A review by blewballoon
The September House by Carissa Orlando

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

3.5

I wasn't sure how to feel about this book during most of my reading. I found it pretty funny at times, the constant gag of the main character reacting nonchalantly to horrific and bizarre sights never got old for me. The book isn't exactly subtle about the comparison between surviving a haunted house being sort of like surviving an abusive relationship, and
if you follow along with that comparison to the end of the story, it seems to suggest that rather than telling people in these relationships to "leave" we should approach it more like "forcing the abuser to leave"
I had a hard time connecting with the living characters at times though, the tone of the book kept them at arms length, even if we did get little tidbits about their histories. I really enjoyed the ending and how
it didn't go the more cliche twist route that it toyed with
. The ending honestly brought my opinion of the book up in general.
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