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boredomandwordsofbooks's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.5
This book was so good! If you like Life is Strange, Stephen King, or Coraline, you will love this book.
More review to come later when it's not 2am.
More review to come later when it's not 2am.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Grief, Violence, and Body horror
Moderate: Death, Death of parent, and Child death
Minor: Drug use and Toxic friendship
pages_with_panda's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
(Disclaimer: I received a free ARC from NetGalley.)
I'm giving this book 3 stars - it wasn't awful, but it wasn't great. I don't think I'll recommend it to anyone however.
The summary was interesting and promised a story about "time, space, and reality," but the first half of the book was so slow and boring I had to force myself to finish it. The second half of the book was so rushed and everything happened with no explanation that it was jarring.
No one around Hylee wants to talk about what happens to her, and they instantly villainize her for something she can't control, can't explain, and can't talk about. Her only friend cuts her off, and her parents ship her away to live with her grandmother, who also will not acknowledge what happened: "...I had to live with Grandmommy because Mama and Daddy didn't know what to do with me after my sudden disappearance (and reappearance)." They treat her like a pariah despite her being a victim of what happened to her.
Beyond the gag order of her "curse," Hylee is forced to deal with the traumatic disappearance of her brother, that also no one wants to talk about, and we're left with a very confusing first half of the book where Hylee is forced into a very mundane routine where honestly nothing happens.
There's no "investigating" anything. Hylee and Eilam meet at a party and he tells her a few lines about what he knows about time travel (mostly from Marvel movies). Their relationship is so forced with very little chemistry, but Eilam is the only one who will actually talk to Hylee so of course they end up spending time together.
I wish the "dark place" would've been explored more. We're given no reason for it's existence or the strange creatures that live there or why the creatures have their horrific characters of no eyes and sewn mouths.
The ending was very sad and bittersweet, but I felt like we weren't given any time to actually feel it. There was no emotional connection before the book ended.
I wanted to like this book and thought we were going to have a nice "Corline" meets "Get Out" story, but it left a lot to be desired and didn't feel as fleshed out as it should've been.
I'm giving this book 3 stars - it wasn't awful, but it wasn't great. I don't think I'll recommend it to anyone however.
The summary was interesting and promised a story about "time, space, and reality," but the first half of the book was so slow and boring I had to force myself to finish it. The second half of the book was so rushed and everything happened with no explanation that it was jarring.
No one around Hylee wants to talk about what happens to her, and they instantly villainize her for something she can't control, can't explain, and can't talk about. Her only friend cuts her off, and her parents ship her away to live with her grandmother, who also will not acknowledge what happened: "...I had to live with Grandmommy because Mama and Daddy didn't know what to do with me after my sudden disappearance (and reappearance)." They treat her like a pariah despite her being a victim of what happened to her.
Beyond the gag order of her "curse," Hylee is forced to deal with the traumatic disappearance of her brother, that also no one wants to talk about, and we're left with a very confusing first half of the book where Hylee is forced into a very mundane routine where honestly nothing happens.
There's no "investigating" anything. Hylee and Eilam meet at a party and he tells her a few lines about what he knows about time travel (mostly from Marvel movies). Their relationship is so forced with very little chemistry, but Eilam is the only one who will actually talk to Hylee so of course they end up spending time together.
I wish the "dark place" would've been explored more. We're given no reason for it's existence or the strange creatures that live there or why the creatures have their horrific characters of no eyes and sewn mouths.
The ending was very sad and bittersweet, but I felt like we weren't given any time to actually feel it. There was no emotional connection before the book ended.
I wanted to like this book and thought we were going to have a nice "Corline" meets "Get Out" story, but it left a lot to be desired and didn't feel as fleshed out as it should've been.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, and Gun violence
Moderate: Grief and Body horror
Minor: Racism and Blood
cortanasreadingnook's review
dark
emotional
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? Yes
5.0
Thanks to Britney S. Lewis and Disney Publishing Worldwide for the complimentary copy through Netgalley! It doesn’t affect my review in any way and I’m very happy to read another book by this author.
Seventeen-year-old Hylee Williams has always carried the grief of the day her older brother went missing. However, she started disappearing to a place that is a twisted version of our world, full of creeping vines, moss, and complete darkness. And when she meets a boy named Eilam after going to a party with her bestfriend, things take for a turn when she disappears right in front of him. And as her disappearances become more frequent, Hylee soon realizes she’s not alone in the world, and that she holds the key to finding the truth about her brother, and possibly save him.
