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The Devils You Know
In this riveting debut, equal parts Cabin in the Woods and The Breakfast Club , five teens will discover what lies within a local, infamous house is darker, and more personal, than any urban legend.
Plenty of legends surround the infamous Boulder House in Whispering Bluffs, Wisconsin, but nobody takes them seriously. Certainly nobody believes that the original owner, Maxwell Cartwright Jr., cursed its construction—or that a murder of crows died upon its completion, turning the land black with their carcasses. If there were truth to any of the local folklore, River Red High wouldn’t offer a field trip there for the graduating class.
Five very different seniors—Violet, Paul, Ashley, Dylan, and Gretchen—volunteer, each for private reasons, none of which have to do with trip itself. When they’re separated from the group, they discover that what lies within Boulder House is far more horrifying than any rumor they’ve heard. To survive, they’ll have to band together and ultimately confront the truths of their darkest selves.
Plenty of legends surround the infamous Boulder House in Whispering Bluffs, Wisconsin, but nobody takes them seriously. Certainly nobody believes that the original owner, Maxwell Cartwright Jr., cursed its construction—or that a murder of crows died upon its completion, turning the land black with their carcasses. If there were truth to any of the local folklore, River Red High wouldn’t offer a field trip there for the graduating class.
Five very different seniors—Violet, Paul, Ashley, Dylan, and Gretchen—volunteer, each for private reasons, none of which have to do with trip itself. When they’re separated from the group, they discover that what lies within Boulder House is far more horrifying than any rumor they’ve heard. To survive, they’ll have to band together and ultimately confront the truths of their darkest selves.
288 pages, Paperback
First published October 3, 2017
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1089 people want to read
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April 13, 2024
It actually hurts me to give this two stars. I was so excited for it.
Like The Breakfast Club meets Night at the Museum with a little bit of Scooby Doo thrown in for good measure, The Devils You Know tries to pull together a spooky tale of a house of horrors and the friends and/or enemies trapped within, but unfortunately falls flat.
Violet, Paul, Gretchen, Dylan, and Ashley are five seniors from Red River High School. Much like all high schoolers, they are all the center of their own personal universes. I don't fault them for this. I am 100% certain that I thought the sun shone out my own ass at 17.
Point is, they all have their problems and secrets, and at an age where identity is such a crucial and fragile thing, it's hard for them to see beyond their own issues. What's more important? How you're perceived, or who you are? What about when you believe how others perceive you is everything you are? Is it worth being the cool guy if it means ignoring people being bullied? How do you admit you like a girl when you've treated her like shit for years?
High school, man.
Needless to say, when these five embark on a class field-trip to the eerie Boulder House, a wondrous creation filled with collections of the odd & macabre, they aren't on the best of terms. There are feuding hatreds and hormones aplenty.
And that's before the house starts fucking with them. It's escape the house or become a part of it. Together. Forever.
The concept is pretty cool. I LOVE these fight to survive type of things; I mean trapped in a house that wants to kill you or keep you? YES PLEASE! That's right up my alley!
I think one of the main reasons this didn't work for me is the Scooby Doo factor. Now, Scooby Doo is a great cartoon - at least the episodes without Scrappy are. But it's not big on the fright factor. They run and run and run and every now and then come face to face with a spooky thing. Which is fine in a cartoon. But it’s more than a little tedious in a supposed horror novel.
The Scooby Doo method is seriously like 90% of their escape plan.
I was just plain ole not scared by this. Maybe if I went into it expecting lighter fare? But YA horror has proven over and over again that it can offer great scares - Anna Dressed in Blood, Shutter, This is Not a Test, and The Dead House for example.
My second BIG complaint - Dylan.
How can I express my feelings toward Dylan?
He was the worst. Ridiculously annoying, using phrases like "fucka-doodle-doo," "douchetroll," "douchemunches," and "asstroll." Not to mention lying and being a total "asstroll" to someone who was trying to help them. Admittedly, other characters were also being assholes. It was a bit of an asshole convention.
The writing is fine, I guess. But some of the descriptions and word choices were off-putting - using descriptors like "stripy outfit," "fucking nutso," and "mega-huge." It makes it hard to take it seriously.
I just had a hard time in general with getting immersed in the story - I was never really living it in my head like I do when I'm reading something I'm passionate about.
I also think some of the plot turns and big revelations could have been worked in more smoothly. A lot of the bigger character moments didn't fit naturally in the story - no matter how cute I found an individual moment, I couldn't fully enjoy it when it felt forced to get there.
In summary?
I wanted The Devils You Know to be much better than it was. It didn't offer much in the way of scares or anything spectacular in the characters or writing. It's not terrible, but I wanted better for a book with so much potential.
*Thank you to Edelweiss & Soho Teen for the digital review copy!*
September 27, 2017
PRESS START
In honour of the fast approach of Halloween month, I present to you your 👻 Halloween Harbinger 👻 book, and what a harbinger it is! I'm not sure anything I read in October will come close to being this much fun, this deliciously creepy or have so many words I will now be incorporating into everyday conversations. I'm pretty sure my Kindle feels very special right now because I've been smiling at it the whole time I was reading. I am so in love with this book!!!
The Devils You Know, or The Adorkables vs Labyrinth House as I have affectionately renamed it, follows a group of contestants unwittingly participating in the game of a lifetime. Our five River Red School seniors are from small town Wisconsin where the social scene consists of attending bonfires or staying at home.
Given the difficult choice of attending a field trip to Boulder House and not having to take finals or sitting in Study Hall all day and having to take finals, our five adorkables unsurprisingly wind up at Boulder House. (By the way, I say 'adorkables' with the greatest affection. I adored every single one of them!)
Built by Maxwell Cartwright Jr. after he became super crazy, incredibly evil and the apparent owner of some serious cranky pants, Boulder House is an architectural enigma filled with collections of oddities, curiosities and all things creepy from all over the world. May the game begin!
The Contestants
Player 1: Violet - The good girl. Her mother is a psychology professor, her father is a practicing psychologist, and she is an A student who spends her time avoiding conflict and crushing on Paul from afar. She hates her boring Forever 21 clothes and greatly admires Gretchen's fashion sense. This all round good girl has a big secret.
Player 2: Paul - The popular jock. A basketball player who fairly recently moved to Wisconsin with his mother, Paul appears to be the only black kid in school. He's still reeling from his father's death eight years ago. He has a secret crush on Violet and an even more secret interest in all things Shakespeare.
Player 3: Dylan - The bullied goth/emo/freak. Sporting black eyeliner and black fingernails, Dylan has been dating Gretchen for four years and worships her. A skinny kid, he spends a fair amount of his school days being pushed into lockers. Unbeknownst to the kids at school, Dylan plays a different role at home.
Player 4: Ashley - The mean girl. Most comfortable sashaying down the hallway at school followed by her squad, Ashley is the undisputed queen bee of the school and has the bitchiness to prove it. Her father is soon to be a senator and Ashley sprouts her father's beliefs with no regard to whether she agrees with them or not. Gretchen is her arch nemesis.
Player 5: Gretchen - The outcast. This girl has attitude! Abandoned by her father, Gretchen lives with her mother who despite her illness works as hard as she can to try to keep their small family afloat. Gretchen wants to be a fashion designer and shops at Goodwill, repurposing clothes to suit her taste. She has a monster bag with eyes which I desperately want so she'd better keep an eye on me because, just between you and I, I've got a plan to steal it from her. Shh!
Handy Dandy Tips Should You Ever Play the Boulder House Game
1. Wear sensible shoes.
2. Take note of the locations of all of the first aid kits.
3. Bring a few expendable people that can be used as human shields.
4. Whatever happens, STAY. TOGETHER. You studied Horror 101, didn't you?
5. Weapons. Bring them. Many of them. All kinds.
Small Selection of Phrases that Need to be Used - Always!
* She's got ova!
* Fuck-a-doodle-doo
* Holy fuck-grenades
* Bitchwad
* Douchetroll
* Fuckity fuck fuck
* Oh shitball fuck
* Holy schmolies
* You cad!
It felt like I was trapped in the Thir13en Ghosts house with Jigsaw saying, "I want to play a game". Each time our contestants entered another room I could have sworn I almost heard someone rolling Jumanji dice.
The whole time I was reading I desperately wanted to tour Boulder House and still do. This is my kind of house!!! I half wanted everyone to die gruesome deaths and half wanted everyone to survive because I loved every single adorkable and after all, they were all underdogs in their own way and who doesn't love an underdog.
At the beginning of each part there is an excerpt from The Collections of Maxwell Cartwright Jr. and given how interesting these snippets are, I'd buy a companion book if one became available. I adored the design of the crow that shows up between each part in the book. I need a sticker of that crow to put on my car. I loved the story being told from five points of view and how the same detail was perceived differently by various characters. Case in point - Paul's sexy look.
And, OH. MY. GOODNESS. A couple of the characters go to the toilet during this book!!! That should not be this thrilling but if you think about how rare it is for book and TV characters to use the bathroom, you'll understand my excitement at discovering a book where it actually happens! You know that weird thing that toddlers do when they're excited and their bodies kind of bounce up and down but they're not at the jumping stage yet? Well, I made it to the toilet scene about 3am so imagine me doing the bouncing up and down thingy but sitting down. That's how excited I was.
Trigger Warning for a creepywad sexual predator. This is dealt with respectfully, with insight into the feelings of the victim/survivor and the reactions of their peers.
This book is essentially about fear, the fear of showing our true selves to the world. Each character has secrets that they're terrified will surface and change the perception everyone has about them. Their insecurities stop them from living their lives as the person they truly are and so they wander around play acting as shadows, caricatures and sometimes downright opposites of themselves.
The writing style hooked me straight away and I really enjoyed the pacing in this book. Our contestants ran, fought and bled, but they also rested and talked, usually because they were using a first aid kit ... but still. There are plenty of wounds with the appropriate level of blood spatter, swords, Shakespeare quotes, the theme from Jaws, knights, tigers, snot bubbles, so many dolls running around, a creepy clown (of course), a cheerful little wizard, and in keeping with 🦄 Unicorn Month 🦄 there's even a brave carousel unicorn named Sparkles in this book!
Just in case you were wondering, yes, I've got the movie adaptation all figured out. Tim Burton is going to get on board and bring his good friend Johnny Depp, who is going to star as Maxwell Cartwright Jr., naturally. It's going to be awesome, even if the official screening only ever runs in my head. Of course, you're all invited but make sure you bring me a choc-top.
I received a copy of this book from Edelweiss (thank you so much to Edelweiss and Soho Teen for the opportunity) in exchange for honest feedback. This book deserves all the stars!!! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
GAME OVER
In honour of the fast approach of Halloween month, I present to you your 👻 Halloween Harbinger 👻 book, and what a harbinger it is! I'm not sure anything I read in October will come close to being this much fun, this deliciously creepy or have so many words I will now be incorporating into everyday conversations. I'm pretty sure my Kindle feels very special right now because I've been smiling at it the whole time I was reading. I am so in love with this book!!!
The Devils You Know, or The Adorkables vs Labyrinth House as I have affectionately renamed it, follows a group of contestants unwittingly participating in the game of a lifetime. Our five River Red School seniors are from small town Wisconsin where the social scene consists of attending bonfires or staying at home.
Given the difficult choice of attending a field trip to Boulder House and not having to take finals or sitting in Study Hall all day and having to take finals, our five adorkables unsurprisingly wind up at Boulder House. (By the way, I say 'adorkables' with the greatest affection. I adored every single one of them!)
