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A review by darkdahlia9
Penpal by Dathan Auerbach
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
YALL. This book was a goddamn doozy.
I knew sort of the themes in this book, and how this was originally short stories published on an online forum so I was concerned that the timelines/narration would be really choppy and it kind of was- but it WORKED for this.
This book is the type of horror where it’s scary because it’s so real. There’s no supernatural creature, there’s no ghost or demon, there’s none of that. There’s just pure childhood purity turned to terror that the MC doesn’t realize until he talks to his mom as an adult.
The way this book is set up is in non-linear events that take place during his childhood, and he navigates them with an adult mindset and which new knowledge that he obtains later, and the way the chapters/stories are laid out, you get to puzzle it together along with the MC which I feel like really helped create the really disturbing and unsettling revelations.
The way the author adapted the short stories had me GLUED to the pages and my jaw dropped a few times. I’d absolutely recommend this to anyone who wants horror that will genuinely unsettle you, and have you looking behind yourself while walking alone in the woods.
I knew sort of the themes in this book, and how this was originally short stories published on an online forum so I was concerned that the timelines/narration would be really choppy and it kind of was- but it WORKED for this.
This book is the type of horror where it’s scary because it’s so real. There’s no supernatural creature, there’s no ghost or demon, there’s none of that. There’s just pure childhood purity turned to terror that the MC doesn’t realize until he talks to his mom as an adult.
The way this book is set up is in non-linear events that take place during his childhood, and he navigates them with an adult mindset and which new knowledge that he obtains later, and the way the chapters/stories are laid out, you get to puzzle it together along with the MC which I feel like really helped create the really disturbing and unsettling revelations.
The way the author adapted the short stories had me GLUED to the pages and my jaw dropped a few times. I’d absolutely recommend this to anyone who wants horror that will genuinely unsettle you, and have you looking behind yourself while walking alone in the woods.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Pedophilia, and Stalking
Moderate: Animal death and Violence