A review by anemosise
Penpal by Dathan Auerbach

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

i read this story originally around 7 years ago when it was simply a collection of reddit posts, and it was one of the stories that honestly truly stuck with me through my adolescence. i learned recently that it had actually been published into this novel around the same time, and i immediately ordered it to see if it lived up to the legend it lived on as in my head. i honestly really truly still enjoyed it! even if the writing style was a little more amateur, it felt like it kept the same naturalistic charm the original story captured. even though i remembered most of the plot details from when i was younger, it still kept me throughly engaged. this book might be a more self-indulgent nostalgic favorite of mine, so i totally get the critiques some people have of it, but i still really liked rereading it. :)
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