Built by Maxwell Cartwright Jr. after he became super crazy, incredibly evil and the apparent owner of some serious cranky pants, Boulder House is an architectural enigma filled with collections of oddities, curiosities and all things creepy from all over the world. May the game begin!
The Contestants
Player 1: Violet - The good girl. Her mother is a psychology professor, her father is a practicing psychologist, and she is an A student who spends her time avoiding conflict and crushing on Paul from afar. She hates her boring Forever 21 clothes and greatly admires Gretchen's fashion sense. This all round good girl has a big secret.
Player 2: Paul - The popular jock. A basketball player who fairly recently moved to Wisconsin with his mother, Paul appears to be the only black kid in school. He's still reeling from his father's death eight years ago. He has a secret crush on Violet and an even more secret interest in all things Shakespeare.
Player 3: Dylan - The bullied goth/emo/freak. Sporting black eyeliner and black fingernails, Dylan has been dating Gretchen for four years and worships her. A skinny kid, he spends a fair amount of his school days being pushed into lockers. Unbeknownst to the kids at school, Dylan plays a different role at home.
Player 4: Ashley - The mean girl. Most comfortable sashaying down the hallway at school followed by her squad, Ashley is the undisputed queen bee of the school and has the bitchiness to prove it. Her father is soon to be a senator and Ashley sprouts her father's beliefs with no regard to whether she agrees with them or not. Gretchen is her arch nemesis.
Player 5: Gretchen - The outcast. This girl has attitude! Abandoned by her father, Gretchen lives with her mother who despite her illness works as hard as she can to try to keep their small family afloat. Gretchen wants to be a fashion designer and shops at Goodwill, repurposing clothes to suit her taste. She has a monster bag with eyes which I desperately want so she'd better keep an eye on me because, just between you and I, I've got a plan to steal it from her. Shh!
Handy Dandy Tips Should You Ever Play the Boulder House Game
1. Wear sensible shoes.
2. Take note of the locations of all of the first aid kits.
3. Bring a few expendable people that can be used as human shields.
4. Whatever happens, STAY. TOGETHER. You studied Horror 101, didn't you?
5. Weapons. Bring them. Many of them. All kinds.
Small Selection of Phrases that Need to be Used - Always!
* She's got ova!
* Fuck-a-doodle-doo
* Holy fuck-grenades
* Bitchwad
* Douchetroll
* Fuckity fuck fuck
* Oh shitball fuck
* Holy schmolies
* You cad!
It felt like I was trapped in the Thir13en Ghosts house with Jigsaw saying, "I want to play a game". Each time our contestants entered another room I could have sworn I almost heard someone rolling Jumanji dice.
The whole time I was reading I desperately wanted to tour Boulder House and still do. This is my kind of house!!! I half wanted everyone to die gruesome deaths and half wanted everyone to survive because I loved every single adorkable and after all, they were all underdogs in their own way and who doesn't love an underdog.
At the beginning of each part there is an excerpt from The Collections of Maxwell Cartwright Jr. and given how interesting these snippets are, I'd buy a companion book if one became available. I adored the design of the crow that shows up between each part in the book. I need a sticker of that crow to put on my car. I loved the story being told from five points of view and how the same detail was perceived differently by various characters. Case in point - Paul's sexy look.
And, OH. MY. GOODNESS. A couple of the characters go to the toilet during this book!!! That should not be this thrilling but if you think about how rare it is for book and TV characters to use the bathroom, you'll understand my excitement at discovering a book where it actually happens! You know that weird thing that toddlers do when they're excited and their bodies kind of bounce up and down but they're not at the jumping stage yet? Well, I made it to the toilet scene about 3am so imagine me doing the bouncing up and down thingy but sitting down. That's how excited I was.
Trigger Warning for a creepywad sexual predator. This is dealt with respectfully, with insight into the feelings of the victim/survivor and the reactions of their peers.
This book is essentially about fear, the fear of showing our true selves to the world. Each character has secrets that they're terrified will surface and change the perception everyone has about them. Their insecurities stop them from living their lives as the person they truly are and so they wander around play acting as shadows, caricatures and sometimes downright opposites of themselves.
