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A review by bookishpriest
Penpal by Dathan Auerbach
adventurous
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
The premise of the book is great. Other than one chapter - Boxes - it completely fails to deliver. The writing is often clumsy and most of the book is an exercise in telling over showing.
The narrator is reflecting on his past, so there may be an element of intentional unreliability, but so much of what is described seems wildly implausible. Children behaving as though they're significantly older than they are; adults completely and collectively missing what's going on even when the kids tell them; plot holes you could drive a truck through.
Disappointing. Give this one a miss.
The narrator is reflecting on his past, so there may be an element of intentional unreliability, but so much of what is described seems wildly implausible. Children behaving as though they're significantly older than they are; adults completely and collectively missing what's going on even when the kids tell them; plot holes you could drive a truck through.
Disappointing. Give this one a miss.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Blood, Kidnapping, Stalking, and Car accident
Moderate: Animal death