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3.65 AVERAGE
3.65 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
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
emotional
funny
reflective
slow-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
1.0 out of 5.0 stars
I don't get all of the high ratings for this book. I'm so disappointed! From the first chapter where the main character's brother flippantly tries to insult him by making homophobic jokes, I had a feeling this would be rough. I thought: maybe he will turn this around and this is supposed to be the set up for a deeply flawed and terrible person and don't get me wrong, Orin sucks, but that did not at all seem to be the intention after the first encounter with this character. I genuinely think those comments were supposed to be funny. It's 2018, dude. Fuck that.
I would not recommend this book, but if you insist anyway, here are some things to know going in:
- This is not a horror story
- This story is VERY slow, barely anything important happens and it's hard to care about the things that do because the characters aren't great
- It's not funny. It's full of scenes that seem to be trying way to hard to be funny, but they weren't. At least not to me
- There are so many pieces to this story that are ridiculously unrealistic, even in the sort of surrealist setting, and they just kept pulling me out of the story
-The majority of the characters are terrible people who either make excuses for, actively love, or willingly ignore a man who was full-on abusing his son
- Dario is such a boring lead character whose motives make no sense. And he so easily forgives people who treated him terribly when they did nothing to make amends.
- There is no chemistry in the romance. At all
- Orin is the worst
Honestly, I rated this so low though because I take issue with a story whose main character makes excuses for the father who both emotionally and physically abused him by saying his father was a complicated man. NO. Just no. This is geared towards young people and that is not the message to send. He can be a complicated man without making excuses for what he did. Also, how was there no intervention from the adults Dario was surrounded by when he was younger who just watched the bullshit happen without doing a thing?!? I don't like how any of this was handled and I don't think it was well done.
But hey, the cover's beautiful so it's got that going for it.
I don't get all of the high ratings for this book. I'm so disappointed! From the first chapter where the main character's brother flippantly tries to insult him by making homophobic jokes, I had a feeling this would be rough. I thought: maybe he will turn this around and this is supposed to be the set up for a deeply flawed and terrible person and don't get me wrong, Orin sucks, but that did not at all seem to be the intention after the first encounter with this character. I genuinely think those comments were supposed to be funny. It's 2018, dude. Fuck that.
I would not recommend this book, but if you insist anyway, here are some things to know going in:
- This is not a horror story
- This story is VERY slow, barely anything important happens and it's hard to care about the things that do because the characters aren't great
- It's not funny. It's full of scenes that seem to be trying way to hard to be funny, but they weren't. At least not to me
- There are so many pieces to this story that are ridiculously unrealistic, even in the sort of surrealist setting, and they just kept pulling me out of the story
Spoiler
Examples: The very idea that a live funeral where someone (with dementia) is willingly buried alive could actually happen is fucking moronic. Legally this would be a huge cluster, there's no way the lawyers who are in charge of the will and everything would let that happen. Everyone who partook in the burial, depending on the state, could be charged at least with manslaughter for helping with an assisted suicide. And then instead, he just explodes and everyone just shrugs it off - WTF. Another example is the death of Haley's dad. How was there no aftermath to that? The movie studio would be so screwed for negligence. And Haley and her mom just don't blame anyone and act like it's not a big deal. They didn't even mention that the movie halted production. What is wrong with these people?!? The only way that would make sense is if Maldovia was like an actual cult, which would have been a much more intriguing story.-The majority of the characters are terrible people who either make excuses for, actively love, or willingly ignore a man who was full-on abusing his son
- Dario is such a boring lead character whose motives make no sense. And he so easily forgives people who treated him terribly when they did nothing to make amends.
- There is no chemistry in the romance. At all
- Orin is the worst
Honestly, I rated this so low though because I take issue with a story whose main character makes excuses for the father who both emotionally and physically abused him by saying his father was a complicated man. NO. Just no. This is geared towards young people and that is not the message to send. He can be a complicated man without making excuses for what he did. Also, how was there no intervention from the adults Dario was surrounded by when he was younger who just watched the bullshit happen without doing a thing?!? I don't like how any of this was handled and I don't think it was well done.
But hey, the cover's beautiful so it's got that going for it.
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-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
It was a decent read. A wanted it to do a lot more with the premise, since I felt it had a lot of potential, but it was good regardless.
C O N T E N T W A R N I N G : D O M E S T I C A B U S E
Where has his book been all my life? Is it dramatic to say that I absolutely love everyone in this? This is how you do family drama with a dash of horror. Sure, some of the elements can be a little bit fantastical. It's not every day that you encounter an emancipated teenager with a horror movie legacy. Dario knows what it's like behind-the-scenes with an obsessive father and and mentally ill, absent mother. It can be hard to go back to the manor that holds so much pain. When his late father gives him an inheritance to continue the legacy it's up to Dario to decide if he wants to take responsibility for all of these people who is father has helped over the years. What hurts even more is knowing that their relationship can't be mended. All of the secrets and overall shitty things his father has done continues to hold him back from living his fullest life.
With quick humor and characters that really challenge how you conceptualize abuse and family, I say this is one of the more creative storytelling. Abuse is not always a black and white situation. Through these characters we come to understand the many ways abusers employees their tactics.
I recommend this book for fans of old horror and family drama. Finding a way through trauma to mend relationships wrecked buy your abuser.
*Disclaimer: A digital ARC of Scream All Night by Derek Milman was provided to me by the publisher via Eidelweiss in exchange for an honest review. This does not effect my opinion in any way.
--
I was really hoping to like this one more than I did. Don't get me wrong, it was still enjoyable and quite unique, but I just couldn't get into the writing style. Scream All Night had a lot of things going on within the story and I think it struggled to decide what kind of story it wanted to be.
Stay tuned for a full review coming soon!