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A review by themermaddie
The Babysitter Lives by Stephen Graham Jones
5.0
holy shit dude this was INSANE
this is absolutely the type of book that you need to read a few times to get a better grasp of what's going on, i won't deny that it got a little confusing and disorienting at times, but it feels completely intentionally, perhaps to simulate the way charlotte feels throughout this whole book. i'm actually really curious who made the decision to make this book available in audiobook only, whether it was a commercial or creative decision (although it def should be made available as book at some point for accessibility for ppl who are HOH).
this book is a mind-bending, stomach turning, dread-inducing haunted house story like i've never read before. this is my first SGJ book and it certainly won't be my last. SGJ clearly knows the horror genre like the back of his hand, he knows how to use classic horror tropes but employ them in fresh new ways, this was so unputdownable. i don't know that i could even describe what happens because this book is so far from linear, it mixes the present day creep-factor with the murders that happened 11 years ago. charlotte is such an excellent horror protagonist; she's smart, she's resourceful, she's adaptable, and she cares deeply about her mom, her girlfriend, and the kids she's tasked with keeping safe. she is a great babysitter to these kids, even when they start getting creepy, and i loved that as soon as stuff started getting supernatural there wasn't a whole extended "but the supernatural isn't real" scene; she's just like "alright how the fuck do we get out of this alive."
like all good horror, there's a great mix of social commentary here. not exactly about the actual horror, mind you, i kind of have... no idea what that was all about. someone please talk to me about tia lol i desperately want to debrief with someone about her and do a character deep dive!! fucked up for no good reason like, damn. but i liked the bits about charlotte's race and her relationship to the casual racism she faces everyday as a native/indigenous person, it felt very grounded and central to her identity. i loved her relationships with her mother and murphy, both of whom are largely off-screen relationships but still felt so present within the claustrophobic confines of the story, there's never any doubt about the intricacies of charlotte's relationships with them even though we don't see very much of either of them. and of course there's all the sexual assault/coercion stuff... let's just say there's no tw needed but huge ick factor, jesus.
but truly the star of this show is the setting: the house comes alive as its own character, pulling charlotte and the reader through horrible ins and outs of its secret nooks and crannies, flipping back and forth between the upside down of it all. it's hard to describe but it's similar to Oculus (2013) in its disorienting vibes and paranoia, when you can't tell what's real but it all feels real. i would definitely have to relisten to this a few more times to work out how all the little rules of the universe in this house work, the dark spaces and the brass and the lizards... it plays with space and time and memory, and there's so much gruesome body horror with spider eggs inside mouths and bloody eye sockets and little chalky finger nubs and it's just EXCELLENT. it was perhaps a mistake to be eating my dinner while listening to some of this. truly disgusting, and awesome.
the ending... what the hell. i was both satisfied and unsatisfied, let's just say. as in, i want more but i also understand why SGJ ended it where it did (but also no i don't give me more!). i'm going to go think about this book in a dark corner and try not to fall in.
this is absolutely the type of book that you need to read a few times to get a better grasp of what's going on, i won't deny that it got a little confusing and disorienting at times, but it feels completely intentionally, perhaps to simulate the way charlotte feels throughout this whole book. i'm actually really curious who made the decision to make this book available in audiobook only, whether it was a commercial or creative decision (although it def should be made available as book at some point for accessibility for ppl who are HOH).
this book is a mind-bending, stomach turning, dread-inducing haunted house story like i've never read before. this is my first SGJ book and it certainly won't be my last. SGJ clearly knows the horror genre like the back of his hand, he knows how to use classic horror tropes but employ them in fresh new ways, this was so unputdownable. i don't know that i could even describe what happens because this book is so far from linear, it mixes the present day creep-factor with the murders that happened 11 years ago. charlotte is such an excellent horror protagonist; she's smart, she's resourceful, she's adaptable, and she cares deeply about her mom, her girlfriend, and the kids she's tasked with keeping safe. she is a great babysitter to these kids, even when they start getting creepy, and i loved that as soon as stuff started getting supernatural there wasn't a whole extended "but the supernatural isn't real" scene; she's just like "alright how the fuck do we get out of this alive."
like all good horror, there's a great mix of social commentary here. not exactly about the actual horror, mind you, i kind of have... no idea what that was all about. someone please talk to me about tia lol i desperately want to debrief with someone about her and do a character deep dive!! fucked up for no good reason like, damn. but i liked the bits about charlotte's race and her relationship to the casual racism she faces everyday as a native/indigenous person, it felt very grounded and central to her identity. i loved her relationships with her mother and murphy, both of whom are largely off-screen relationships but still felt so present within the claustrophobic confines of the story, there's never any doubt about the intricacies of charlotte's relationships with them even though we don't see very much of either of them. and of course there's all the sexual assault/coercion stuff... let's just say there's no tw needed but huge ick factor, jesus.
but truly the star of this show is the setting: the house comes alive as its own character, pulling charlotte and the reader through horrible ins and outs of its secret nooks and crannies, flipping back and forth between the upside down of it all. it's hard to describe but it's similar to Oculus (2013) in its disorienting vibes and paranoia, when you can't tell what's real but it all feels real. i would definitely have to relisten to this a few more times to work out how all the little rules of the universe in this house work, the dark spaces and the brass and the lizards... it plays with space and time and memory, and there's so much gruesome body horror with spider eggs inside mouths and bloody eye sockets and little chalky finger nubs and it's just EXCELLENT. it was perhaps a mistake to be eating my dinner while listening to some of this. truly disgusting, and awesome.
the ending... what the hell. i was both satisfied and unsatisfied, let's just say. as in, i want more but i also understand why SGJ ended it where it did (but also no i don't give me more!). i'm going to go think about this book in a dark corner and try not to fall in.