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A review by stephanieluxton
Autumn Bleeds Into Winter by Jeff Strand
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
This book is about 14 year old Curtis who sees his best friend get kidnapped, knows who did it, but doesn't have the proof.
I have a very soft spot for horror novels with child protagonists. It's interesting to view horror through a young person's eyes because it sets us up for some serious dramatic irony potential. I especially love the nostalgia of childhood from the time before internet too, so I was looking forward to this.
This book isn't what I thought it would be, unfortunately.
What I wanted it to be was Curtis sneaking around and trying to uncover the mystery of what happened to his friend, while getting more than he bargained for. I was looking forward to a climax involving a brilliant rescue mission or uncovering something even more sinister being discovered.
Instead, we got a very stressful story in which we find out what happened to his friend right away and instead of a super empowering coming of age story we get to experience the feeling of absolute helplessness for 90% of the book. I was STRESSED and not in a good way. I bit off all my nails reading this. It was definitely straddling the line in which I didn't know if I was slipping into the extreme horror genre.
The ending was fine, I guess? Nothing about this book made me feel very good though. I may have had too high of expectations.
I have a very soft spot for horror novels with child protagonists. It's interesting to view horror through a young person's eyes because it sets us up for some serious dramatic irony potential. I especially love the nostalgia of childhood from the time before internet too, so I was looking forward to this.
This book isn't what I thought it would be, unfortunately.
What I wanted it to be was Curtis sneaking around and trying to uncover the mystery of what happened to his friend, while getting more than he bargained for. I was looking forward to a climax involving a brilliant rescue mission or uncovering something even more sinister being discovered.
Instead, we got a very stressful story in which we find out what happened to his friend right away and instead of a super empowering coming of age story we get to experience the feeling of absolute helplessness for 90% of the book. I was STRESSED and not in a good way. I bit off all my nails reading this. It was definitely straddling the line in which I didn't know if I was slipping into the extreme horror genre.
The ending was fine, I guess? Nothing about this book made me feel very good though. I may have had too high of expectations.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Physical abuse, Torture, Child death, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Kidnapping, Death, Bullying, and Blood
Minor: Animal death