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A review by ranforingus
The Boy Who Could See Demons by Carolyn Jess-Cooke
4.0
Wow. Just. Wow.
This is one of the most gripping books I've read on the subject of mental illness in children (more specifically Early Onset Schizophrenia).
All in all there doesn't seem to be a whole lot going on on the outside, but Alex Broccoli's internal world is so incredibly fascinating that I had to put the book down multiple times in order to be able to absorb and place everything.
My favourite character was without a doubt Ruen, the demon that plagues Alex and indirectly, his psychiatrist Anya.
His different forms were so well written that I could actually imagine him in all of them. The old man, the child-ghost, Hornhead and the Monster.
I genuinely got chills whenever Alex did, and it's not an easy feat to convey such a sense of dread in real time (especially not in the form of writing).
The ending was... confusing, but it fits the book somehow. The character's stories were (mostly) told and the blanks could be nicely filled in with the infodumps in the last fifth of the book.
I would have liked to see Ruen cause more, well ruin, but all in all I'm kinda glad the book ended.
Well done Carolyn Jess-Cooke, for spinning such a wonderful tale on a very difficult subject and (most of all) making it believable.
Over and Out!
This is one of the most gripping books I've read on the subject of mental illness in children (more specifically Early Onset Schizophrenia).
All in all there doesn't seem to be a whole lot going on on the outside, but Alex Broccoli's internal world is so incredibly fascinating that I had to put the book down multiple times in order to be able to absorb and place everything.
My favourite character was without a doubt Ruen, the demon that plagues Alex and indirectly, his psychiatrist Anya.
His different forms were so well written that I could actually imagine him in all of them. The old man, the child-ghost, Hornhead and the Monster.
I genuinely got chills whenever Alex did, and it's not an easy feat to convey such a sense of dread in real time (especially not in the form of writing).
The ending was... confusing, but it fits the book somehow. The character's stories were (mostly) told and the blanks could be nicely filled in with the infodumps in the last fifth of the book.
I would have liked to see Ruen cause more, well ruin, but all in all I'm kinda glad the book ended.
Well done Carolyn Jess-Cooke, for spinning such a wonderful tale on a very difficult subject and (most of all) making it believable.
Over and Out!