A review by artemishi
Bent Heavens by Daniel Kraus

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I started this book, forgetting how truly freaked out I can get about aliens, and concerned that it might be too scary for me to read (alone, at night). But thankfully, it took a turn rather quickly into psychological horror, which is more my jam.

The whole story was much deeper and more introspective than I expected, exploring the capacity for violence against the Other, the complex dynamics of friendship especially when wrapped in grief and isolation, the ripple effect each life has on the other, and ultimately, how well any of us knows other people.

One of the big moments was projected relatively early on, but even guessing it didn't lessen the impact for the MC, whose head you're in pretty quickly. Like many teens (especially teen girls), she's so up in her own head that she misses a lot of evidence of things in front of her (especially when it comes to subtle social dynamics) and is understandably defensive as a first reaction.

I loved and hated Doug, so much, in equal measure. In some ways, he's an incredibly thoughtful and considerate friend- more so than Liv deserves, to be honest. In others, he's so toxic and manipulative- and it's hard to feel like there's any real maliciousness in there, because he's basically an abandoned poor outcast of a kid. My heart was breaking for him the whole book even when he was squicking me out. 

The book itself was very fast paced- the ending especially galloped but it worked well with the levels of tension in the story. Overall, if you're into psychological horror YA and like a twisty book, I recommend it. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings