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A review by jenniahw
The Grimmer by Naben Ruthnum
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.75
I found myself liking the book more than I anticipated. Of course it had my interest from the description (and cover) alone, but as I read more of Vish, a kid already struggling in a town where most of the other Indian people are his parents, I loved it. He's a young teen and while he already has to deal with what what can be considered normal teenage woes, he's also unlucky in the fact that his father had an addiction that wrecked his world. You meet him after he returns from being sent away, a mistake on his parents part, and in just the first pages you see so much of the struggle and his dynamic with the people who should have been in his corner, like his friend who is the reason that the news of his father spread and part of the reason he had to spend two years isolated.
But even if this new start in the town he grew up in should be a restart and the beginning of his healing, he's thrown into the mix of a magical horror story involving an entity that's the face (and body parts) of nightmares. He hasn't had time to even come to terms with everything else, but now he has to help save himself and the town he lives in, all with very little time and with people who aren't always giving him the full picture. But watching him try to throw himself into being a solution and now come out of it with everything fixed, but on the right path makes me happy.
And that plot twist at the end, THAT PLOT TWIST, I didn't actually see it coming, I gasped out loud and it broke my heart a little more, because it gave so much insight to what leads people to certain lives. How choices made for people and that they make because of those choices shape you. Make you someone you wish you weren't. Also the thing that comes after the plot twist, the thing I did guess, does leave room for a sequel maybe? I wouldn't mind.
If I have to say the one thing that bothers me a little is that I wish there was more time taken for him forgiving his friends. They all are kids, but what they did crossed a major line and really messed up his life. Even after all of this he still has to deal with the looks and whispers. There will probably also be some mild bullying and while they can stand up for him, it wouldn't be this way if they hadn't made the choice to tell a teacher.
I'm thankful to have had the chance to read this via NetGalley.
But even if this new start in the town he grew up in should be a restart and the beginning of his healing, he's thrown into the mix of a magical horror story involving an entity that's the face (and body parts) of nightmares. He hasn't had time to even come to terms with everything else, but now he has to help save himself and the town he lives in, all with very little time and with people who aren't always giving him the full picture. But watching him try to throw himself into being a solution and now come out of it with everything fixed, but on the right path makes me happy.
And that plot twist at the end, THAT PLOT TWIST, I didn't actually see it coming, I gasped out loud and it broke my heart a little more, because it gave so much insight to what leads people to certain lives. How choices made for people and that they make because of those choices shape you. Make you someone you wish you weren't. Also the thing that comes after the plot twist, the thing I did guess, does leave room for a sequel maybe? I wouldn't mind.
If I have to say the one thing that bothers me a little is that I wish there was more time taken for him forgiving his friends. They all are kids, but what they did crossed a major line and really messed up his life. Even after all of this he still has to deal with the looks and whispers. There will probably also be some mild bullying and while they can stand up for him, it wouldn't be this way if they hadn't made the choice to tell a teacher.
I'm thankful to have had the chance to read this via NetGalley.