A review by mehsi
Horrid by Katrina Leno

5.0

“Three little girls all eating things they weren’t supposed to eat. Three little girls all eating things in order to fill their bodies with something other than the anger, the rage, that would otherwise consume them.”


I was excited that I could read this book, and it was perfect for Halloween! Spooky things are happening in this one, and a mystery is there to be unfolded. Family, rage, grief, and more. It was well-written and I absolutely ADORE the cover.

The anger? That runs apparently in more of the women in the family. NOPE. I am sorry but I was severely disturbed by that. I mean, I get angry at times as well, and I could understand getting angry at the people that did shit like this, but not like this. This was just unhealthy, dangerous, get a therapist and help, kind of rage. The kind of rage that made them red in the face. The kind of rage that made them not care how far they had to go. The rage that made them think of horrible things. They didn’t care if they broke a person. It was at times too much.

The house and the past were spooky and scary. The house just screamed NOPE to me the moment that Jane and her mother arrived. And then spooky things kept happening. Shadows, a marble rolling around, noises and bumps, shadows, lights going on when there was no electricity, and more. I was definitely on an edge and very curious what was happening. Who was haunting this house? Why? It was really well-written.

The mental health part was well-written. Yes, I don’t eat books, but I can imagine why Jane did it.

I loved the girls Jane befriended, they were such sweet girls and I love that they took Jane as a friend, talked to her, did some fun things. Given that one of the girls is the one who just had to guide Jane through her first week of high school I hadn’t expected them to bond this much. Love it.

Wasn’t a fan of the bully girl. Near the end we learn some more things on why she is behaving like this, but what the actual fuck girl? Jane doesn’t know anything about your past or how it all connects, instead of being a bitch maybe just tell her normally and I am sure that Jane could have helped you out. In some way or another.

I do wish that Jane’s mother had been more honest about things. About what happened years ago. I am glad that the mom did take things a bit more serious than most parents or adults in horror. Of course, there are moments she is the typical adult, but there are thankfully moments that she is listening. She tries her best to make Jane feel at home. Plus, I am happy that she was honest about the money issues. That she talked to Jane. That reminds me of a horror I saw recently (around the time I read this one) for Halloween in which the mother hid away why they had money problems until the boy just got angry at her and she had to throw it out.

But the ending? I am really conflicted on that one. On the one hand, DANG and WTF, but on the other hand? WTF? Why is this the ending? How? Can we get an epilogue? Something else? It just came out of the blue.

All in all, though this was one spooky read about grief, mental health and a big (unhealthy as I would call it given everything) portion of rage. Recommended.

Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/