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A review by elleisa
Playground by Aron Beauregard
slow-paced
3.0
Many of us know that this novel went viral on TikTok, shocking and revolting many in its wake. For this reason I avoided it for a long time, especially since one of my triggers revolves around anything kid related. I forced some members of our book club to read it this mont so I could still get the scoop if it became too much.
Well, it ended up being a bit of the opposite. The foundation of the story is shocking: a wealthy, twisted woman lures low-income families into testing out her “state of the art playground” paired with a hefty sum of cash for the parents. What’s the catch? Well the playground is actually a series of death traps that the kids must escape while their trapped parents have to watch. Aron’s prose is strong. His writing is solid and his concepts bring a unique take on extreme horror.
Unfortunately, it just did not pack the punch that was expected. As a now seasoned horror reader, the situations fell a bit flat for me. The kids sounded more like high schoolers in their thought processes, which dampened the shock value. The playground puzzles ended up being too descriptive that I got lost when imagining the characters navigating them. I also find that I’m growing weary of the crude & inaccurate descriptions of women’s reproductive organs in extreme horror or using these descriptions for shock value… With that being said, if I were newer to the genre, I think this would be pretty jarring for me.
I’ve had a brief personal convo with Aron and he was incredibly kind. It’s very clear he cares deeply for his craft and even more for his readers. I think he’s got a lot to offer and will only see that shine as he publishes more and more of his work!
Well, it ended up being a bit of the opposite. The foundation of the story is shocking: a wealthy, twisted woman lures low-income families into testing out her “state of the art playground” paired with a hefty sum of cash for the parents. What’s the catch? Well the playground is actually a series of death traps that the kids must escape while their trapped parents have to watch. Aron’s prose is strong. His writing is solid and his concepts bring a unique take on extreme horror.
Unfortunately, it just did not pack the punch that was expected. As a now seasoned horror reader, the situations fell a bit flat for me. The kids sounded more like high schoolers in their thought processes, which dampened the shock value. The playground puzzles ended up being too descriptive that I got lost when imagining the characters navigating them. I also find that I’m growing weary of the crude & inaccurate descriptions of women’s reproductive organs in extreme horror or using these descriptions for shock value… With that being said, if I were newer to the genre, I think this would be pretty jarring for me.
I’ve had a brief personal convo with Aron and he was incredibly kind. It’s very clear he cares deeply for his craft and even more for his readers. I think he’s got a lot to offer and will only see that shine as he publishes more and more of his work!