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Thornhill follows two girls and their parallel stories with the house of Thornhill. Mary lives at the Thornhill orphanage and feels incredibly lonely. What makes matters worse is that one of the girls living there with her is bullying her. Ella has just moved across the street from Thornhill and can’t stop obsessing over the creepy girl she sees around Thornhill. Watch as these stories intertwine and connect with a brilliant and eerie ending.
I have to say that I loved the way this story was told. It’s told in diary entries from Mary’s perspective and pictures through Ella’s. I thought they both suited each girl’s story perfectly, a great narrative choice. The art is black and white and has such a gothic feel to it that I just loved.
My biggest criticism was how long it was. I think I’d be able to give it that full five stars if it hadn’t dragged so much in the middle. Perhaps it’s also due to the lack of plot and more about the characters and mystery surrounding them.
I can’t say that I ever connected to the characters. Whilst I have a lot of sympathy for both of their situations, I was never really attached.
Don’t go into this book expecting a really scary vibe throughout. It’s more of a slow build that eventually crescendos into such a creepy and unnerving ending. I don’t think I’ve ever had such full body shivers while reading a book. The ending made up for quite a lot of the boring middle.
I’m not too sure what age range I’d put this in. I see a lot of people marking this as middle grade but I think it’s actually a lot darker than that. I was hesitant to put it in young adult at first because the maturity of YA seems to get older every year. But I do think this is YA as even I had chills by the end of it, and I’m not someone that gets scared that easily. It’s perhaps just on the younger side as the story is easy enough to grasp.
Overall, I’m really glad I picked this up. I can’t remember the last time I picked up a book and that I knew nothing about and just read it. If I see a book I’m interested in I usually read the synopsis and look into reviews from people I trust. But it was so nice to see a book that looked interesting at the library and read it right away.
Content warnings below:
I have to say that I loved the way this story was told. It’s told in diary entries from Mary’s perspective and pictures through Ella’s. I thought they both suited each girl’s story perfectly, a great narrative choice. The art is black and white and has such a gothic feel to it that I just loved.
My biggest criticism was how long it was. I think I’d be able to give it that full five stars if it hadn’t dragged so much in the middle. Perhaps it’s also due to the lack of plot and more about the characters and mystery surrounding them.
I can’t say that I ever connected to the characters. Whilst I have a lot of sympathy for both of their situations, I was never really attached.
Don’t go into this book expecting a really scary vibe throughout. It’s more of a slow build that eventually crescendos into such a creepy and unnerving ending. I don’t think I’ve ever had such full body shivers while reading a book. The ending made up for quite a lot of the boring middle.
I’m not too sure what age range I’d put this in. I see a lot of people marking this as middle grade but I think it’s actually a lot darker than that. I was hesitant to put it in young adult at first because the maturity of YA seems to get older every year. But I do think this is YA as even I had chills by the end of it, and I’m not someone that gets scared that easily. It’s perhaps just on the younger side as the story is easy enough to grasp.
Overall, I’m really glad I picked this up. I can’t remember the last time I picked up a book and that I knew nothing about and just read it. If I see a book I’m interested in I usually read the synopsis and look into reviews from people I trust. But it was so nice to see a book that looked interesting at the library and read it right away.
Content warnings below: