A review by kaylasbewks
Penpal by Dathan Auerbach

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Wow. The first half of this book was phenomenal from the writing to the characters. I really appreciated the fact that the MC's mother made reasonable & safe choices rather than the idiotic ones you usually see in horror media -  I actually liked the way her character was written the whole way through. The atmosphere and writing at the beginning was amazing, I was genuinely creeped out for the first 50-75% of the book but unfortunately towards the end,
(as the MC grew up)
, it began to fall flat for me.

I do believe that the ending itself was well done, it was consistent and logical.. and I was extremely close to crying, but the build up fell too far into the typical horror cliches for me. Overall, I'm glad I read this book because of the first 50-75%... wow.

Rated using the CAWPILE system. :3
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