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4.16 AVERAGE
4.16 AVERAGE
Set in late 1800's New England, Philo Drax is a sweet girl with very few fortunate things going for her. She's dirt poor and thought little of in town; her mother can barely work anymore but refused to teach Philo her craft. Now they're about to be kicked out of their house - when Philo's estranged grandfather reaches out to offer his fortune since his former in-law's cruel family is trying to take it from him. Philo goes to fetch it, but runs into the family - including the brutal Katie, who has no qualms with taking violence into her own hands to get the money she wants.
I read this for my 12 friends 12 books 12 months challenge; It was recommended to me by my friend Tessa of BooksAsMeals on IG, one of my favorite accounts on the book internet. She's on a bit of a hiatus, but I highly recommend you check out her stuff. I never would have even heard of this book, much less picked it up, without her rec!
I know this book is 40-ish years old, but something about this story did feel old. Obviously it's set well in the past, but even the structure of highs and lows of the book feel like an older story. Philo has something bad happen to her, then a twist of fate turns that into something good, then another twist of fate makes it even worse than before, then even better, etc. It was a very predictable swinging pendulum that set the pace. I liked Philo a lot, she was a protagonist that you wanted to see everything go well for. Meanwhile, Katie was someone easy to root against, she's absolutely pure evil. I thought the setting was fairly interesting as I haven't read much horror set there and then. I also thought there was a fair amount of juxtaposition between the horror and the rest of the plot, which was interesting. I was engaged the whole time, but I don't know how long this one will stay with me.
Overall, this felt like a solid horror, altough I don't know that I'll be thinking of it much now that I'm done.
I read this for my 12 friends 12 books 12 months challenge; It was recommended to me by my friend Tessa of BooksAsMeals on IG, one of my favorite accounts on the book internet. She's on a bit of a hiatus, but I highly recommend you check out her stuff. I never would have even heard of this book, much less picked it up, without her rec!
I know this book is 40-ish years old, but something about this story did feel old. Obviously it's set well in the past, but even the structure of highs and lows of the book feel like an older story. Philo has something bad happen to her, then a twist of fate turns that into something good, then another twist of fate makes it even worse than before, then even better, etc. It was a very predictable swinging pendulum that set the pace. I liked Philo a lot, she was a protagonist that you wanted to see everything go well for. Meanwhile, Katie was someone easy to root against, she's absolutely pure evil. I thought the setting was fairly interesting as I haven't read much horror set there and then. I also thought there was a fair amount of juxtaposition between the horror and the rest of the plot, which was interesting. I was engaged the whole time, but I don't know how long this one will stay with me.
Overall, this felt like a solid horror, altough I don't know that I'll be thinking of it much now that I'm done.
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
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:
Yes
a real trip to the 19th century US, quite nice to see! it was a captivating book, very hard to drop it halfway through!
dark
mysterious
sad
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
Dio che fatica finire questo libro.
Ci ho messo mesi perché le prime 60 pagine sono state un parto da leggere. Poi il momento che mi sono sforzata un po’ si è fatto leggere e l’ho finito in pochi giorni.
McDowell mi piace, “Gli Aghi d’Oro” è il libro che mi è piaciuto di più, amo il suo stile di scrittura, ma “Katie” è… boh.
Ci ho messo mesi perché le prime 60 pagine sono state un parto da leggere. Poi il momento che mi sono sforzata un po’ si è fatto leggere e l’ho finito in pochi giorni.
McDowell mi piace, “Gli Aghi d’Oro” è il libro che mi è piaciuto di più, amo il suo stile di scrittura, ma “Katie” è… boh.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Gore, Violence, Death of parent, Murder
a delightfully gory read, highly reccomend to people looking for a short and brutal read and to other enthusiasts of Mcdowell's work
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-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:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Torture, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Injury/Injury detail