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giuliachindea 's review for:
BRAT: A Ghost Story
by Gabriel Smith
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
This book was wonderful. A story about grief that is both beautiful and unsettling, weaving in comedy and horror, and left me awake at night trying to piece together its meaning. The structure of this book was so unique and refreshing. Some interactions between Gabriel and his brother were little insufferable, hence the .25 off.
I love how the author portrayed Gabriel's grief both physically and metaphorically, throughthe house. You have his peeling skin that is mirrored in the paint peeling off the walls and shingles falling off the roof. I feel like the black mold could be a representation of either his health deteriorating or his mental state worsening because of the grief and his difficulty in letting go of his father (he constantly rewatches the tape, etc). Although I still don't understand the meaning of the deer-man, I guess you can also connect that to grief, in that grief can bring sudden and inexplicable horror into someone's life. That might be a stretch 🤷♀️. But then you see the deer-man reappear when Gabriel unlocks the shed door, and the overgrown weeds disappear from the front of the house. We are left to assume that it is the deer-man who cleans up the house using the shears from the shed, so I think that symbolizes that Gabriel is opening his heart to healing.
I also loved how the siblings told Gabriel to stay in the house, specifically when they said, "'Our dad couldn't keep it together. He was too broken. He sold the house. He's gone, too. And now we're stuck.' 'You need the house... Or you will end up stuck'". I feel like it's a sign to Gabriel that he should stay in the house and use it/fix up the house to overcome the death of his father, or else he will be constantly stuck grieving. What I don't fully understand here is why the siblings are stuck, although that could mirror Gabriel and his brother. Maybe the father in their scenario represents Gabriel's mother, but it doesn't quite line up.
I also loved how the grandma constantly repeated that she had no answers for him. I feel like she is a source of wisdom in Gabriel's life, but can also be an indirect narrator. It's like the author is telling us that if you look at all these horror experiences individually, the deer-man, the creepy house, the strange siblings, it would be difficult to try to find a connection between them ("an answer"). But if you try to connect them using the underlying theme of the book (grief) that you can kinda piece together each part of the story.
I love how the author portrayed Gabriel's grief both physically and metaphorically, through
I also loved how the siblings told Gabriel to stay in the house, specifically when they said, "'Our dad couldn't keep it together. He was too broken. He sold the house. He's gone, too. And now we're stuck.' 'You need the house... Or you will end up stuck'". I feel like it's a sign to Gabriel that he should stay in the house and use it/fix up the house to overcome the death of his father, or else he will be constantly stuck grieving. What I don't fully understand here is why the siblings are stuck, although that could mirror Gabriel and his brother. Maybe the father in their scenario represents Gabriel's mother, but it doesn't quite line up.
I also loved how the grandma constantly repeated that she had no answers for him. I feel like she is a source of wisdom in Gabriel's life, but can also be an indirect narrator. It's like the author is telling us that if you look at all these horror experiences individually, the deer-man, the creepy house, the strange siblings, it would be difficult to try to find a connection between them ("an answer"). But if you try to connect them using the underlying theme of the book (grief) that you can kinda piece together each part of the story.