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3.7 AVERAGE
3.7 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I didn't find any of the characters all that compelling, and consequently I wasn't really rooting for anyone - the islanders are clearly cultish and despicable, but Lily in her skepticism is really dislikable too, so I guess my sympathies mostly lie with the outsiders, Willow and Harper. Even they weren't that deep as far as characters go, but I was plenty intrigued by the plot so that's not the biggest issue.
This is another small nitpick, but I found the framing device of the whole thing being a manuscript by Harper pushed my suspension of disbelief a little bit. Don't get me wrong, the inclusion of "found documents" and "primary sources" was one of the coolest things about the book. It's a great way to tell a story. I can even believe that Harper would be able to approximate most of the perspectives in the narrative portions - except for Willow's. He has not been able to talk to Willow, he has no idea what it is she saw, but she is the main perspective through which we witness the supernatural. So are her portions supposed to be unreliable? That didn't feel like the intention.
This is another small nitpick, but I found the framing device of the whole thing being a manuscript by Harper pushed my suspension of disbelief a little bit. Don't get me wrong, the inclusion of "found documents" and "primary sources" was one of the coolest things about the book. It's a great way to tell a story. I can even believe that Harper would be able to approximate most of the perspectives in the narrative portions - except for Willow's. He has not been able to talk to Willow, he has no idea what it is she saw, but she is the main perspective through which we witness the supernatural. So are her portions supposed to be unreliable? That didn't feel like the intention.
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death
Moderate: Grief, Car accident, Injury/Injury detail
dark
mysterious
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
I like the mixed media aspect of this novel but ultimately I think it bloats an already bloated story past the point where I could care about the reveals. Normally horror with a prominent gimmick is too short, usually to the detriment of developing the characters, but the characters aren’t developed particularly well here even with the extra length since most of the sections just rehashed information we already had or asked the same questions again. Willow, Rita, and Lily were probably the strongest characters but they were still thinly characterized. Also no scene in the book was as creepy and unsettling as the first scene with Gloria and her neighbor, which made the remaining four hundred pages a slog.
I had a lot of fun with this one. Well paced otherworldly mystery.
Spooky, chilling, unexpected. Perfect fall read I was craving!
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I saw this cover and knew I was in for a nostalgic horror. My favorite kind. Going into it blind, after reading the first page I already was searching for information online regarding the story. I laughed at myself because that’s how believable the formatting of the mixed media is remarkably done. The narrator is trying to discover what really happened to his sister that led to her death on this private land.
It reads like a documentary with multiple interviews. At first, I enjoyed it because it started off really spooky. Then it became really stale after more of the same, which made the ending twist feeling very lackluster. If it would have been cut shorter, it would have been much more entertaining. 2.5 stars
It reads like a documentary with multiple interviews. At first, I enjoyed it because it started off really spooky. Then it became really stale after more of the same, which made the ending twist feeling very lackluster. If it would have been cut shorter, it would have been much more entertaining. 2.5 stars
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-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