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The Boy Meets Girl Massacre
Noelle takes a summer nightshift job at the infamous Boy Meets Girl Inn, even though she's well aware of the grisly murders that happened there decades ago. That's why she has a diary—to write down everything she experiences in case things go bump in the night. But the inexplicable freezing drafts, the migrating rotten-flesh smell, and the misplaced personal items don't really scare her. Noelle has bigger problems: her father's ailing health, her friend Alfred's inappropriate crush, and the sore spot on the back of her head that keeps getting worse.
When a party commemorating the anniversary of the original killings ends in a ghoulish bloodbath, Noelle's diary becomes the key piece of evidence for investigators. But the cryptic and often incoherent entries suggest there is more to the bizarre case than can be rationally explained...
When a party commemorating the anniversary of the original killings ends in a ghoulish bloodbath, Noelle's diary becomes the key piece of evidence for investigators. But the cryptic and often incoherent entries suggest there is more to the bizarre case than can be rationally explained...
271 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2015
6 people are currently reading
1232 people want to read
About the author
Ainslie Hogarth
8 books655 followersAinslie Hogarth is the author of four novels. You can find her short fiction in Hazlitt, Maisonneuve, Room Magazine, Black Static, and more.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 105 reviews
November 6, 2019
this is a fun book to supplement any spooktober reading you folks may be doing this year. here are its prominent features which you can sort into your own personal "pro" or "con" columns:
- very quick read
- "found footage" structure in the form of a diary removed from a crime scene, annotated by hollywood peeps
- splattery. soooo splattery
- slow build to the bloody events whose details we know from the very beginning
- unreliable narrator
- jamesian ambiguity but not jamesian writing style (see first - )
these are all in the pro column for me, but you know your own comfort level when it comes to bloodspray (oh, and there's some animal blood in that spray, FYI), and your own personal needs for resolution and how long it takes to get there. i will say that the author of the diary that makes up the majority of the book and supplies its voice is pretty annoying. but knowing from page one that she's dead by the end will help with that. and while this book didn't scare me, since i'm still trying to find a book that can achieve that goal in my life, there are still some very good creepily atmospheric descriptions in here that at least activated my arm-hair alarms. so many dark hallways, so many mysterious dragging noises, so narrow a divide between supernatural and medical explanations. i mean, obviously there's shades of The Shining here - it's a hotel with a spooky reputation
and it focuses on the long-term psychological effects of exposure to such a fraught location, but it takes a slightly different path than The Shining, and the immediacy that the diary-format brings to the table is definitely a turn-on.
it's not the best or the scariest book ever, but i really appreciated the questions that lingered with me, and the way the dough was kneaded throughout. does that analogy make sense to anyone but me? i think i mean that the process of the story's development was fun to watch as it transitioned through its stages, even if we didn't get to eat the bread at the end. or know if it turned into bread at all.
great, now i want bread and honey.
no more baking analogies for you, karen!
it's october! read something spooky!
come to my blog!
- very quick read
- "found footage" structure in the form of a diary removed from a crime scene, annotated by hollywood peeps
- splattery. soooo splattery
- slow build to the bloody events whose details we know from the very beginning
- unreliable narrator
- jamesian ambiguity but not jamesian writing style (see first - )
these are all in the pro column for me, but you know your own comfort level when it comes to bloodspray (oh, and there's some animal blood in that spray, FYI), and your own personal needs for resolution and how long it takes to get there. i will say that the author of the diary that makes up the majority of the book and supplies its voice is pretty annoying. but knowing from page one that she's dead by the end will help with that. and while this book didn't scare me, since i'm still trying to find a book that can achieve that goal in my life, there are still some very good creepily atmospheric descriptions in here that at least activated my arm-hair alarms. so many dark hallways, so many mysterious dragging noises, so narrow a divide between supernatural and medical explanations. i mean, obviously there's shades of The Shining here - it's a hotel with a spooky reputation
and it focuses on the long-term psychological effects of exposure to such a fraught location, but it takes a slightly different path than The Shining, and the immediacy that the diary-format brings to the table is definitely a turn-on.
it's not the best or the scariest book ever, but i really appreciated the questions that lingered with me, and the way the dough was kneaded throughout. does that analogy make sense to anyone but me? i think i mean that the process of the story's development was fun to watch as it transitioned through its stages, even if we didn't get to eat the bread at the end. or know if it turned into bread at all.
great, now i want bread and honey.
no more baking analogies for you, karen!
it's october! read something spooky!
come to my blog!
October 25, 2022
And one single nail rolled across a metal shelf and landed with a pang on the concrete floor. The noises were starting, the little disturbances that occurred when people spent too long in the basement.
Noelle and Alf, two high school pals, have summer jobs working the night shift at the Boy Meets Girl Inn, the scene of some gruesome murders thirty years ago, and now reported to be haunted as hell. The kids have gotten used to the bumps in the night, and have even established a set of rules for dealing with the paranormal, including:
Never close the medicine cabinet mirror while looking into it --- something terrible WILL be standing behind you.
Don't antagonize the ghosts.
Don't, under any circumstances, go down ANY of the basement hallways.
But, something strange is happening to Noelle. She discovers diary entries she doesn't remember writing, pages filled with a demented scrawl, confessing to horrible deeds.
Maybe it's the house that's making me see things.
Yet she and Alf continue to plan a huge party for their friends to be held at the inn on the anniversary of the murders. Gee, what could possibly go wrong . . ?
This one bothered me: the older I get, with possible dementia looming ever closer, the more the thought of being out of control of your thoughts and actions gives me the heebie-jeebies. I even got to a point where I could no longer read it before bed.
I see many others didn't really care for the book, but I'm rating it P.D.C. for Pretty Darned Creepy.
Noelle and Alf, two high school pals, have summer jobs working the night shift at the Boy Meets Girl Inn, the scene of some gruesome murders thirty years ago, and now reported to be haunted as hell. The kids have gotten used to the bumps in the night, and have even established a set of rules for dealing with the paranormal, including:
Never close the medicine cabinet mirror while looking into it --- something terrible WILL be standing behind you.
Don't antagonize the ghosts.
Don't, under any circumstances, go down ANY of the basement hallways.
But, something strange is happening to Noelle. She discovers diary entries she doesn't remember writing, pages filled with a demented scrawl, confessing to horrible deeds.
Maybe it's the house that's making me see things.
Yet she and Alf continue to plan a huge party for their friends to be held at the inn on the anniversary of the murders. Gee, what could possibly go wrong . . ?
This one bothered me: the older I get, with possible dementia looming ever closer, the more the thought of being out of control of your thoughts and actions gives me the heebie-jeebies. I even got to a point where I could no longer read it before bed.
I see many others didn't really care for the book, but I'm rating it P.D.C. for Pretty Darned Creepy.
January 11, 2026
This might be Ainslie Hogarth's most disturbing book. 😱 Would recommend to fans of the show Yellowjackets and maybe fans of See What I Have Done. (🚨If you can't stomach animal cruelty, DO NOT READ THIS BOOK!🚨)
Here's what you need to know about this book (AKA the most demented book I've ever read).
This is the story of a teenager named Noelle Dixon. She works the night shift at The Boy Meets Girl Inn, a place rumored to be haunted. And if you think her working the night shift means she's going to see some spooky shit, you'd be right. (Did I say Eep! a few times while reading and burrow under the blankets? Yes, yes I did).
Noelle has a complicated relationship with her (weird) father and a proclivity to pick at her scalp (pick and dig and tear at scabs and press in on the pain 🫣). She also writes her thoughts in a diary, including her thoughts leading up to the days of the massacre.
Yep, you read that right. THE MASSACRE.🩸
At the grisly crime scene, Noelle's diary is found. And the things she wrote in it raise serious questions about whether or not she was involved in the gruesome murders.
No book has made my stomach twist quite like this one. ⚠️ I cannot emphasize it enough: DO NOT READ THIS BOOK IF YOU ARE SENSITIVE TO ANIMAL CRUELTY! ⚠️ But if you enjoy spooky, subtly strange, psychologically horrific reads that reach a mysterious conclusion, this is definitely the book for you.
👉P.S. This book was marketed as YA. At best, it's upper YA. But given the content, I can't help but think of it as adult literature.
Here's what you need to know about this book (AKA the most demented book I've ever read).
This is the story of a teenager named Noelle Dixon. She works the night shift at The Boy Meets Girl Inn, a place rumored to be haunted. And if you think her working the night shift means she's going to see some spooky shit, you'd be right. (Did I say Eep! a few times while reading and burrow under the blankets? Yes, yes I did).
Noelle has a complicated relationship with her (weird) father and a proclivity to pick at her scalp (pick and dig and tear at scabs and press in on the pain 🫣). She also writes her thoughts in a diary, including her thoughts leading up to the days of the massacre.
Yep, you read that right. THE MASSACRE.🩸
At the grisly crime scene, Noelle's diary is found. And the things she wrote in it raise serious questions about whether or not she was involved in the gruesome murders.
No book has made my stomach twist quite like this one. ⚠️ I cannot emphasize it enough: DO NOT READ THIS BOOK IF YOU ARE SENSITIVE TO ANIMAL CRUELTY! ⚠️ But if you enjoy spooky, subtly strange, psychologically horrific reads that reach a mysterious conclusion, this is definitely the book for you.
👉P.S. This book was marketed as YA. At best, it's upper YA. But given the content, I can't help but think of it as adult literature.
November 30, 2017
This book is appallingly good. Ainslie Hogarth has given birth to an entirely new genre here that I'm gonna call the torture porn coming of age novel. This book is marvelously disgusting, beautifully horrible and other words that really don't go together.
I don't think I will ever sleep comfortably in a hotel again.
I don't think I will ever sleep comfortably in a hotel again.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 6, 2016
Original de: El Extraño Gato del Cuento
La escritora de The Lonely, uno de los libros más extraño que he leído, y sin duda también uno de mis favoritos, vuelve con esta también extraña novela, sobre un asesinato que no se sabe si fue hecho por una chica un poco fuera de sí o quizá por algo mucho, mucho peor.
Cuando leí Frozen Charlotte, no terminé asustada porque pasamos de posibles fantasmas asesinos a quizá un asesino psicópata. En The Boy Meets Girl Massacre pasa todo lo contrario. Sobra decir que terminé aterrada. Ese dicho de “témele más a los vivos que a los muertos”, no funciona conmigo. Tráeme un asesino serial con hacha o alguna cosa más cruel además de mucha, mucha sangre y no me da miedo, incluso lo disfruto un poco (¿ves porque Seth Bishop, Serial Hottie no me parecía raro?). Pero dame siquiera la idea que hay un fantasma en la historia y estoy gimiendo de miedo. Gritar es para valientes, gemir de miedo es cuando ya estás a punto de hacerte pis. Voy a defenderme un poquito: mi miedo no es irracional, quizá esté canalizando a Marshall (How I Met Your Mother) pero ¡Los fantasmas existen! Vivo en una casa donde han intentado asfixiarme, donde me han hablado cuando no había nadie… entre otras cosa más. Es un poquito difícil no creer en fantasmas después de todo eso.
Sin querer este año estoy explorando un género al que era bastante reacia a leer: Terror. Ainslie Hogarth no solo maneja en la historia la probabilidad de un fantasma sino también de una enfermedad mental, lo que me hizo a mí como lectora asustarme aún más. Me dejó pensando varias veces: ¿debo asustarme? ¿No debo asustarme? No sé si la palabra Terror sea correcta para calificar a The Boy Meets Girl Massacre o quizá suspenso, porque sabes lo que pasará al final, la historia solo nos dice cómo es que posiblemente haya pasado. El saber da mucho más miedo que el no saber.
La narración de Ainslie Hogarth es impecable, otra de las pocas veces que sentí tanta emoción al leer un libro, de esos donde podía sentir cada párrafo era diferente, fue con A Song for Ella Grey. Noelle tiene muchos cambios de humor algunos tan solo entre párrafo y párrafo, y se pueden sentir, mientras lees sabes que si ella estuviera hablando estaría gritando y después inmediatamente puedes sentir que se calma a pesar de que no se específica en la historia. No sé si ese tipo de manejar la historia tiene un nombre, pero si en mi básico conocimiento de literatura pude notarlo, estoy segura que Ainslie Hogarth es algo bastante especial.
Su talento aumenta cuando entiendes que la parte de “Annotated” no solo es una palabra de más en el título. Ainslie Hogarth no solo se metió en la cabeza de Noelle, sino también en la cabeza de un productor de cine y en la de un jefe de policía. Es impresionante como se nota en pequeñísimos fragmentos lo diferente de las personalidades.
Como cosa curiosa y un poco cruel de mi parte: Le recomiendo este libro a quienes todavía tienen la inocente idea de que las productoras hacen adaptaciones de libros porque aman a los lectores. En serio, todavía hay pobrecillos que creen que es por eso. The Boy Meets Girl Massacre les dará una pequeña idea de cómo es que funciona el mundo de Hollywood. Así algunos dejarían de quejarse tanto, la verdad
Ainslie Hogarth trae uno de los libros más interesantes y aterradores del año, solo me queda decir: LÉELO.
Recomiendo leer The Boy Meets Girl Massacre preferiblemente en versión física, tiene detalles que serán difíciles de apreciarlo en una versión digital. Y al ser una novela con toques comedia oscura retorcida, definitivamente no es para todo publico.
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La escritora de The Lonely, uno de los libros más extraño que he leído, y sin duda también uno de mis favoritos, vuelve con esta también extraña novela, sobre un asesinato que no se sabe si fue hecho por una chica un poco fuera de sí o quizá por algo mucho, mucho peor.
Cuando leí Frozen Charlotte, no terminé asustada porque pasamos de posibles fantasmas asesinos a quizá un asesino psicópata. En The Boy Meets Girl Massacre pasa todo lo contrario. Sobra decir que terminé aterrada. Ese dicho de “témele más a los vivos que a los muertos”, no funciona conmigo. Tráeme un asesino serial con hacha o alguna cosa más cruel además de mucha, mucha sangre y no me da miedo, incluso lo disfruto un poco (¿ves porque Seth Bishop, Serial Hottie no me parecía raro?). Pero dame siquiera la idea que hay un fantasma en la historia y estoy gimiendo de miedo. Gritar es para valientes, gemir de miedo es cuando ya estás a punto de hacerte pis. Voy a defenderme un poquito: mi miedo no es irracional, quizá esté canalizando a Marshall (How I Met Your Mother) pero ¡Los fantasmas existen! Vivo en una casa donde han intentado asfixiarme, donde me han hablado cuando no había nadie… entre otras cosa más. Es un poquito difícil no creer en fantasmas después de todo eso.
Sin querer este año estoy explorando un género al que era bastante reacia a leer: Terror. Ainslie Hogarth no solo maneja en la historia la probabilidad de un fantasma sino también de una enfermedad mental, lo que me hizo a mí como lectora asustarme aún más. Me dejó pensando varias veces: ¿debo asustarme? ¿No debo asustarme? No sé si la palabra Terror sea correcta para calificar a The Boy Meets Girl Massacre o quizá suspenso, porque sabes lo que pasará al final, la historia solo nos dice cómo es que posiblemente haya pasado. El saber da mucho más miedo que el no saber.
La narración de Ainslie Hogarth es impecable, otra de las pocas veces que sentí tanta emoción al leer un libro, de esos donde podía sentir cada párrafo era diferente, fue con A Song for Ella Grey. Noelle tiene muchos cambios de humor algunos tan solo entre párrafo y párrafo, y se pueden sentir, mientras lees sabes que si ella estuviera hablando estaría gritando y después inmediatamente puedes sentir que se calma a pesar de que no se específica en la historia. No sé si ese tipo de manejar la historia tiene un nombre, pero si en mi básico conocimiento de literatura pude notarlo, estoy segura que Ainslie Hogarth es algo bastante especial.
Su talento aumenta cuando entiendes que la parte de “Annotated” no solo es una palabra de más en el título. Ainslie Hogarth no solo se metió en la cabeza de Noelle, sino también en la cabeza de un productor de cine y en la de un jefe de policía. Es impresionante como se nota en pequeñísimos fragmentos lo diferente de las personalidades.
Como cosa curiosa y un poco cruel de mi parte: Le recomiendo este libro a quienes todavía tienen la inocente idea de que las productoras hacen adaptaciones de libros porque aman a los lectores. En serio, todavía hay pobrecillos que creen que es por eso. The Boy Meets Girl Massacre les dará una pequeña idea de cómo es que funciona el mundo de Hollywood. Así algunos dejarían de quejarse tanto, la verdad
Ainslie Hogarth trae uno de los libros más interesantes y aterradores del año, solo me queda decir: LÉELO.
Recomiendo leer The Boy Meets Girl Massacre preferiblemente en versión física, tiene detalles que serán difíciles de apreciarlo en una versión digital. Y al ser una novela con toques comedia oscura retorcida, definitivamente no es para todo publico.
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July 11, 2015
Let's put it this way: you will either love this book or you will hate it. The reviews on Goodreads are 4/5 stars or 1 star (so far). It gets a 5 star rating from me. Why? Well, maybe the fact that I read it in less than 24 hours has something to do with it. And that I kept waking up in the middle of the night recalling that last scene and creeping myself out just putting myself in the main character's shoes. It's been my experience that few "scary" books stick with me and this one definitely did.
This is a paranormal/thriller with a twist on it that I haven't seen in YA Lit. The book is written as a letter accompanying a diary found at a massacre scene. Within the diary, detectives and experts have gone through and annotated passages for the investigation (really for us) and a movie director has also written his notes in there (from when the rights to the film were being optioned).
But there's so much more to this book!
A few warnings: if you can't handle vivid descriptions of medical issues and ick, don't read this. It's one of the author's talents. If you are sensitive about language (as in cursing), don't read this. The main character Noelle curses like a sailor sometimes. If you like sleeping, don't start reading this willy-nilly before bed one night like I did. 30% of the book later, I had to tear myself away because - sleep.
A few praises:
The characterization is amazing. Perhaps because it centers on so few characters (think 4-5 actual characters with some extras thrown in every once in awhile). Each character is well-developed and makes sense within the context of the story.
Noelle's voice is phew! She's brutally honest about her stasis in life, frustration, angst, and fears. She is a portrait of what life is like for so many (without the paranormal). She rarely misses a detail about her surroundings and those she interacts with. Some may have a struggle liking Noelle. However, I found that I was able to enjoy the book despite not really adoring her because it's in diary format.
Descriptions are the author's strong suit. Every little detail comes back to play in the final scene and wow does it deliver!
Verdict: 5/5 if you like crazy storylines with gore and some cursing. 1/5 if you are opposed to gore and some cursing.
This is a paranormal/thriller with a twist on it that I haven't seen in YA Lit. The book is written as a letter accompanying a diary found at a massacre scene. Within the diary, detectives and experts have gone through and annotated passages for the investigation (really for us) and a movie director has also written his notes in there (from when the rights to the film were being optioned).
But there's so much more to this book!
A few warnings: if you can't handle vivid descriptions of medical issues and ick, don't read this. It's one of the author's talents. If you are sensitive about language (as in cursing), don't read this. The main character Noelle curses like a sailor sometimes. If you like sleeping, don't start reading this willy-nilly before bed one night like I did. 30% of the book later, I had to tear myself away because - sleep.
A few praises:
The characterization is amazing. Perhaps because it centers on so few characters (think 4-5 actual characters with some extras thrown in every once in awhile). Each character is well-developed and makes sense within the context of the story.
Noelle's voice is phew! She's brutally honest about her stasis in life, frustration, angst, and fears. She is a portrait of what life is like for so many (without the paranormal). She rarely misses a detail about her surroundings and those she interacts with. Some may have a struggle liking Noelle. However, I found that I was able to enjoy the book despite not really adoring her because it's in diary format.
Descriptions are the author's strong suit. Every little detail comes back to play in the final scene and wow does it deliver!
Verdict: 5/5 if you like crazy storylines with gore and some cursing. 1/5 if you are opposed to gore and some cursing.
November 28, 2016
What did I just read? I'm giving this book 3.5 stars. It was so weird.
I started this book the very next day after reading 'Diary of a Haunting'. That YA horror took me one sitting to read. IT WAS SO GOOD! Since this book is also in diary form, I thought I would for sure be able to read it quickly as well. That wasn't the case.
This book is about a girl named Noelle. She works at an Inn as the "caretaker" on the graveyard shift. She is supposed to check people in, if there are any, and clean and just be there on the property. It is summer. Noelle isn't the only teen working the graveyard shift, there is also Alf, short for Alfred.
The Boy Meets Girl was a nice enough Hotel/Inn back in the day. At some point, the hotel was turned into an apartment and then an Inn. During the apartment days... a man actually ate a person. That is how the Inn gets it's nickname Boy Eats Girl Hotel.
Everyone in town knows of this haunted "house". It has been running in different forms since the Underground Railroad. It has a lot of ghosts and Noelle and Alf want to see these ghosts, but they also don't. They even have a set of rules pinned to the first desk behind the counter. Rule #2: "Tell yourself you want to see a ghost if you really DON'T want to see a ghost." According to their rules this will keep the ghosts at bay.
Like I said earlier. This is in diary format. It doesn't start off as Dear Diary, but it is Noelle's life while she worked the graveyard shift during that summer of 1999.
What did I think of this book? Well it took me almost a month to read, so it was a pretty slow and un-engaging beginning. Once Noelle started picking at her head that is when the book got better. This is a pretty gory book. Like really gross. Not awfully scary. It was really weird and gruesome. I enjoyed it the more along I got. I was kind of disappointed about the ending, but not sure how else to have written it.
Over all it was an experience and I will always remember this book for it's gore and picking lol.
I started this book the very next day after reading 'Diary of a Haunting'. That YA horror took me one sitting to read. IT WAS SO GOOD! Since this book is also in diary form, I thought I would for sure be able to read it quickly as well. That wasn't the case.
This book is about a girl named Noelle. She works at an Inn as the "caretaker" on the graveyard shift. She is supposed to check people in, if there are any, and clean and just be there on the property. It is summer. Noelle isn't the only teen working the graveyard shift, there is also Alf, short for Alfred.
The Boy Meets Girl was a nice enough Hotel/Inn back in the day. At some point, the hotel was turned into an apartment and then an Inn. During the apartment days... a man actually ate a person. That is how the Inn gets it's nickname Boy Eats Girl Hotel.
Everyone in town knows of this haunted "house". It has been running in different forms since the Underground Railroad. It has a lot of ghosts and Noelle and Alf want to see these ghosts, but they also don't. They even have a set of rules pinned to the first desk behind the counter. Rule #2: "Tell yourself you want to see a ghost if you really DON'T want to see a ghost." According to their rules this will keep the ghosts at bay.
Like I said earlier. This is in diary format. It doesn't start off as Dear Diary, but it is Noelle's life while she worked the graveyard shift during that summer of 1999.
What did I think of this book? Well it took me almost a month to read, so it was a pretty slow and un-engaging beginning. Once Noelle started picking at her head that is when the book got better. This is a pretty gory book. Like really gross. Not awfully scary. It was really weird and gruesome. I enjoyed it the more along I got. I was kind of disappointed about the ending, but not sure how else to have written it.
Over all it was an experience and I will always remember this book for it's gore and picking lol.
June 25, 2015
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I'll get it out of the way right now, instead of tiptoeing around the fact throughout the review; I did not like this book. In the slightest. Many parts disgusted me; so did the main character. However, maybe other people will like it; if you are not deterred by extremely gruesome details, that is. And a main character that is just not a likeable person at all.
Let's start with Noelle, because that's the shorter complaint. She's a beyotch. Plain and simple. She's a beyotch to her friend. Simply because he likes her; so what's the natural reaction to that? Taunt him until he can't stand you so much that the crush goes away. Excellent deduction, Noelle! < /sarcasm>.
She's a beyotch to her dad. Who, by the way, is absolutely disgusting. He refers to his diarrhea as burning liquid at one point. I get that he has medical issues (kind of, but that's a spoiler) but DEAR GOD NO.
Anyway....she's really, really rude to him. She says she hates him, that she wants him to die. That is just an awful thing to say, especially about her father, who obviously loves her--even though he is definitely gross.
She also likes to pick at her head, and the descriptions she has for what occurs to it are absolutely disgusting. You know what I discovered about myself while reading this book? That when a person describes their head wound as salsa a small part of me shrivels up and dies.
This book is extremely graphic and gross. The very backstory is disgusting; there's cannibalism and rotting bodies and abductions and it's enough to make me want to barf. The descriptions are what really makes it horrible; perhaps if everything had been a little less vividly described I would not have had such a stomach ache while reading the story, but that didn't happen, and I felt like I constantly needed to go to some gore-less happy place while reading.
But it gets worse. Oh, so very worse. Mostly because of the animal cruelty. (Though I will admit, I could never tell if it actually happened or Noelle was just going crazy and thought it happened. Either way, it was very disturbing to read.) The spoiler is both well, a spoiler, and a rant. So beware.
This may be my least favorite book I've read all year. In fact, there is not a 'may be' about it, it really is. I didn't like it whatsoever, and I was glad when I had finished.
I'll get it out of the way right now, instead of tiptoeing around the fact throughout the review; I did not like this book. In the slightest. Many parts disgusted me; so did the main character. However, maybe other people will like it; if you are not deterred by extremely gruesome details, that is. And a main character that is just not a likeable person at all.
Let's start with Noelle, because that's the shorter complaint. She's a beyotch. Plain and simple. She's a beyotch to her friend. Simply because he likes her; so what's the natural reaction to that? Taunt him until he can't stand you so much that the crush goes away. Excellent deduction, Noelle! < /sarcasm>.
She's a beyotch to her dad. Who, by the way, is absolutely disgusting. He refers to his diarrhea as burning liquid at one point. I get that he has medical issues (kind of, but that's a spoiler) but DEAR GOD NO.
Anyway....she's really, really rude to him. She says she hates him, that she wants him to die. That is just an awful thing to say, especially about her father, who obviously loves her--even though he is definitely gross.
She also likes to pick at her head, and the descriptions she has for what occurs to it are absolutely disgusting. You know what I discovered about myself while reading this book? That when a person describes their head wound as salsa a small part of me shrivels up and dies.
This book is extremely graphic and gross. The very backstory is disgusting; there's cannibalism and rotting bodies and abductions and it's enough to make me want to barf. The descriptions are what really makes it horrible; perhaps if everything had been a little less vividly described I would not have had such a stomach ache while reading the story, but that didn't happen, and I felt like I constantly needed to go to some gore-less happy place while reading.
But it gets worse. Oh, so very worse. Mostly because of the animal cruelty. (Though I will admit, I could never tell if it actually happened or Noelle was just going crazy and thought it happened. Either way, it was very disturbing to read.) The spoiler is both well, a spoiler, and a rant. So beware.
This may be my least favorite book I've read all year. In fact, there is not a 'may be' about it, it really is. I didn't like it whatsoever, and I was glad when I had finished.
April 3, 2016
I received this book from netgalley in exchange for an honest review
This book was awful, there I said it. I HATED it. It was foul, not scary, and poorly written. The only interesting thing was the fact this was an "annotated" version. Which means the style this was written in is a found journal being reviewed to become a horror movie. So it has police footnotes and notes from the movie people. Which were the ONLY pieces of writing worth reading.
I can get what the author was trying for, a scary ghost story with a fucked up main character who feels a bit crazy and weird, with parts deemed to disturb, bother and disgust the reader into being freaked out. However, the author failed. All she managed to do was gross me out so that I didn't even want to finish it, not scare me and make the main character unsympathetic and revolting.( AND NOT IN A GOOD WAY.)
I made notes as I went and I am going to share them so that you can get a feel for why I didn't care for this book, at all.
1) There is WAY too much description in this book that needs a super good editor. Not just too much description but description that doesn't make sense.
"Amidst all the filling and spilling of patterned space, my sore brain just kind of vaporizes. And it hisses out of my ears like a really satisfying fart."
"Patterned space is the perfect temperature, moist warm insides of a just done cake; patterned space enters my body and fills it up and spills it back out again, scary at first but just for a split second, and then you let it happen, filling up and spilling out and filling up and spilling over and over again."
"Staring at the woman's floured eyes." MC uses this description so many times and I still have NO idea what it means. I didn't realize floured was a adjective.
2)Some things that the MC says are kind of real, bust mostly she whines and is annoying. Like she is kind of mean and her inner dialouge is totally what people think but would never say out loud...Then the author takes it too far and you are like, "Whoa, what the hell was that?"
3)She is SO angsty and over emotional and all over the place. The footnotes at one point state, "We're going to have to scrap all this touchy feely teenage stuff. That's what books are for." I was reading thinking, "cut this crap from the book too!"
4) At one point she decides her diary is alive and has a "birthing it" kind of ceremony. From then on she treats the damn thing like a living creature. While at times she seems normal then she does the weird living diary thing and the creepy bits with the spot on her scalp and it's confusing... Was I supposed to decide this girl was legit crazy?
5)About 30 % into this book I had to stop and really think, "what is this book about? Where is the plot?" Cause seriously, up until then it was just a bunch of crazy writing, emo junk and over description of the weird canker sore in her brain and how she likes to dig her fingers into the sore spot on her scalp. (eeeww)
6)The author had so many comments about fat women it became less about describing the characters and more about how the author couldn't find any other way to make a character repulsive she just kept using the words; fat, overweight, enormous and pudgy. She made every unsavory character like the MC's dad and the .... bad guy??? (to be honest never could quite figure out who the villain was) out to be a giant slovenly person. In fact the fat people details just got worse and worse. Like this bit that honestly didn't improve the scene at all:
"He strapped her to the bed, not that she could have easily gotten up anyway being as big as she was, and over time severed each of her limbs with care, one by one, tying them off tight as sausage ends, stopping the blood off so she would remain alive."
7) This book was just plain nasty and not like torture porn or watching zombies eat brains...just nasty..Like watching a kid eat his or her boogers or watching someone lick up vomit.
8)At one point the MC is wondering whether or not she and her mom had the same vagina, like people inherit eye color. After asking around and from personal opinion I could find NO women who have ever pondered whether or not they inherited their mother's vagina. I actually wondered for a moment if a man wrote this based on how the female characters are written and portrayed...But no, it's a woman author.
9) Trigger warning; this book contains an emotionally and mentally abusive father figure. (who of course is a big fat sick lazy arse.)
SO yeah without giving anything away I cannot truly describe how revolting this book was to read, and I like horror. There were ghosts, but lame ones and it wasn't scary not one bit. It leaves things unexplained and unresolved, but not in a cool or interesting way and was just totally an uninspiring get-through-it-as-quick-as-you-can read.
This book was awful, there I said it. I HATED it. It was foul, not scary, and poorly written. The only interesting thing was the fact this was an "annotated" version. Which means the style this was written in is a found journal being reviewed to become a horror movie. So it has police footnotes and notes from the movie people. Which were the ONLY pieces of writing worth reading.
I can get what the author was trying for, a scary ghost story with a fucked up main character who feels a bit crazy and weird, with parts deemed to disturb, bother and disgust the reader into being freaked out. However, the author failed. All she managed to do was gross me out so that I didn't even want to finish it, not scare me and make the main character unsympathetic and revolting.( AND NOT IN A GOOD WAY.)
I made notes as I went and I am going to share them so that you can get a feel for why I didn't care for this book, at all.
1) There is WAY too much description in this book that needs a super good editor. Not just too much description but description that doesn't make sense.
"Amidst all the filling and spilling of patterned space, my sore brain just kind of vaporizes. And it hisses out of my ears like a really satisfying fart."
"Patterned space is the perfect temperature, moist warm insides of a just done cake; patterned space enters my body and fills it up and spills it back out again, scary at first but just for a split second, and then you let it happen, filling up and spilling out and filling up and spilling over and over again."
"Staring at the woman's floured eyes." MC uses this description so many times and I still have NO idea what it means. I didn't realize floured was a adjective.
2)Some things that the MC says are kind of real, bust mostly she whines and is annoying. Like she is kind of mean and her inner dialouge is totally what people think but would never say out loud...Then the author takes it too far and you are like, "Whoa, what the hell was that?"
3)She is SO angsty and over emotional and all over the place. The footnotes at one point state, "We're going to have to scrap all this touchy feely teenage stuff. That's what books are for." I was reading thinking, "cut this crap from the book too!"
4) At one point she decides her diary is alive and has a "birthing it" kind of ceremony. From then on she treats the damn thing like a living creature. While at times she seems normal then she does the weird living diary thing and the creepy bits with the spot on her scalp and it's confusing... Was I supposed to decide this girl was legit crazy?
5)About 30 % into this book I had to stop and really think, "what is this book about? Where is the plot?" Cause seriously, up until then it was just a bunch of crazy writing, emo junk and over description of the weird canker sore in her brain and how she likes to dig her fingers into the sore spot on her scalp. (eeeww)
6)The author had so many comments about fat women it became less about describing the characters and more about how the author couldn't find any other way to make a character repulsive she just kept using the words; fat, overweight, enormous and pudgy. She made every unsavory character like the MC's dad and the .... bad guy??? (to be honest never could quite figure out who the villain was) out to be a giant slovenly person. In fact the fat people details just got worse and worse. Like this bit that honestly didn't improve the scene at all:
"He strapped her to the bed, not that she could have easily gotten up anyway being as big as she was, and over time severed each of her limbs with care, one by one, tying them off tight as sausage ends, stopping the blood off so she would remain alive."
7) This book was just plain nasty and not like torture porn or watching zombies eat brains...just nasty..Like watching a kid eat his or her boogers or watching someone lick up vomit.
8)At one point the MC is wondering whether or not she and her mom had the same vagina, like people inherit eye color. After asking around and from personal opinion I could find NO women who have ever pondered whether or not they inherited their mother's vagina. I actually wondered for a moment if a man wrote this based on how the female characters are written and portrayed...But no, it's a woman author.
9) Trigger warning; this book contains an emotionally and mentally abusive father figure. (who of course is a big fat sick lazy arse.)
SO yeah without giving anything away I cannot truly describe how revolting this book was to read, and I like horror. There were ghosts, but lame ones and it wasn't scary not one bit. It leaves things unexplained and unresolved, but not in a cool or interesting way and was just totally an uninspiring get-through-it-as-quick-as-you-can read.
November 12, 2016
What I really love about Ainslie Hogarth is that both of her books that I read are always huge ass mindfucks for me. She left me craving for more.
What I really do not like about Ainslie Hogarth is that she makes me feel like the story is incomplete and there are details out there which my brain needs so badly. She leaves me in such a huge mindfuck. Oh my God.
I really liked this book. It was quick and interesting for me to read. This book is obviously not everyone's cup of tea. There was splattering blood and gory details. I loved how the book was a slow build to the plot with all the bloody details.
I liked Noelle even though she was stupid and unstable in my opinion. She could not be trusted at all. The diary entries are written by her and we get an insight of all the events that happened in The Boy Meets Girl Inn. From page one, the reader knows that Noelle is dead and that made me sad because I actually found myself liking her.
Overall, this was a nice read and I absolutely loved all the blood and loved Alf more than anything.
What I really do not like about Ainslie Hogarth is that she makes me feel like the story is incomplete and there are details out there which my brain needs so badly. She leaves me in such a huge mindfuck. Oh my God.
I really liked this book. It was quick and interesting for me to read. This book is obviously not everyone's cup of tea. There was splattering blood and gory details. I loved how the book was a slow build to the plot with all the bloody details.
I liked Noelle even though she was stupid and unstable in my opinion. She could not be trusted at all. The diary entries are written by her and we get an insight of all the events that happened in The Boy Meets Girl Inn. From page one, the reader knows that Noelle is dead and that made me sad because I actually found myself liking her.
Overall, this was a nice read and I absolutely loved all the blood and loved Alf more than anything.
October 23, 2017
This is a book gift from S., who knows I love all things horror. It’s a great title, isn’t it? I’d have picked it up for that alone. Trigger warnings: gore, animal harm.
When Noelle takes a summer job at the haunted Boy Meets Girl Inn, site of a series of gruesome murders and odd occurrences, she decides to start a diary to record it. Even without the hauntings, she still has to deal with her chronically ill father and her co-worker, Alf, who has an unfortunate crush on her. She and Alf decide to throw a party at the inn on the anniversary of the massacre, which ends in a bloodbath. Noelle’s diary becomes a piece of evidence in a mass-murder case, and it only begins to uncover the truth of that night.
For a minute, I was worried the annotations in this novel were going to be another hideous framing story like the one in House of Leaves, that is, an essentially good story buried under heaps of bullshit. Fortunately, the annotations are sparse, and while the ones from the film producer are wholly ridiculous and add nothing to the story other than banality, I found the detective’s comments helpful in clarifying some of Noelle’s claims about the inn’s history. She’s not in any sense a reliable narrator, so it helps keep what facts there are clear.
There are good and bad ways to tell a horror story, and unfortunately, the genre doesn’t lend itself to diaries. We only know what Noelle tells us, and she’s not even present for the most exciting scene in the story. This puts an unequivocal end to any tension-building or prospects of action that actually happen on the page. From the beginning, we know what happens at the Boy Meets Girl Inn Massacre, but what happens is usually the least interesting part of any novel. It’s how it happens and how it feels that matter, and we’re removed from all of that through Noelle’s narration.
What’s left is a lot of literal head-scratching (an admittedly creepy personal habit that Noelle has of clawing at her scalp) and cat-maiming that goes on for far too long. I dislike horror stories where animals die; I don’t know why I’m okay with horror killing off characters left and right, as long as they aren’t small and fluffy, but there it is. It’s the only really frightening thing that happens in the novel, but it seems to repeat for shock value and gets less shocking every time.
I don’t think we’re meant to really feel for any of the characters, and there’s not a lot of development in a story that ends in mass murder. Most of them are bare bones except for Noelle and Alf, and they’re only a little more fleshed out. I’m fine with Noelle’s narrative voice being unreliable. Unstable characters can be gruesome fun, but I’m less fond of her rambling and repeating things ad nauseam. This is not the sort of novel that’s neatly tied up at the end, and it leaves readers with as many questions as it answers. Is the inn haunted, or is Noelle insane? Is it both? The real problem is that there’s not a lot of substance to it either. It doesn’t bring anything to these questions that every psychological thriller hasn’t already covered, but it’s an entertaining one-time read.
I review regularly at brightbeautifulthings.tumblr.com.
When Noelle takes a summer job at the haunted Boy Meets Girl Inn, site of a series of gruesome murders and odd occurrences, she decides to start a diary to record it. Even without the hauntings, she still has to deal with her chronically ill father and her co-worker, Alf, who has an unfortunate crush on her. She and Alf decide to throw a party at the inn on the anniversary of the massacre, which ends in a bloodbath. Noelle’s diary becomes a piece of evidence in a mass-murder case, and it only begins to uncover the truth of that night.
For a minute, I was worried the annotations in this novel were going to be another hideous framing story like the one in House of Leaves, that is, an essentially good story buried under heaps of bullshit. Fortunately, the annotations are sparse, and while the ones from the film producer are wholly ridiculous and add nothing to the story other than banality, I found the detective’s comments helpful in clarifying some of Noelle’s claims about the inn’s history. She’s not in any sense a reliable narrator, so it helps keep what facts there are clear.
There are good and bad ways to tell a horror story, and unfortunately, the genre doesn’t lend itself to diaries. We only know what Noelle tells us, and she’s not even present for the most exciting scene in the story. This puts an unequivocal end to any tension-building or prospects of action that actually happen on the page. From the beginning, we know what happens at the Boy Meets Girl Inn Massacre, but what happens is usually the least interesting part of any novel. It’s how it happens and how it feels that matter, and we’re removed from all of that through Noelle’s narration.
What’s left is a lot of literal head-scratching (an admittedly creepy personal habit that Noelle has of clawing at her scalp) and cat-maiming that goes on for far too long. I dislike horror stories where animals die; I don’t know why I’m okay with horror killing off characters left and right, as long as they aren’t small and fluffy, but there it is. It’s the only really frightening thing that happens in the novel, but it seems to repeat for shock value and gets less shocking every time.
I don’t think we’re meant to really feel for any of the characters, and there’s not a lot of development in a story that ends in mass murder. Most of them are bare bones except for Noelle and Alf, and they’re only a little more fleshed out. I’m fine with Noelle’s narrative voice being unreliable. Unstable characters can be gruesome fun, but I’m less fond of her rambling and repeating things ad nauseam. This is not the sort of novel that’s neatly tied up at the end, and it leaves readers with as many questions as it answers. Is the inn haunted, or is Noelle insane? Is it both? The real problem is that there’s not a lot of substance to it either. It doesn’t bring anything to these questions that every psychological thriller hasn’t already covered, but it’s an entertaining one-time read.
I review regularly at brightbeautifulthings.tumblr.com.
July 23, 2015
I love horror films and I would definitely watch this one. There's enough scary moments, suspense, humor and romance here to please any fan of horror.
The characters and plot work perfectly. Noelle is not the usual "perfect" horror protagonist; she's weird, quirky, caustic, and even mean at times but she's also strong, sweet, funny, vulnerable and caring. Her father reminded me of the parents in Stephen King's Carrie and Psycho and the likes, fragile but manipulative enough to make Noelle's feelings understandable. And Alf was sweet and awkward enough to make me cheer for him. The annotation and letters in the beginning and end lent this enough authenticity to make it all seem real (or as real as a story about murdering, evil ghosts and possession can be). And the ending was vague enough to please anyone who likes those open ended horror finales. I would recommend this book to anyone whose a fan of R.L. Stein and teen slasher films.
I received an advance reader's copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
The characters and plot work perfectly. Noelle is not the usual "perfect" horror protagonist; she's weird, quirky, caustic, and even mean at times but she's also strong, sweet, funny, vulnerable and caring. Her father reminded me of the parents in Stephen King's Carrie and Psycho and the likes, fragile but manipulative enough to make Noelle's feelings understandable. And Alf was sweet and awkward enough to make me cheer for him. The annotation and letters in the beginning and end lent this enough authenticity to make it all seem real (or as real as a story about murdering, evil ghosts and possession can be). And the ending was vague enough to please anyone who likes those open ended horror finales. I would recommend this book to anyone whose a fan of R.L. Stein and teen slasher films.
I received an advance reader's copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
May 6, 2015
I started reading this book very skeptically. I'm a very skeptical reader these days and usually don't finish books I start. At first I was a little put off by the style, but then I just became captivated by the story, by how deliciously weird Noelle was. And I couldn't put it down. I'm still not sure what happened at the end, but it was sick and gory and just plain lovely.
April 12, 2015
I loved this! So dark and creepy and bonkers. Will be reading more from this author.
November 13, 2015
Felt like I was watching a horror movie-had to sleep with the light on afterwards!
July 31, 2015
I didn't particularly like the main character, Noelle, she just (to me) wasn't a very likable character, though I did not hate her. She just irritated me a bit, was a bit too nasty, specially to Alf.
I am glad the note it ended on between Noelle and Alf.
I did really love the premise of the book. It was better than I was anticipating which is always a nice thing. I wish there maybe had been a couple more footnotes and maybe a few photos (staged, clearly), I think that really would have added something. Crime scene esque photos. Though for some of the audience maybe that's going a bit too far.
I will have to look into the author's first book to see if it was anything like this and I look forward to seeing what else she does in the future.
Also pleased to see that the publishing house is in Minnesota, since I am as well, just one of those little things that make you smile.
I received this book via Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.
I am glad the note it ended on between Noelle and Alf.
I did really love the premise of the book. It was better than I was anticipating which is always a nice thing. I wish there maybe had been a couple more footnotes and maybe a few photos (staged, clearly), I think that really would have added something. Crime scene esque photos. Though for some of the audience maybe that's going a bit too far.
I will have to look into the author's first book to see if it was anything like this and I look forward to seeing what else she does in the future.
Also pleased to see that the publishing house is in Minnesota, since I am as well, just one of those little things that make you smile.
I received this book via Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.
August 11, 2015
I loved the idea of this, but I'm not sure it translated well in an e-arc.
Noelle is an interesting character. I really liked the diary entry format, especially with the footnotes and annotations throughout. I'm still not entirely sure what happened, but I think that's half of the fun of reading something like this.
Overall, it was interesting and kept me turning pages, but I think I would have liked it more with a physical copy. The various notes weren't always a different color or font size and were placed in the middle of passages, so it was difficult to differentiate them. I often lost the rhythm of the story because I had to backtrack.
**Huge thanks to Flux and NetGalley for providing the arc in exchange for an honest review**
Noelle is an interesting character. I really liked the diary entry format, especially with the footnotes and annotations throughout. I'm still not entirely sure what happened, but I think that's half of the fun of reading something like this.
Overall, it was interesting and kept me turning pages, but I think I would have liked it more with a physical copy. The various notes weren't always a different color or font size and were placed in the middle of passages, so it was difficult to differentiate them. I often lost the rhythm of the story because I had to backtrack.
**Huge thanks to Flux and NetGalley for providing the arc in exchange for an honest review**
May 4, 2017
4.5 stars
This is a fun yet gruesome read. I honestly found myself thinking about this book every time I had to walk away from it. There was one scene in particular that I honestly had to avert my eyes for a few moments. It made me cringe, badly, and that rarely happens to me. Ainslie Hogarth is incredibly talented and her words and descriptions are wonderfully done. I would highly recommend this book.
This is a fun yet gruesome read. I honestly found myself thinking about this book every time I had to walk away from it. There was one scene in particular that I honestly had to avert my eyes for a few moments. It made me cringe, badly, and that rarely happens to me. Ainslie Hogarth is incredibly talented and her words and descriptions are wonderfully done. I would highly recommend this book.
Read
September 18, 2015Graded By: Savannah
Cover Story: Coffee Stains (hopefully...)
BFF Charm: Nay
Swoonworthy Scale: 1
Talky Talk: Dear Diary
Bonus Factor/Anti-Bonus Factor: American Horror Story
Relationship Status: Never Look Back
Read the full book report here.
Cover Story: Coffee Stains (hopefully...)
BFF Charm: Nay
Swoonworthy Scale: 1
Talky Talk: Dear Diary
Bonus Factor/Anti-Bonus Factor: American Horror Story
Relationship Status: Never Look Back
Read the full book report here.
November 10, 2015
This book is truly a work of art. It has some disturbing descriptions of the deaths, enough to make you grimace. I am a huge fan of horror novels, and this was the scariest one I've read. It's compelling and daring and l sincerely hope it gets made into a movie if it hasn't been already.
October 18, 2015
Holy Fuck!
This book is brilliant, no one writes dark and twisted like Ainslie Hogarth. I loved every single page of this book, every blood splatter and mess up thought, I want more!!!
This book is brilliant, no one writes dark and twisted like Ainslie Hogarth. I loved every single page of this book, every blood splatter and mess up thought, I want more!!!
July 12, 2020
** no spoilers, it says everything literally in the beginning + the synoposis
the plot? bad
the main characters? jerk/not interesting
the suspense? nonexistent
and yet, I kept reading.
my friend actually gave me this book and wanted to know my thoughts on it. needless to say, my thoughts were not good.
I'm sure the author is a nice person and all, but this book is not it.
There is ONE THING I liked about the book though: the gory scenes. I thought that they were done pretty well, and I really loved the description and the goriness of it all (big gory girl here).
the bad things? oh boy.
DON'T EVEN GET ME STARTED ON THE MAIN CHARACTER. GOD. SHE'S A JERK (I actually don't remember her name, because:
1. I HATED THAT BITCH.
2. AND I WAS MAD)
Anyways, the main character was a jerk.
The plot wasn't good, in more ways than one. I could tell the author tried super hard to put some suspense in the book (??), especially leaving you with the mystery of, "who did it?? how could she have killed herself AND everyone else too??"
it didn't work. everything COULD be explained with a reason, if you really thought about it. And though the author may not have FLAT OUT mentioned it, you could have figured some stuff out on WHY the main character did what she did.
idk man but this book was truly a disaster
the plot? bad
the main characters? jerk/not interesting
the suspense? nonexistent
and yet, I kept reading.
my friend actually gave me this book and wanted to know my thoughts on it. needless to say, my thoughts were not good.
I'm sure the author is a nice person and all, but this book is not it.
There is ONE THING I liked about the book though: the gory scenes. I thought that they were done pretty well, and I really loved the description and the goriness of it all (big gory girl here).
the bad things? oh boy.
DON'T EVEN GET ME STARTED ON THE MAIN CHARACTER. GOD. SHE'S A JERK (I actually don't remember her name, because:
1. I HATED THAT BITCH.
2. AND I WAS MAD)
Anyways, the main character was a jerk.
The plot wasn't good, in more ways than one. I could tell the author tried super hard to put some suspense in the book (??), especially leaving you with the mystery of, "who did it?? how could she have killed herself AND everyone else too??"
it didn't work. everything COULD be explained with a reason, if you really thought about it. And though the author may not have FLAT OUT mentioned it, you could have figured some stuff out on WHY the main character did what she did.
idk man but this book was truly a disaster
November 24, 2017
This book was on my shelf for two years before I read it...I should have read it two years ago. There were parts that genuinely creeped me out, yet I couldn't stop reading. The diary format is overdone, but this felt more like a found footage scenario. It's a unique spin with a highly unreliable narrator. I loved every page.
Read
February 20, 2022Well, that was an…experience.
First of all, TRIGGER WARNING for cruelty to animals, cats specifically.
This reminded me too much of Ask Alice and Jay’s Journal, which I HATED. Noelle’s voice didn’t ring true, even though she is supposed to be obviously experiencing mental health issues.
Nevertheless, I didn’t hate it. I was hooked and found it hard to stop reading. A lot of teens will love this book.
First of all, TRIGGER WARNING for cruelty to animals, cats specifically.
This reminded me too much of Ask Alice and Jay’s Journal, which I HATED. Noelle’s voice didn’t ring true, even though she is supposed to be obviously experiencing mental health issues.
Nevertheless, I didn’t hate it. I was hooked and found it hard to stop reading. A lot of teens will love this book.
April 26, 2017
Really, really good. Sooooo creepy. Creepy enough that I had to keep taking breaks because I was getting to freaked out. Just wish she'd brought it a little harder at the very end.
February 28, 2018
I hate myself that I enjoyed this book. Definitely the weirdest book I've ever read.
Do not read if you like cats.
Do not read if you like cats.
March 1, 2018
Ainslie Hogarth takes "ick" and "gooey" to a whole new level.
December 4, 2021
AMAZING!! I hadn't read a book so fast in AGES! Favorite book by far,
March 24, 2024
tried reading this for the first time in high school, was so scared I couldn’t finish it. read it today in a day.
really genuinely scary, unsettling, and grotesque. very reminiscent of season 1 AHS in vibe and subject matter. My only critique is how abruptly it ends, i felt like there was a lot of build for a rather short and quick ending.
really genuinely scary, unsettling, and grotesque. very reminiscent of season 1 AHS in vibe and subject matter. My only critique is how abruptly it ends, i felt like there was a lot of build for a rather short and quick ending.
February 1, 2018
this book seriously made me want to throw up at times. Seriously. Like, gagging and coughing. It also gave me nightmares. But I couldn't stop reading it!
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