The writing style hooked me straight away and I really enjoyed the pacing in this book. Our contestants ran, fought and bled, but they also rested and talked, usually because they were using a first aid kit ... but still. There are plenty of wounds with the appropriate level of blood spatter, swords, Shakespeare quotes, the theme from Jaws, knights, tigers, snot bubbles, so many dolls running around, a creepy clown (of course), a cheerful little wizard, and in keeping with 🦄 Unicorn Month 🦄 there's even a brave carousel unicorn named Sparkles in this book!
Just in case you were wondering, yes, I've got the movie adaptation all figured out. Tim Burton is going to get on board and bring his good friend Johnny Depp, who is going to star as Maxwell Cartwright Jr., naturally. It's going to be awesome, even if the official screening only ever runs in my head. Of course, you're all invited but make sure you bring me a choc-top.
I received a copy of this book from Edelweiss (thank you so much to Edelweiss and Soho Teen for the opportunity) in exchange for honest feedback. This book deserves all the stars!!! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
GAME OVER
October 15, 2017
"The Devils You Know" by M.C. Atwood combines elements of "The Breakfast Club", "House of a Thousand Corpses" and "Heathers" to create "A Night at the Museum" turned murderous. However, an amalgamation of many popular and beloved films does not amount to a unique, interesting, and bone-chilling horror novel. This book tries to overachieve and be the newest indie horror, but it completely falls flat due to its numerous flaws. I highly disliked this book, but it is still a well-created book. It has a beginning, middle, and end. It has an interesting premise, an interesting backstory, and satisfying horror elements. But having the bare bones of a horror novel does not make it a fantastic addition to the genre.
We meet Violet, a very normal, awkward, boy-crazy girl who sounded to me that she would be the final girl. Gretchen and Dylan are the punk-rock, emo, tough characters. They are clones of each other, as if the author just didn't want to completely rip off "The Breakfast Club"s characters. Ashley is the slutty, popular, annoying girl who overly speaks of her bisexuality, but never calls herself bisexual. This always is disliked by members of the LGBT community, so I mean, that can annoy you, but you do have an LGBT character representation (if that matters to you, me not so much). At least half of Paul's external and internal dialogue is told in Shakespearean quotations. (WHY?!?! JESUS.) He's pretty damn creepy otherwise (in the "Wow, her boobs looked so great, I nearly got a boner, because I bumped into one" way).
That brings me along to my least favorite point of the book: the dialogue. Because we are *treated* to reading every character's perspective in first person, we are *treated* to their internal and external dialogue. Nearly every character sans Violet and sometimes Gretchen are unbearable. Honestly, the characters sound if they are aliens trying to blend in with humankind, using weird profanity and expressions that no real human would ever say. For example:
1. Douchecanoe is written at least 6 times. Asstroll. Dickmunch. Douchemunch.
2. Her voice sounded like smelling salts.
For these, I just turned to random pages (because I stupidly took out all of my post-it notes before finishing my review.
3. "Hopefully I don't get digested by a monster? I'm totally suing this place when I get out. After I disown my parents."
4. F***-a-doodle doo occurs at least 5 times. Jesus. Who on Earth would actually say this? Alieeens.
5. Ashley Garrett is pure D bitchitude.
Continuing on. My last gripe is the unrealistic set up of the story. A museum of creepy murder-y things collected by some weird hermit in the mountain. The museum comes to life. Cat and mouse game of who will live and escape. But, the students come here on a school field trip. One that exempts senior students from taking final exams if they go on the trip. Can anyone tell me what school would actually send their students to a museum similar to something that Ed Gein or Jeffrey Dahmer would have created? It just sounds like a liability for a lawsuit. This would have been a much more realistic story if it was just kids that went here on the weekends out of morbid curiosity.
