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A review by nat1577
One by One by D.W. Gillespie
5.0
This book was amazing - I loved its storyline, it's characterisation, and - best of all - I found it genuinely scary in several moments. I haven't found a horror novel scary in a very long time, so this was refreshing to find. It's draws out the tension and suspense so well - and while things don't happen quite as frequently as they might in other horror books, everything creepy moment that was included had its purpose and tied in perfectly with the final reveal.
I also love that this was written from the perspective of a 10 year old. It did take me a bit of time to get used to it, but once I did, I thought it did a great job at adding to that overall sense of tension. Unlike a lot of haunted house novels where you're wondering why everyone doesn't just get the hell out the second things start happening, this actually makes sense. Alice, the main character, is only a child, and any decision to move away would ultimately be up to her parents. And while things definitely start happening, a lot of them actually can be brushed off as coincidences or things that the kids are doing from the parents' perspectives. Alice's age really added this sense of desperation and hopelessness, especially when things progress and she no longer has the support of her family. She doesn't have the resources or experience as someone older than her would have, and you really start questioning how she's going to get herself out of this.
I really loved the characterisation in this. Alice was great, and I really loved her relationship with her family - particularly her relationship with her brother. I thought they were written very realistically, in a way that reminded me of my brother and I when we were younger. The first half of the book does progress a bit slowly but I didn't mind too much since it gave plenty of time to develop the characters. The only character I really had issues with were her dad - I thought I had an idea of what was going on with him, but after the final reveal later in the novel, I don't really know why he was acting the way he did.
In terms of the ending, it definitely wasn't what I was expecting but I did like it. I thought that the story built up that moment really well. It might bother some people since it definitely is a bit of a divergence from what the story seemed to be leading to, but I didn't mind it. Overall I thought this story was great and I read it in one go. I would definitely recommend it.
I also love that this was written from the perspective of a 10 year old. It did take me a bit of time to get used to it, but once I did, I thought it did a great job at adding to that overall sense of tension. Unlike a lot of haunted house novels where you're wondering why everyone doesn't just get the hell out the second things start happening, this actually makes sense. Alice, the main character, is only a child, and any decision to move away would ultimately be up to her parents. And while things definitely start happening, a lot of them actually can be brushed off as coincidences or things that the kids are doing from the parents' perspectives. Alice's age really added this sense of desperation and hopelessness, especially when things progress and she no longer has the support of her family. She doesn't have the resources or experience as someone older than her would have, and you really start questioning how she's going to get herself out of this.
I really loved the characterisation in this. Alice was great, and I really loved her relationship with her family - particularly her relationship with her brother. I thought they were written very realistically, in a way that reminded me of my brother and I when we were younger. The first half of the book does progress a bit slowly but I didn't mind too much since it gave plenty of time to develop the characters. The only character I really had issues with were her dad - I thought I had an idea of what was going on with him, but after the final reveal later in the novel, I don't really know why he was acting the way he did.
In terms of the ending, it definitely wasn't what I was expecting but I did like it. I thought that the story built up that moment really well. It might bother some people since it definitely is a bit of a divergence from what the story seemed to be leading to, but I didn't mind it. Overall I thought this story was great and I read it in one go. I would definitely recommend it.