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A review by michaelknipp
One by One by D.W. Gillespie
3.0
One by One is the story of a family trying to maintain itself in the context of a new and mysterious house. Told from the perspective of the 10 year old daughter, Alice, you experience the family dynamic and the curiosity of their new home through her eyes and interpretations. The misunderstandings, musings, and imagination of a young child tint every event of the story which colors the entire narrative with additional clarity or muddiness as Alice agonizes over her familial relationships and tries to come to terms with who she is as a person and where she belongs.
The tension builds when Alice discovers a drawing of a family, like hers, behind some old wallpaper. Her overactive imagination gets the best of her as she analyzes the potential implications of the similarities to her brother and parents and the crude picture on the wall. When “X”’s begin to appear over characters in the picture and family members inexplicably vanish, Alice’s theories seem less crazy after all.
The premise was immediately compelling and the story remained interesting throughout. Unfortunately, as the mystery began to unravel during the climax of the story, a lot of the tension seemed to release a bit too early. Ultimately, the answers provided by the plot twist weren’t quite as satisfying as the tale might have implicated in its early portions. I still felt compelled to finish the story and my interest never fully waned, but I was left merely satisfied than fully awestruck.
Thanks to Netgalley, Flame Tree Press, and D.W. Gillespie in exchange for an honest review.
The tension builds when Alice discovers a drawing of a family, like hers, behind some old wallpaper. Her overactive imagination gets the best of her as she analyzes the potential implications of the similarities to her brother and parents and the crude picture on the wall. When “X”’s begin to appear over characters in the picture and family members inexplicably vanish, Alice’s theories seem less crazy after all.
The premise was immediately compelling and the story remained interesting throughout. Unfortunately, as the mystery began to unravel during the climax of the story, a lot of the tension seemed to release a bit too early. Ultimately, the answers provided by the plot twist weren’t quite as satisfying as the tale might have implicated in its early portions. I still felt compelled to finish the story and my interest never fully waned, but I was left merely satisfied than fully awestruck.
Thanks to Netgalley, Flame Tree Press, and D.W. Gillespie in exchange for an honest review.