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A review by thesaltiestlibrarian
The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I'm having trouble writing down my thoughts, so I'll make this one short and cut to the chase.
THE LAST HOUSE ON NEEDLESS STREET is taut and stressful in the best ways. While I thought the characters were fantastic and the connections ultimately ended up satisfying, there was something lacking for me. I can't figure out what it was, because there's so much to unpack in this novel.
Damn, I can't even go into details without spoilers! Just...do yourself a favor and go read this. It's good, don't worry. It's really good. It held me until I had to wrest its talons out of my face, so have no fear about keeping your attention.
The most upsetting thing about the book was that messed up shit like this really happens, and that children can be cruel and indifferent. Will I buy this for my own library? Yeah, I think I will. I need to go into a physical copy with a pencil and some highlighters. The suitcase has not yet been cracked open.
SPOILERY THING HERE:
I really appreciated the representation of DID here. I had a close friend a long time ago who suffered from it, and this was the most compassionate representation I've seen so far. And I REALLY liked that it wasn't a villain trope, because if there's one thing that pisses me right off, it's mental illness being used as a fulcrum for villainry.
I'm having trouble writing down my thoughts, so I'll make this one short and cut to the chase.
THE LAST HOUSE ON NEEDLESS STREET is taut and stressful in the best ways. While I thought the characters were fantastic and the connections ultimately ended up satisfying, there was something lacking for me. I can't figure out what it was, because there's so much to unpack in this novel.
Damn, I can't even go into details without spoilers! Just...do yourself a favor and go read this. It's good, don't worry. It's really good. It held me until I had to wrest its talons out of my face, so have no fear about keeping your attention.
The most upsetting thing about the book was that messed up shit like this really happens, and that children can be cruel and indifferent. Will I buy this for my own library? Yeah, I think I will. I need to go into a physical copy with a pencil and some highlighters. The suitcase has not yet been cracked open.
SPOILERY THING HERE:
I really appreciated the representation of DID here. I had a close friend a long time ago who suffered from it, and this was the most compassionate representation I've seen so far. And I REALLY liked that it wasn't a villain trope, because if there's one thing that pisses me right off, it's mental illness being used as a fulcrum for villainry.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicide, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, and Kidnapping