The Girl Who Leapt Through Time meets Stranger Things in The Dark Place, which tells such a remarkable story of grief that involves elements of science fiction and fantasy. It is a wonderful tale that warps of time and reality with a little bit of the classic cliché teen romance. Lewis’s characters are exceptional, and I absolutely love her storytelling. Her writing has improved, and her pacing is perfect, hitting right into a reader’s heart. This YA horror novel does not only tell us a sentimental story of love between siblings, but it navigates a story of regret, truth, and acceptance leading towards a bittersweet and emotional ending. I do believe a few elements were left untouched and felt that they should’ve been explored more, but this stand-alone just hits right in the feels! I would absolutely love to hear more from this author.
P.S. I would really love to time travel just to see my grandmother again like how Eilam does. I don’t know if she’ll recognize me, but I would do it just to hear her voice again and ask her all the things I wasn’t given a chance to. She passed away a year ago and I truly miss her a lot.
Seventeen-year-old Hylee Williams has always carried the grief of the day her older brother went missing. However, she started disappearing to a place that is a twisted version of our world, full of creeping vines, moss, and complete darkness. And when she meets a boy named Eilam after going to a party with her bestfriend, things take for a turn when she disappears right in front of him. And as her disappearances become more frequent, Hylee soon realizes she’s not alone in the world, and that she holds the key to finding the truth about her brother, and possibly save him.
The Girl Who Leapt Through Time meets Stranger Things in The Dark Place, which tells such a remarkable story of grief that involves elements of science fiction and fantasy. It is a wonderful tale that warps of time and reality with a little bit of the classic cliché teen romance. Lewis’s characters are exceptional, and I absolutely love her storytelling. Her writing has improved, and her pacing is perfect, hitting right into a reader’s heart. This YA horror novel does not only tell us a sentimental story of love between siblings, but it navigates a story of regret, truth, and acceptance leading towards a bittersweet and emotional ending. I do believe a few elements were left untouched and felt that they should’ve been explored more, but this stand-alone just hits right in the feels! I would absolutely love to hear more from this author.
P.S. I would really love to time travel just to see my grandmother again like how Eilam does. I don’t know if she’ll recognize me, but I would do it just to hear her voice again and ask her all the things I wasn’t given a chance to. She passed away a year ago and I truly miss her a lot.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death of parent, Murder, Gun violence, and Grief
briaellereads's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
One.
Inhale.
Two.
Exhale.
Three.
I was gone.
17 year old Hylee keeps getting sucked back in time to the worst night of her life; the night her brother disappears. The night that sets off her continuous jumps between the present and… somewhere else. Now, she has to solve the mysterious disappearance for her brother and for herself.
—
This book has such spooky vibes and feels like the perfect transition book from light summer reads to the moodier darker vibes of fall. With an august 2023 release date, it comes at a perfect time to ease you into your more sinister TBR pile.
The book has been likened to Jordan Peele’s films and I can definitely see it as a inspiration source. However, while Lewis definitely embraces the Get Out and Us vibes she still keeps her voice present in the story.
Hylee, the main character in the story is just trying to figure out herself, her new family dynamic, and her new home all while navigating grief. What I loved about her character was that while she grew within the story it was slow and often times a little messy. She had moments of reflection where she could recognize the duality in the world around her but it was in a way that very much seemed appropriate for someone her age. I loved that we witnessed her clouded judgement and mistakes as well as her ability to learn how to communicate. It was fun, scary, and had a sweet little hint of romance.
I also enjoyed a lot of the horror elements but found that sometimes they would be pushed to the back-burner in favor to some of the more sci-fi elements in the story. The horror felt more successful in that we were really in those moments with Hylee. It felt real, gripping, and even relatable. I was often reminded of the many sleep paralysis demons I’ve faced lol.
Once thing I did struggle with was the pacing in the story. It took me a long while to get into the story and it was a little heavy on the foundation of the story. However, once the story is going, I was fully committed. I finished it in like 4 hours and didn’t want to put it down. But another thing revealed itself while reading and that was the fact that the beginning felt like it had too much time and the rest of the story had soooo little time. This lead to a few friendships being underdeveloped and a strong desire to be left in certain key moments a little bit longer.
Despite the pacing issue, I really enjoyed this story. I didn’t want to put it down and it kept me on my feet! I actually let out some gasps at different revelations and I definitely shed a tear at the end!
A Special thank you to NetGalley for providing this ARC to me for Review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Blood, and Death of parent
Minor: Racism
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