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Acanthea Grimscythe (300 KP) rated The Sick House in Books

Jun 8, 2018 (Updated Jan 18, 2019)

The Sick House

Jeff Strand | 2018 | Horror

8.7

(3 Ratings)

Book Rating

Last month, the #spookyfriendsbookclub voted on Jeff Strand’s Sick House as our selection and though I’m a month behind on reading it, I am so glad I did. This book is amazing–or rather, it is if you’re a fan of snarky, gory horror.

The Gardner family moves into a house that turns out to be haunted. Readers find out what happened there fairly early, which is unusual in most haunted house tales that I’ve read. Despite that, Strand manages to keep me hooked with his fast-paced, delightfully dark prose. The family of four, comprised of husband, wife, and two daughters, show readers just how strong the bond between family members can be while simultaneously exploring the darker regions of the teenage mind–as seen with the older of the two girls. This provides a nice depth to the family, which thankfully isn’t comprised of a bunch of Mary Sues (though the wife is debatable).

Fast-paced, gory, and definitely not for the squeamish, Sick House progresses quickly with non-stop action. The terror begins from the first few pages and lasts throughout the entire novel, which elevates it above the many I’ve read where the first eighty percent is a snooze fest with all the excitement at the end. I definitely recommend this book to horror fans and will be reading more of Strand’s work. I have Dweller sitting on my shelf!

Kudos

Booksnthreads (19 KP) rated Salt to the Sea in Books

Jun 4, 2018

Salt to the Sea

Ruta Sepetys | 2016 | Fiction & Poetry, History & Politics, Young Adult (YA)

8.8

(12 Ratings)

Book Rating

So, I’ve just finished reading all three novels nominated for the YA category of the California Young Reader Medal. The first two I read kind of left me feeling “meh,” so I was all set to be unimpressed with this one as well. I’m so delighted to tell you that I was wrong.

The story is told from the perspectives of four different characters, and I loved how Sepetys begins the narrative by telling of the same opening event from each character’s view point. After that, things unfold a little slowly, but it is completely worth it as you approach the climax…by that time, I was completely invested in each of the characters and was absolutely riveted to what was happening to them.

I’m also terribly impressed that Sepetys tackles telling a story from the “wrong” side (Germans during WWII), painting the characters not as the accepted “evil” caricatures but as real human beings caught up in a horrific war. In doing so, she sheds light on a human tragedy that so few of us know anything about (myself included) because it happened to the Germans as they were losing the war.

I will warn potential readers that the end of this novel does get rather graphic and emotionally wrenching, as you would expect in a novel about war and death. Although writing for a young adult audience, Sepetys does not gloss over the terror, panic, and trauma of the events.