Scan barcode
minimicropup's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.0
The Energy: Benevolent. Courageous. Sincere.
The Scene: 🇺🇸 The former mining town of Doubtful, Illinois, USA
The POVs: Four high school friends born and raised, plus the new kid who recently moved in with their police office father.
🎬 Tale-Telling: Cinematic scenes pulled me in and I could feel Doubtful’s gradual industrial decay and the friendship dynamics.
👥 Characters: The characters are the heart of the story and they felt relatable and real. Their individual backstories and the dynamics of their friend group added depth and suspense as they try to navigate the horrors and messes. At first I thought all their parents were conveniently out of the story but we learn why each of them has adults in their life that aren’t really wondering where they are, and some were sad reasons. My only issue was the characters felt more middle grade than high school senior, but I just read them that way and it worked.
🤓 Reader Role: We’re like a ghost hovering but privy to some thoughts and motivations. Jen worked as our eyes into the world since she’s the skeptic and asks the questions we are also wondering about.
🗺️ Ambiance: A blanket of atmospheric tension. Doubtful is a character too, depicted with such detail that I easily imagined it’s industrial, run-down charm. The supernatural quirks became kind of nostalgic (but still terrifying) and didn’t cross into campy. This story had a Stranger Things vibe to it.
🔥 Fuel: Who (or what) is the killer? How does the town's strangeness connect to the murders? The slow unraveling of these mysteries was punctuated by moments of horror, friendship, and the occasional flutter of young romance. I liked the suspense didn’t rely on bickering within the group. The last half of the story brings on the ‘feels’ horrors , so if you don’t care about the characters it may not work for you.
🚙 Journey: An engaging mix of horror and mystery, wrapped up in the authenticity of teenage life and the trials of growing up. The narrative takes its time to build up the suspense and lets you get fully invested in the characters before the real horrors kick in. The ending was rather convenient, but it wraps everything up with a touch of open-ended mystery.
----
🐕 Howls: The police and Jen’s dad’s laissez-faire attitude towards the danger children face took me out of the story a bit (just a bit).
🐩 Tail Wags: The blend of horror, mystery, and authentic teenage angst and logic. The characters and their backstories. The atmosphere and vibes.
----
Mood Reading Match-Up:
- Psychological grown-up Goosebumps with body horror and gore
- Monster or Man serial killer mystery
- Tight-knit what-would-you-do-for-your-friends feels (think Stranger Things style)
- Themes of friendship, community, coming of age, fate, free will, innocence, reality, dedication, character, fear, adversity, and empowerment.
Content Heads-Up: Body horror (mutilation, dismemberment). Missing child. Mental illness (paranoia, delusions, aggression). Parental neglect (emotional and physical). Loss of parents (in childhood). Loss of a sibling. Confinement (lost, trapped).
Rep: White and ambiguous Americans. EDS (Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome). Cisgender. Lesbian/queer.
👀 Format: Kindle
My musings 💖 powered by puppy snuggles 🐶 refined by my AI bookworm bestie ✨
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, and Mental illness
Moderate: Death of parent
iamdr_rn's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-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
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Body horror, Violence, Blood, and Death of parent
Minor: Fire/Fire injury and Child death
dev921's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Medical content, Blood, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Medical trauma, Confinement, Gore, Animal cruelty, Death, Murder, Animal death, Car accident, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Kidnapping
sam_willson's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
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? Yes
5.0
this is actually one of the best books i have ever read. so well written, keeps you on your toes, and the perfect amount of toe curling fear to keep you interested. warning for lots of gore, but it honestly is what made the book so perfectly creepy
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping, Murder, Blood, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Fire/Fire injury, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, and Stalking
megandherbook's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Darcy Coates is the queen of horror in my eyes. This is her first YA and I was so pleased that it was just as scary as many of her other books though it felt completely different than many of her books.
Abby Ward lives in a strange town where people randomly go missing regularly. Because of this the town doesn’t stray out after dark and Abby, her sister, Hope, and her group of friends have strict rules that they follow. The group of friends are dedicated to getting out of the town and learning as much about the mysterious villain they call the Stitcher (as the victims will reappear stitched together wrong with red thread) so they don’t become his (its?) next victim. But when Hope goes missing Abby is desperate to do everything she can to get her back and not have her be the Stitcher's next victim. With the help of her friends and a newcomer to the town she goes after her sister and uncovers just who (or what) the Stitcher is.
While this is such a dark and sad story in a dark and sad town I couldn’t help but love the characters. The group of friends all have unique qualities and personalities and their relationships with each other are heart warming. The townspeople are well written and the villains are absolutely creepy. My favorite part is trying to piece together if this is supernatural or just the work of a serial killer. Without giving anything away I can say there are some downright terrifying scenes. Between the group digging into the town’s history to the action packed scenes I was entertained throughout the whole thing.
Abby Ward lives in a strange town where people randomly go missing regularly. Because of this the town doesn’t stray out after dark and Abby, her sister, Hope, and her group of friends have strict rules that they follow. The group of friends are dedicated to getting out of the town and learning as much about the mysterious villain they call the Stitcher (as the victims will reappear stitched together wrong with red thread) so they don’t become his (its?) next victim. But when Hope goes missing Abby is desperate to do everything she can to get her back and not have her be the Stitcher's next victim. With the help of her friends and a newcomer to the town she goes after her sister and uncovers just who (or what) the Stitcher is.
While this is such a dark and sad story in a dark and sad town I couldn’t help but love the characters. The group of friends all have unique qualities and personalities and their relationships with each other are heart warming. The townspeople are well written and the villains are absolutely creepy. My favorite part is trying to piece together if this is supernatural or just the work of a serial killer. Without giving anything away I can say there are some downright terrifying scenes. Between the group digging into the town’s history to the action packed scenes I was entertained throughout the whole thing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Gore, Grief, Animal death, Body horror, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, and Death
Moderate: Mental illness and Violence
snaggy95's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
5.0
Darcy Coates is amazing. Everything about this story made me feel uncomfortable & unsettled in the best way. I couldn’t stop reading & had to force myself to slow down because I was trying to read as fast as I could.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Torture, Violence, Blood, Child death, Grief, Animal death, Kidnapping, and Gore
tobydini's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Grief, Torture, Body horror, Confinement, Blood, Mental illness, Violence, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Death of parent
Moderate: Violence, Animal death, and Stalking
prettyspry's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping, Blood, Death of parent, Gore, Murder, Body horror, Child death, and Animal death
fictionaladventures's review
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
This was one of my most anticipated releases of the year! It’s not gonna make my top 5 list of favorite Darcy Coates books, but it was still awesome. It was a little less gripping than I’m used to (typically I cannot physically put a Darcy Coates book down), but as always, the characterization was superb. So many horror novels don’t focus on characterization, but Darcy is a master at it. The Jackrabbits were a wonderful group. Abby was so brave and a worthy heroine. Rhys was so lovable. Connor was my absolute favorite, the goof. And holy heck, the Stitcher was an awesome villain. Especially in the last quarter of the book, my eyes were glued to the page as the final mysteries were unveiled.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Blood, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Gore, and Injury/Injury detail
library_dreamer's review against another edition
4.0
This was a dark thriller that I would classify as YA but with some very gruesome elements. The imagery was amazing and like many of Coates' novels, I can easily picture the scenes in my head.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror
More...