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A review by alibrareads
Horrid by Katrina Leno
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.5
She couldn’t remember the first book she had eaten.
That’s one of the best/most interesting opening sentences I’ve ever read, honestly. My least favorite aspect is the trope of the mom being frustratingly uncommunicative/purposefully hiding information from the main character. The phrase “secret de Polichinelle” (aka open secret) is brought up in this book, and it plays a big role in the tension throughout it, but it also caused a bit of frustration on my part (just as it did to Jane).
Phew, that ending! I’ve read that some people felt it was too fast and abrupt, but I felt like the snowballing at the end was paced perfectly and it ended delightfully ominously. The last 50-ish pages did feel fast in relation to the first 250-ish pages, granted. This was a pretty slow build-up to the reveals, and there was a good amount of slice-of-life. Aside from the creepy parts, this book was primarily about grief and loss and how it affects people, and coping mechanisms. It was really sad actually. And the writing was simple but evoked a wide range of emotions really well.
Jane is an unreliable character, occasionally losing time and unsure if what she is seeing is real or not, but in my opinion there are real supernatural elements to this and not just vibes/seeing things!
There are a couple things from the climax that aren’t addressed
YouTube: https://youtu.be/mpw2uHd2d2o
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief and Death of parent