A review by junejunejulyjuly
Let the Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist

5.0

This is a reread for me. There’s definitely some weaknesses here. I do believe this was Lindqvist’s first book, and while it is very well written, there are some structural choices I don’t believe he would have made if it weren’t. There’s quite a few subplots co-mingled & it can be difficult to keep track of who is who & how each sub-plot does or doesn’t interact with the main plot. The bullies feature strongly at the start of the book and then sort of disappear within the body of the book. I almost forgot about them entirely. This may have been purposeful on Lindqvist’s part as well. However, the uniqueness of the vampire mythos here pulled me in even on the reread. A vampire tale from the point of view of a kid is really interesting, especially when it’s not done in some glorified age-gap way. Here, Lindqvist has made the monster a child and has also made the children the victims of a monster. The writing also has a nod to the detective novel which is apropos! Very enjoyable, at times intense & difficult read. A formidable addition to vampire canon.