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A review by fortunavhs
The Book of Accidents by Chuck Wendig
funny
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
I both started and came away from this book with mixed feelings. On one hand the premise really appealed to me, however I had concerns it wouldn’t be for me due to the author working on Star Wars media - I feared this would have the same narrative shortcomings as most Disney products do. And while this was an enjoyable read, it unfortunately did and I grieve the potential that this book had.
That isn’t to say there isn’t a lot I did enjoy! There’s some great horror in this book, particularly surrounding mines which are a personal favourite horror setting of mine. There were some particularly nasty elements, such as those black parasitic worms that were delightful in how repulsive they were. Generally, I’m happy with the structure and pacing also - there was a moment where it felt a plot twist was revealed to the reader far too soon, that being Jake’s ulterior motive , but with the way the one lot developed it actually felt like the right part in hindsight.
If I had to make one overarching criticism of the novel, it would be that Maddie’s story arc didn’t get enough focus. It’s subjective of course - she happened to have the plotline most interesting to me. There was a *lot* going on in the book, also - content for several standalone novels, but I understand I like more detail and slower pacing than the average reader.
The other major criticism I have comes with some necessary caveats. I absolutely welcome humour and light hearted moments in all genres, and have no issue with cultural references whatsoever (particularly I oppose the idea that they would make a book dated/prevent it from being timeless), but this book is very heavy on the quips to a distracting degree. And there was one specific example that really bothered me: when Olivier witnesses the different versions of himself and he compares it to a Sims game. I don’t doubt that a teenager might have a dissonant, fleeting thought during a terrifying moment, but from a reader’s perspective, it should have been, well, a terrifying moment and the comparison dulled the impact. I just wish the horror concepts could have been explored without this joking facade. In the scenes with less tension, they helped humanise the characters but it felt like Wendig was afraid to include sincere emotion beyond that. This ties into how the reader is repeatedly assured that this version of the Graves family is a near perfect loving family - I was reminded of that tweet about characters talking like they want a good grade in therapy and so on. I admit I’m biased as a prefer stories about dysfunctional families and immoral people, but it often read as Wendig refusing to really explore the darker aspects of his main characters, or even just giving them less self awareness. He’s clearly a very competent writer - I just feel like he’s holding himself back too much and the story loses sincerity and nuance as a result.
One thing I’m always quite vigilant about is how realistically teenagers are written - it seems to be where a lot of authors falter. There were definitely times that veered into 80s movie archetypes in the high school scenes, as well as a little bit of the “how do you do, fellow kids?” type of approach, but on the whole, I felt like Oliver was a well written character. I do appreciate depictions of queer youth who have come to terms with their identity but not at a point of wanting to come out, as well as teen characters of any sexuality without a romantic subplot - just simply the acknowledgment that for many teens that’s not a priority whatsoever! In terms of other diversity, I’m less sure - there’s a lesbian character in a single scene whose sexuality only seemed to be brought up so Wendig could say he had lesbian representation, and the two main characters of colour both each have a line mocking white people - not that they can’t, but since they were created by a white man, it felt like he was patting himself on the back for being a good ally.
Tl:dr: There were absolutely elements to love about this book but I felt the author was restrained from exploring them fully and there was a lot of wasted potential for them. I would still recommend this to people who are fan of stories about familial love prevailing, but I’m a cold hearted edgelord (as the characters of this book would call me) and wanted more darkness.
That isn’t to say there isn’t a lot I did enjoy! There’s some great horror in this book, particularly surrounding mines which are a personal favourite horror setting of mine. There were some particularly nasty elements,
If I had to make one overarching criticism of the novel, it would be that Maddie’s story arc didn’t get enough focus. It’s subjective of course - she happened to have the plotline most interesting to me. There was a *lot* going on in the book, also - content for several standalone novels, but I understand I like more detail and slower pacing than the average reader.
The other major criticism I have comes with some necessary caveats. I absolutely welcome humour and light hearted moments in all genres, and have no issue with cultural references whatsoever (particularly I oppose the idea that they would make a book dated/prevent it from being timeless), but this book is very heavy on the quips to a distracting degree. And there was one specific example that really bothered me:
One thing I’m always quite vigilant about is how realistically teenagers are written - it seems to be where a lot of authors falter. There were definitely times that veered into 80s movie archetypes in the high school scenes, as well as a little bit of the “how do you do, fellow kids?” type of approach, but on the whole, I felt like Oliver was a well written character. I do appreciate depictions of queer youth who have come to terms with their identity but not at a point of wanting to come out, as well as teen characters of any sexuality without a romantic subplot - just simply the acknowledgment that for many teens that’s not a priority whatsoever! In terms of other diversity, I’m less sure - there’s a lesbian character in a single scene whose sexuality only seemed to be brought up so Wendig could say he had lesbian representation, and the two main characters of colour both each have a line mocking white people - not that they can’t, but since they were created by a white man, it felt like he was patting himself on the back for being a good ally.
Tl:dr: There were absolutely elements to love about this book but I felt the author was restrained from exploring them fully and there was a lot of wasted potential for them. I would still recommend this to people who are fan of stories about familial love prevailing, but I’m a cold hearted edgelord (as the characters of this book would call me) and wanted more darkness.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse