Justine

Okay so here's the thing...I think this was an entertaining and well done story, but I have an issue with the end/reveal so let me explain. 
I feel somewhat duped, while I think the end gag was cool I really hated it because it felt so pointless and hollow. Like the whole time I'm listening to this unwell man who has learned nothing and is kinda just whining after literally killing a woman...and I felt cheated and duped for that. If I'd known that was the story I really wouldn't have bothered. This is genuinely why I'm weary of reading stories written by men. So he just shoots the woman he supposedly loves, but we find out really has an obsession with and has weaseled his way into her life, but it just ends and he kills her of all the people in on the joke/game. That's super not what I was looking for and kinda ruins the whole thing if you're not on board considering the whole thing is his perspective and story. It's giving...women aren't people. I don't think the book is actually trying to make this point or condoning the behavior, to be clear. there's also a weird bit about him being kept by this writer and he was never actually a writer but stole her work based on their fucked up relationship? Ngl I was irritated and didn't get all that.

Anyway all that is to say, I know that technically this book deserves higher stars that what I felt for it, cause it was a well done story, just not one that I liked very much based on the reveal. 

That ending though! Let's go baybee I am pumped! That's the shit I'm takin bout. I realize part of my issue is that I'm too impatient to get through things as fast as possible even if they're very very long and dense and I really need a break, gotta power through. I do myself a real disservice with that. I was thinking throughout much of this that I'd need to take a break after this book, listen to some other stuff but now im antsy as ever. 

Neat.

I wouldn't feel right giving this book more or less than 4 stars. It was a really intriguing look into these peoples lives and perspectives. I can't say there's no growth in this story, but there's definitely people who may never learn or understand. It feels very true to life. I really liked the mc and her friends and I thought the ending was great. 

Horrible characters with zero development or believability. Should have stopped listening, but I'd gone too far. It's laughably bad, idek who this would be for. Maybe it was less dumb in 2013, who knows. 

This was a pretty neat book, a nice mystery and adventure with magical realism. While some things didn't quite add up to me and there are some grievances I have with the characters I enjoyed this story overall and found it compelling.  Made me think a lot of John Green though. 

It did kind of gnaw at me though that I couldn't quite believe that Wally was so dangerous when everything first went down. Like, yes, he went off the rails, but surely there had to be a better way than hiding in the town for 30 years while your daughter and husband are on their own growing up not knowing you and believing you're dead. Sure by the end he's obviously a problem, but initially I just don't buy it especially when the one person who might ever be able to get through to him decides to stay stuck in the town. Then the rest of you decide (because for some reason you're convinced Wally will come after you I guess)  instead of sticking together to protect each other you're like yeah let's never see each other again thanks bye. Also Felix kinda sucks. Leaving Nell via a note the first time for something that wasn't really even her fault? Nah that's some bullshit and then he's giving her ultimatums to be with him the second. Absolute trash. 

Wow this was a lot to go through. The audio performance was perfect, but also, so uniquely upsetting and powerful and well done. But most important to note, it is a very distressing read/listen. 

Okay. Definitely least favorite Tremblay book I've read so far. It was fine, just felt like not much happening and didn't feel the weight of it enough. Probably not for me. 

I have a lot of mixed feelings on this one as I could give it 1-3 stars and I'm not sure yet what will win out.

I think it was a good scary story for the most part, but the more it went on the more gripes I managed to have against it.

Full spoilers on that under the cut, but basically, the ending sucked, the “reveal” for why the monster was tormenting this woman was real dumb and it's overall pretty tone deaf.

The rating immediately dropped when they killed the native father and then even more with the son. It just didn't sit right with me as I was reading it to begin with and it is sitting even worse when the ONLY people who die are two of the three native people. I do believe that he was trying to be mindful but there are such clear blind spots that it's pretty frustrating. He kind of did the exact thing he said in his essay that he didn't want to do. The ending was some bullshit too. I figured out the whole baby thing when they're all like “what makes five” and I'm like okay but what about it. And apparently nothing about it. Her baby brother was still born and she was so deeply traumatized by it and her family never told her all these years, like it was some weird closely guarded secret? I hate so many things about it. And then you're gonna kill off these two natives but then the creature just decides for the whites they've actually been bothering to completely torment this whole time “oh the secret of your trauma is your unborn brother, that's fine I'll just see myself out then.” Tell me how any of that even makes sense? Too straight and white man for me.

Another thing is that why the hell is the MC also Felix. Idk that alone gave me bad vibes. 

I did not like the narrator's performance. Consistent mispronounced words and really the wrong/irritating intonation. It's extremely rare for me to dnf even books that I hate but I just can't with this Bad narrator on a story that is not gripping me at all. 

Cute. 

Lost a star cause I wanted it to go another way, but gained a half star cause I liked the epilogue. 

I really enjoyed this for a lot of personal reasons. There were several mistakes that weren't edited out towards the end, which is unfortunate.

I just couldn't get into it and didn't want to force myself through it just for the sake of it if I wasn't feeling it. Borrowed a second time and wasn't compelled enough to go back. 

Interesting enough but honestly pretty tepid. Neat subject though. 

As someone who primarily listens to audiobooks I found this  initially jarring and irritating given the podcast format, because I was expecting a book read and not a full cast podcast but once I let go of that and settled in I loved it so much. I was a little concerned wondering if I was getting a different experience than if I'd been reading it, but it felt like a real podcast mixed in with the story and the back and forth was so much fun and really immersive. 

I loved all of the different perspectives and discussions going on. Its all around a really unique, well done and impactful retelling of Carrie with so many important things to say. 

.5 star added cause the twist was more welcome than what I thought was going on. Didn't love the mc though. 

Very fun, wild ride. I'd even welcome a sequel tbh. Never been super interested in Grady Hendrix, but as soon as I heard about this I knew I had to read it immediately. 

I'm actually really surprised to see so many bad reviews for this book. I was so invested and enthralled the whole way through and really liked the ambiguity and pacing. I do think it wasn't the right narrator for this audiobook, but not enough to be distracting, and I even listend to it on a slower speed than I do typically. I even saw some people say it would be better as a movie when I was thinking the whole way through, “wow this is a great book, but idk how they're gonna make it work as a movie.”  If only because so much of this book is what people are thinking.

One thing I'll say for sure is that this would be such a fascinating book for discussion to see what parts any one person believes to be true and what their take on it is.

It's probably worth noting that this is the first Paul Tremblay book I've ever read and will definitely be diving into the rest of his work. 

I gotta say I was and remain devastated about Wen's death. There is so much time up to that point spent inside of her thoughts and young life that while I can appreciate it for going there I'm also really sad that it did. It's such maximum cruelty. I also can't help but wonder why a gay couple? Why put them specifically though that, is there commentary there that isn't clicking or was it just to add that level of uncertainty about it being a revenge situation motivated by targeted hate? is that the whole point???

Definitely the best Alice Feeney I've ever read in that 1, There's characters I actually like. 2, there's no sexual assault  & 3, It's not packed to the brim with plot twist after plot twist. I think I'm done with Alice Feeney, but I wanted to give her one last chance for some sick reason and I'm happy to go out on a high enough note, which is to say i didn't hate it. I'll count that as win enough. 

I'm not entirely sure how to rate this. I liked the way the story was told, how it was broken up with these different perspectives with varying formats, but I also found it really distressing and sad and at certain points it made me just very angry. While it was unique and well done, I also struggled with certain characters perspectives because of how much I hated them...and I mean, they're obviously not meant to be liked. 

I was really hooked with the first two parts but the later perspectives made me so angry. I'm not sure what this book was ultimately trying to say, if anything, or what I should take from it, but I feel like it's going to stick with me. 

Being inside of Farrah's skewed and disturbed thoughts the whole way through was incredibly irritating and distressing in a bad way to the point where it's kind of hard to tell what's even actually going on. I would have stopped reading this but I wanted to figure out what was happening. And it's a shame cause I probably would have really liked this story had it been told in any other way. Even adding another perspective would have helped. 

It's got some problems for sure, but that's okay cause I had a fairly decent time listening