad from being touched, and she was immune. That could have made their lives a lot easier.