Scan barcode
A review by plandocalrisian
N0S4A2 by Joe Hill
5.0
Wow. Incredible. check trigger warnings 18+
-Multiple pov
-a good horror to read right *after* the holidays
-kickass fmc
-the audiobook was phenomenal
This is a gripping story with incredible suspense, horror and heart. We mainly follow Vic (Victoria) who finds an inter dimensional bridge which connects her thoughts to the real world. She uses this to escape her turbulent home life, but it shortly links her to others who have similar abilities. Some are good, and some you don’t want to go seeking out. After a fight with her mom, she seeks out some trouble and finds it in a serial killer and child kidnapper, Charlie Manx. He’s not just any typical serial killer, he has the power to enter the dream plane and keeps kids in his “Christmas Land.” Vic escapes their first encounter, but is haunted throughout her life into adulthood - until one day, she is confronted by Manx’s return and in order to stop him from taking more lives (including those she loves), she needs to find out his secrets and kill him herself.
I really liked how this story progressed and its pacing. The multiple povs made it read like a movie, you could really picture everything that happened (whether you wanted to or not). And it was tied up neatly at the end. What really kicked me, though, was how much heart this book had - you really rooted for Vic and her relationships. While she didn’t have a nice relationship with either of her parents, she was still loved and they definitely redeemed themselves in ways that I teared up reading about.
My only criticism was the mental health representation. It kind of represented it in a way that horror so easily falls to - infantilizing and stereotyping people who struggle with mental illness. The fmc seemed to have ptsd, depression and anxiety in the end, and not the other illnesses she was being treated for because the bridge turned out to be real, but the way the representation was described was the all too commonly seen sensationalization of mental health facilities and illnesses. I understand self-criticism and flawed internal monologues we sometimes have towards ourselves and our illnesses, but I just wish that was handled with a bit more care.
Would definitely recommend overall.
**spoiler alert**
happy-ish ending
-Multiple pov
-a good horror to read right *after* the holidays
-kickass fmc
-the audiobook was phenomenal
This is a gripping story with incredible suspense, horror and heart. We mainly follow Vic (Victoria) who finds an inter dimensional bridge which connects her thoughts to the real world. She uses this to escape her turbulent home life, but it shortly links her to others who have similar abilities. Some are good, and some you don’t want to go seeking out. After a fight with her mom, she seeks out some trouble and finds it in a serial killer and child kidnapper, Charlie Manx. He’s not just any typical serial killer, he has the power to enter the dream plane and keeps kids in his “Christmas Land.” Vic escapes their first encounter, but is haunted throughout her life into adulthood - until one day, she is confronted by Manx’s return and in order to stop him from taking more lives (including those she loves), she needs to find out his secrets and kill him herself.
I really liked how this story progressed and its pacing. The multiple povs made it read like a movie, you could really picture everything that happened (whether you wanted to or not). And it was tied up neatly at the end. What really kicked me, though, was how much heart this book had - you really rooted for Vic and her relationships. While she didn’t have a nice relationship with either of her parents, she was still loved and they definitely redeemed themselves in ways that I teared up reading about.
My only criticism was the mental health representation. It kind of represented it in a way that horror so easily falls to - infantilizing and stereotyping people who struggle with mental illness. The fmc seemed to have ptsd, depression and anxiety in the end, and not the other illnesses she was being treated for because the bridge turned out to be real, but the way the representation was described was the all too commonly seen sensationalization of mental health facilities and illnesses. I understand self-criticism and flawed internal monologues we sometimes have towards ourselves and our illnesses, but I just wish that was handled with a bit more care.
Would definitely recommend overall.
**spoiler alert**
happy-ish ending