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A review by danscoada
Maeve Fly by C.J. Leede
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Maeve Fly is one of those rare books that feels like it was written for me. It has so many things that I love: horror, "D*sney", Halloween, horror movies, books, and so much more. I absolutely recognize that this book will NOT be for everyone. I would classify it as a very dark horror novel with its toes dipping into the extreme horror category.
I have not seen or read American Psycho, but I know enough about it and the character of Patrick Bateman to recognize the similarities between Bateman and Maeve. For one thing, Grady Hendrix mentions it on the cover's blurb, but Maeve goes through a critical change after seeing the book on her shelf. I have seen others say it's not as graphic as American Psycho, but I cannot speak to that.
Maeve mentions a few times the unfairness that men in horror are able to be killers for no reason while women always need some sort of trauma to justify their actions. We can only speculate on the presence of trauma in Maeve's past because we get absolutely no back story for her outside of a few flashbacks with her grandmother. Some may be frustrated with this, but I loved how it served to further Maeve's point. We don't know what's gone on in her life to bring her to this point, but that's not what this book is about. We're expected to buckle in and go for the ride, which I was absolutely willing to do.
For a former employee of the world's largest theme park, I couldn't help but notice some inaccuracies between the real world D*sney theme parks and the one presented in the books. I don't know if these inaccuracies are present to avoid potential legal disputes or if Leede genuinely did not know otherwise. Usually these inaccuracies would bother me, but I had no problem suspending my disbelief for this one.
This was a strong debut from CJ Leede and I cannot wait to see what's next.
I have not seen or read American Psycho, but I know enough about it and the character of Patrick Bateman to recognize the similarities between Bateman and Maeve. For one thing, Grady Hendrix mentions it on the cover's blurb, but Maeve goes through a critical change after seeing the book on her shelf. I have seen others say it's not as graphic as American Psycho, but I cannot speak to that.
Maeve mentions a few times the unfairness that men in horror are able to be killers for no reason while women always need some sort of trauma to justify their actions. We can only speculate on the presence of trauma in Maeve's past because we get absolutely no back story for her outside of a few flashbacks with her grandmother. Some may be frustrated with this, but I loved how it served to further Maeve's point. We don't know what's gone on in her life to bring her to this point, but that's not what this book is about. We're expected to buckle in and go for the ride, which I was absolutely willing to do.
For a former employee of the world's largest theme park, I couldn't help but notice some inaccuracies between the real world D*sney theme parks and the one presented in the books. I don't know if these inaccuracies are present to avoid potential legal disputes or if Leede genuinely did not know otherwise. Usually these inaccuracies would bother me, but I had no problem suspending my disbelief for this one.
This was a strong debut from CJ Leede and I cannot wait to see what's next.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Violence, Blood, Death, Sexual content, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Vomit, and Animal death
Minor: Toxic relationship and Sexual assault