Scan barcode
A review by nikenacs
House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
[Book club - November 2022]
Not the biggest fan of this in the beginning, but it really won me over in the end. A tad too YA for my taste, but that's a me problem. Had I read this in my teenage years, I would have been absolutely /obsessed/.
The strong part of this book is definitely the finale, or generally everything that takes place after the hospital. This is where everything that has been laid out before really pays off. The main strong point of the book is that Sutherland is fantastic at describing surroundings, smells, sounds, sensations, all her horrors feel very tangible. The mix between strange natural beauty and body horror worked very well.
Unfortunately, this strongly descriptive style also felt like one of the main downsides to me. The book is VERY Tell, Don't Show, and I felt like very obvious things were being spelled out for me again and again. I could see most plot points/twists coming a mile away. Maybe this is a YA thing, though, and I really am just a little too old already. The pacing was odd in some places as well.
Overall, it didn't wow me, but it was pretty good. I probably wouldn't have stuck with it if it hadn't been for the book club, but I'm glad I did.
Not the biggest fan of this in the beginning, but it really won me over in the end. A tad too YA for my taste, but that's a me problem. Had I read this in my teenage years, I would have been absolutely /obsessed/.
The strong part of this book is definitely the finale, or generally everything that takes place after the hospital. This is where everything that has been laid out before really pays off. The main strong point of the book is that Sutherland is fantastic at describing surroundings, smells, sounds, sensations, all her horrors feel very tangible. The mix between strange natural beauty and body horror worked very well.
Unfortunately, this strongly descriptive style also felt like one of the main downsides to me. The book is VERY Tell, Don't Show, and I felt like very obvious things were being spelled out for me again and again. I could see most plot points/twists coming a mile away. Maybe this is a YA thing, though, and I really am just a little too old already. The pacing was odd in some places as well.
Overall, it didn't wow me, but it was pretty good. I probably wouldn't have stuck with it if it hadn't been for the book club, but I'm glad I did.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Vomit, Death, Violence, Gun violence, Gore, Grief, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, and Rape
Moderate: Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, and Murder
Minor: Alcoholism and Alcohol