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3.62 AVERAGE
3.62 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
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
dark
mysterious
tense
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
This book has two speeds—sloooooooooooow burn and breakneck pace—and both could sometimes make me check out from the story, either because it felt like the narrator was rambling too much or because too much action was happening to process. Still, I really liked the meta nature of the plot, and the narrator felt very real, despite her long-windedness.
The first chapter is just so, so good. And the rest is just awful. I get having an unlikable narrator, but it's hard to feel bad for her. Like how was she ever released from the hospital? Just confused about the main character. And the ending?!? You can't have something supernatural without some sort of hint or a world where something like that could exist.
I used to be a great fan of Stephen Graham Jones, back when he hadn't yet gone all Stephen King Blackfoot version.
I tried hard to make sense of this book, but I couldn't.
I tried hard to make sense of this book, but I couldn't.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
sad
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
dark
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
The beginning of the book was good. It was interesting and it was holding my attention but the more I read. It started to DRAG ON. It was so boring. I didn’t even think I could finish it. Finished it and I can’t even think of a single thing to say about this book.
Less is more.
Less is more.
Meh.
Jones is an excellent writer, his wording unique and often amusing but this story was blah. The pacing creeps by with a lot of extraneous information. When there finally is a lead worth chasing it hits an often confusing dead end. Red herrings everywhere never make you feel, as the reader, that you have any idea where the story is going.
While the climax was enjoyable enough, the lead up was slow. People are being killed. Who is killing them? And how many obscure references to slasher movies can be made? I often found myself spending more time on Wikipedia looking up the slashers listed than reading.
Most of this was a chore to read, but I wanted to see if Jade was right about her hunches, or if her character arc would find redemption. Instead, I am left with more questions then answers.
Jones is an excellent writer, his wording unique and often amusing but this story was blah. The pacing creeps by with a lot of extraneous information. When there finally is a lead worth chasing it hits an often confusing dead end. Red herrings everywhere never make you feel, as the reader, that you have any idea where the story is going.
While the climax was enjoyable enough, the lead up was slow. People are being killed. Who is killing them? And how many obscure references to slasher movies can be made? I often found myself spending more time on Wikipedia looking up the slashers listed than reading.
Most of this was a chore to read, but I wanted to see if Jade was right about her hunches, or if her character arc would find redemption. Instead, I am left with more questions then answers.
funny
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:
N/A
Went into this knowing that a lot of people’s hang-ups were Jade being annoying, the sheer number of horror references, and the ending. I think I just perfectly happened to land in the target demographic that most of this didn’t irk me (aside from the ending a bit but i’ll get to it).
Jade WAS annoying and it took me a bit to adjust to her but once I realized that the reason she bothered me so much was because she was a lot like myself at her age I couldn’t help but empathize with her. Big ups SGJ, a grown man, for being able to write a teenage girl inner monologue well without falling majorly into the tropes.
Jade WAS annoying and it took me a bit to adjust to her but once I realized that the reason she bothered me so much was because she was a lot like myself at her age I couldn’t help but empathize with her. Big ups SGJ, a grown man, for being able to write a teenage girl inner monologue well without falling majorly into the tropes.
As for the horror references, I’m just as big of a horror nerd as Jade is so this was VERY satisfying for me and actually helped me understand exactly what was going on at certain points by referencing slasher scenes. (Also wanna say: love the chapter titles and hope that carries on into the next two books as well). I’m honestly a little confused by the number of reviews I’ve seen of this book from non-horror fans choosing to pick up a horror book featuring a horror obsessed main character and then being surprised when said book talks about and depicts horror? What did you think this was?
What didn’t work for me was honestly Letha dare I say….. Something about her characterization felt inconsistent but that might’ve just been from the fact that I was on-and-off trying to decide if she is or is not the killer, who knows. Also her name, Letha Mondragon, kinda took me out of it. It felt a bit too fantastical, same with the rest of the Terra Novans. Perhaps that was intentional to exaggerate their outsider-ness from the rest of the mundane Proofrockers, but either way it distracted me.
And the ending: honestly I was getting a bit lost in some sections though I’ll give it the benefit of the doubt and say it’s because I had been sitting and reading for so long and not because of the writing. Anyhow, I didn’t totally take issue with the paranormal twist! I thought it was pretty funny actually and I liked the explanation of why she can walk on water. For Jade’s sake, though, I wish she could’ve got the big slasher reveal she’d waited her whole life for.
I know absolutely nothing about the rest of the trilogy going forward but I hope she gets that chance at some point.
adventurous
dark
funny
tense
fast-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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Sexual assault