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A review by astoldbybex
The Toy Thief by D.W. Gillespie
2.0
Note: I received a copy of The Toy Thief by D.W. Gillespie via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Love it or hate it -- I'm more of a neither kinda ghoul. Not a lot of emotions were evoked in me, while giving The Toy Thief a read. I didn't lay awake at night, page-turning in anticipation for something amazing to happen. I'm not saying I expected a life-changing experience, but I did expect more of something. The Toy Thief is another book I can throw into the category of, 'I probably won't remember this next week.'
& now, I'm not saying this was a horrible read. Not at all. & I know someone else will pick up The Toy Thief & probably absolutely adore it. But, if you are anything like me, you might say meh and quickly move onto something else.
I suppose one of my biggest complaints is that I just didn't care for Jack, the narrator, until the end. And, even then I can't say I really cared about her. Her personality, especially as an adult, was very irksome. In my opinion, she was incredibly rude (& yes, I'm looking at that judgmental blind-date she went on) -- which is usually never a complaint coming from me. I love a woman with an attitude, maybe it's a kink, but with this character is wasn't working for me at all.
I also didn't enjoy the way in which this story was told. The Toy Thief bounces between past & present & for a while, I guess I couldn't see why I would even care about her present-day anecdotes. Granted, it does tie together in the end, but I would have much preferred reading a story that strictly took place in the timeline of Jack's childhood. That's where all the creepy things take place & that's honestly what I'm here for. In general, I felt there were a lot of unnecessary anecdotes.
Speaking of unnecessary anecdotes, I have one for you.
When I was a wee lil' ghoul, I was banned from watching Pixar's Toy Story. Me? Banned from Toy Story? Me? A person who grew up watching Freddy Krueger, Michael Myers & Jason Voorhees destroy teenagers was banned from Toy Story? & it was all because I had a nightmare about that damn doll head attached to the mechanical body.
While reading The Toy Thief, I kept having flashbacks to that horrid doll. The description of The Toy Thief didn't necessarily fit with aforementioned doll, but it's definitely what I kept imaging & I felt that did add a more of a personal creepy feel for me. So, bonus points for that? Also, minus what I imagined, the creature was actually really creepy & I definitely would not want to wake up to seeing that on my ceiling.
There is one thing I truly enjoyed in The Toy Thief, and that is the relationship between siblings, Jack & Andy. It started off as a rocky ride between the two & it doesn't get entirely better, but there's definitely a strong development. & I, Becca, am a sucker for development.
For more reviews, check out my blog!
Love it or hate it -- I'm more of a neither kinda ghoul. Not a lot of emotions were evoked in me, while giving The Toy Thief a read. I didn't lay awake at night, page-turning in anticipation for something amazing to happen. I'm not saying I expected a life-changing experience, but I did expect more of something. The Toy Thief is another book I can throw into the category of, 'I probably won't remember this next week.'
& now, I'm not saying this was a horrible read. Not at all. & I know someone else will pick up The Toy Thief & probably absolutely adore it. But, if you are anything like me, you might say meh and quickly move onto something else.
I suppose one of my biggest complaints is that I just didn't care for Jack, the narrator, until the end. And, even then I can't say I really cared about her. Her personality, especially as an adult, was very irksome. In my opinion, she was incredibly rude (& yes, I'm looking at that judgmental blind-date she went on) -- which is usually never a complaint coming from me. I love a woman with an attitude, maybe it's a kink, but with this character is wasn't working for me at all.
I also didn't enjoy the way in which this story was told. The Toy Thief bounces between past & present & for a while, I guess I couldn't see why I would even care about her present-day anecdotes. Granted, it does tie together in the end, but I would have much preferred reading a story that strictly took place in the timeline of Jack's childhood. That's where all the creepy things take place & that's honestly what I'm here for. In general, I felt there were a lot of unnecessary anecdotes.
Speaking of unnecessary anecdotes, I have one for you.
When I was a wee lil' ghoul, I was banned from watching Pixar's Toy Story. Me? Banned from Toy Story? Me? A person who grew up watching Freddy Krueger, Michael Myers & Jason Voorhees destroy teenagers was banned from Toy Story? & it was all because I had a nightmare about that damn doll head attached to the mechanical body.
While reading The Toy Thief, I kept having flashbacks to that horrid doll. The description of The Toy Thief didn't necessarily fit with aforementioned doll, but it's definitely what I kept imaging & I felt that did add a more of a personal creepy feel for me. So, bonus points for that? Also, minus what I imagined, the creature was actually really creepy & I definitely would not want to wake up to seeing that on my ceiling.
There is one thing I truly enjoyed in The Toy Thief, and that is the relationship between siblings, Jack & Andy. It started off as a rocky ride between the two & it doesn't get entirely better, but there's definitely a strong development. & I, Becca, am a sucker for development.
For more reviews, check out my blog!