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danielles_reads 's review for:
The Good House
by Tananarive Due
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was quite the ride!! I was completely sucked in from the very beginning. I really liked the way that Due slowly revealed answers to the mystery, creating more questions at the same time. The different timelines all came together spectacularly many times over, and it was so fun to piece things together.
Then a chapter around the halfway point completely blew my mind, which was so fun until every other reveal after that started to feel underwhelming, with some scenes feeling unnecessary because we had already gotten the gist from earlier scenes, and I'm not sure if we really needed the detail. So that's when I started to lose some steam. The climax also felt pretty rushed after such a long build-up, and the ending was really disappointing at first.It seemed to have erased everything that came before it, like everything was a dream. But the more I think about it, and the more reviews I read, the more I like it. Black horror stories deserve happy endings, so I understand why Due went the route of cancelling Cory's death, even if it went unexplained (apparently Grandma Marie is more powerful than we thought...). And Angela did learn how to connect to her son and how to stand up for herself and the true love she wanted and not to settle for Tariq. So even if she doesn't remember the exact events that happened, she will implement what she learned. And honestly, it is a relief for Cory to be alive, cause that was so fucking depressing.
But man, even with some quibbles, I'm really impressed with this book. The characters felt like real, complex people, with all the real strengths and flaws that entails. The different POVs really felt like different people, unlike a lot of books I've read. I liked that Cory's POVs really felt like a naive and at times overconfident teenager without being extremely annoying and sanctimonious (like in Girl, Woman, Other lol). I completely understood the choices the characters were making, and really empathized with their struggles and also appreciated their triumphs. This was seriously such an emotional rollercoaster of a read! The only thing I didn't like about the characters was that Miles felt too perfect and I didn't love all the focus on him and Angela's second chance romance, thoughit was a relief when they got together again so we didn't have to experience their sexual tension anymore lol. They were cute but it just got tiring.
Also, this book is very firmly set in the early 2000s, so sometimes reading this felt like time travel, lol. What a journey. I'd definitely recommend this, especially to people who like social horror and haunted houses!
Then a chapter around the halfway point completely blew my mind, which was so fun until every other reveal after that started to feel underwhelming, with some scenes feeling unnecessary because we had already gotten the gist from earlier scenes, and I'm not sure if we really needed the detail. So that's when I started to lose some steam. The climax also felt pretty rushed after such a long build-up, and the ending was really disappointing at first.
But man, even with some quibbles, I'm really impressed with this book. The characters felt like real, complex people, with all the real strengths and flaws that entails. The different POVs really felt like different people, unlike a lot of books I've read. I liked that Cory's POVs really felt like a naive and at times overconfident teenager without being extremely annoying and sanctimonious (like in Girl, Woman, Other lol). I completely understood the choices the characters were making, and really empathized with their struggles and also appreciated their triumphs. This was seriously such an emotional rollercoaster of a read! The only thing I didn't like about the characters was that Miles felt too perfect and I didn't love all the focus on him and Angela's second chance romance, though
Also, this book is very firmly set in the early 2000s, so sometimes reading this felt like time travel, lol. What a journey. I'd definitely recommend this, especially to people who like social horror and haunted houses!
Characters: 4.5
Plot / Pacing: 4
Setting / World Building: 4
Writing Style: 4.5
Themes: 4.5
Rating: 4.25