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A review by bookandcoffeeaddict
The Girl from the Well by Rin Chupeco
5.0
Odds are you’re familiar with the image of an onryō, the vengeful spirit of Japanese tradition who can affect the world of the living. Shown in movies like The Ring and The Grudge, the onryō is usually depicted in a certain, semi-traditional way – long white dress and long, dark hair hanging down, partially concealing pallid, corpse-like skin.
Okiku, the main character of The Girl From The Well, is such a spirit.
Once an innocent young girl before being brutally murdered, Okiku has been exacting her revenge for the last 300 years, horrifically killing those who hurt innocent young children or teens. Okiku wanders the earth, from one blood-soaked revenge killing to the next. It is during one of her wandering that she catches sight of Tarquin, a teen boy covered with intriguing tattoos. There is a darkness in the boy, something evil contained within his body. Intrigued by something other than vengeance for the first time in a very long time, Okiku sets out, with the help of Callie, Tarquin’s eighteen year-old cousin, to assist the boy in his battle with the evil within.
The Girl From The Well is not a book for the faint of heart – it’s bloody and gory and contains multiple scenes of violent murder. The level of blood, gore, and violence is on par with Kendare Blake’s Anna Dressed In Blood (Tor, 2011) or the movies mentioned above (both rated PG-13). Okiku is much more than just an antihero, she’s a vengeful serial-killing ghost who doesn’t think twice about murdering those she thinks deserves it in drawn-out, gruesome ways. But deep inside the murdering spirit is the young, innocent girl she used to be. It is that part of herself that Tarquin calls to, and it that part of herself that is drawn to the teen boy. The connection between Okiku and Tarquin is not romantic, not at all really, it’s more like the two share a mutual fascination with one another.
Written in a somewhat stream of conscience style, the book is narrated by Okiku and told through her first person, omniscient perspective, giving the reader an insider view into the thoughts of the other characters as well as a bird’s eye view of everything going on. Using the real life legend of Okiku as a jumping off point, the author does a great job of combining Japanese lore, legends, and locations together in this imaginative and wholly unique story.
I haven’t been this excited about and utterly enthralled by a YA horror book in a long time. Absolutely unique and original, I highly recommend this The Girl From The Well to anyone and everyone who likes horror and/or Japanese culture and legends (which the author does a great job of weaving the story around). I will not only read this author again, but I will squeal with joy and make grabby hands when I see the name Rin Chupeco on upcoming books.
*I received an ARC of this book to review. You can find this review and others like it at BookAndCoffeeAddict.com, along with recommendations for a fantastic cup of coffee.
Okiku, the main character of The Girl From The Well, is such a spirit.
Once an innocent young girl before being brutally murdered, Okiku has been exacting her revenge for the last 300 years, horrifically killing those who hurt innocent young children or teens. Okiku wanders the earth, from one blood-soaked revenge killing to the next. It is during one of her wandering that she catches sight of Tarquin, a teen boy covered with intriguing tattoos. There is a darkness in the boy, something evil contained within his body. Intrigued by something other than vengeance for the first time in a very long time, Okiku sets out, with the help of Callie, Tarquin’s eighteen year-old cousin, to assist the boy in his battle with the evil within.
The Girl From The Well is not a book for the faint of heart – it’s bloody and gory and contains multiple scenes of violent murder. The level of blood, gore, and violence is on par with Kendare Blake’s Anna Dressed In Blood (Tor, 2011) or the movies mentioned above (both rated PG-13). Okiku is much more than just an antihero, she’s a vengeful serial-killing ghost who doesn’t think twice about murdering those she thinks deserves it in drawn-out, gruesome ways. But deep inside the murdering spirit is the young, innocent girl she used to be. It is that part of herself that Tarquin calls to, and it that part of herself that is drawn to the teen boy. The connection between Okiku and Tarquin is not romantic, not at all really, it’s more like the two share a mutual fascination with one another.
Written in a somewhat stream of conscience style, the book is narrated by Okiku and told through her first person, omniscient perspective, giving the reader an insider view into the thoughts of the other characters as well as a bird’s eye view of everything going on. Using the real life legend of Okiku as a jumping off point, the author does a great job of combining Japanese lore, legends, and locations together in this imaginative and wholly unique story.
I haven’t been this excited about and utterly enthralled by a YA horror book in a long time. Absolutely unique and original, I highly recommend this The Girl From The Well to anyone and everyone who likes horror and/or Japanese culture and legends (which the author does a great job of weaving the story around). I will not only read this author again, but I will squeal with joy and make grabby hands when I see the name Rin Chupeco on upcoming books.
*I received an ARC of this book to review. You can find this review and others like it at BookAndCoffeeAddict.com, along with recommendations for a fantastic cup of coffee.