I realize that my review makes the book sound like the worst horror fiction ever created. It's not far off, but it had potential. The idea of a group of teenagers going to a creepy serial killer-ish museum that comes to life sounds great! However, if it was written in any other way than it was, I'd probably enjoy it a thousand times over. It's not creepier than other high school fiction. I feel that R.L. Stine's horror fiction is significantly creepier. I haven't read many teenager horror fiction books lately, but there have to be better ones than this. I'm sure someone I know will enjoy this book, if they can get past the terrible dialogue. I could imagine this turning out into a good movie, as long as they hire a screenwriter to write the screenplay. This needs so many changes to be a film I'd like to see. Like I mentioned before, the creepy crawlies definitely frightening enough to spread fear.
*I received this book as a complementary review copy.*
We meet Violet, a very normal, awkward, boy-crazy girl who sounded to me that she would be the final girl. Gretchen and Dylan are the punk-rock, emo, tough characters. They are clones of each other, as if the author just didn't want to completely rip off "The Breakfast Club"s characters. Ashley is the slutty, popular, annoying girl who overly speaks of her bisexuality, but never calls herself bisexual. This always is disliked by members of the LGBT community, so I mean, that can annoy you, but you do have an LGBT character representation (if that matters to you, me not so much). At least half of Paul's external and internal dialogue is told in Shakespearean quotations. (WHY?!?! JESUS.) He's pretty damn creepy otherwise (in the "Wow, her boobs looked so great, I nearly got a boner, because I bumped into one" way).
That brings me along to my least favorite point of the book: the dialogue. Because we are *treated* to reading every character's perspective in first person, we are *treated* to their internal and external dialogue. Nearly every character sans Violet and sometimes Gretchen are unbearable. Honestly, the characters sound if they are aliens trying to blend in with humankind, using weird profanity and expressions that no real human would ever say. For example:
1. Douchecanoe is written at least 6 times. Asstroll. Dickmunch. Douchemunch.
2. Her voice sounded like smelling salts.
For these, I just turned to random pages (because I stupidly took out all of my post-it notes before finishing my review.
3. "Hopefully I don't get digested by a monster? I'm totally suing this place when I get out. After I disown my parents."
4. F***-a-doodle doo occurs at least 5 times. Jesus. Who on Earth would actually say this? Alieeens.
5. Ashley Garrett is pure D bitchitude.
Continuing on. My last gripe is the unrealistic set up of the story. A museum of creepy murder-y things collected by some weird hermit in the mountain. The museum comes to life. Cat and mouse game of who will live and escape. But, the students come here on a school field trip. One that exempts senior students from taking final exams if they go on the trip. Can anyone tell me what school would actually send their students to a museum similar to something that Ed Gein or Jeffrey Dahmer would have created? It just sounds like a liability for a lawsuit. This would have been a much more realistic story if it was just kids that went here on the weekends out of morbid curiosity.
I realize that my review makes the book sound like the worst horror fiction ever created. It's not far off, but it had potential. The idea of a group of teenagers going to a creepy serial killer-ish museum that comes to life sounds great! However, if it was written in any other way than it was, I'd probably enjoy it a thousand times over. It's not creepier than other high school fiction. I feel that R.L. Stine's horror fiction is significantly creepier. I haven't read many teenager horror fiction books lately, but there have to be better ones than this. I'm sure someone I know will enjoy this book, if they can get past the terrible dialogue. I could imagine this turning out into a good movie, as long as they hire a screenwriter to write the screenplay. This needs so many changes to be a film I'd like to see. Like I mentioned before, the creepy crawlies definitely frightening enough to spread fear.
*I received this book as a complementary review copy.*
June 17, 2019
Wow I really hated this book...
On the surface this book has a lot I like, a cast of diverse characters on a field trip to a spooky house where creepy things start to happen.
But all is not as advertised and really from the get go this book is a mess. The characters are all stereotypes in the worst way. Mixed with a lot of politics. Seriously I'm very left leaning with my politics in terms of sexuality, gender and all that jazz. And still the politics in this book annoyed this piss out of me.
Seriously, the jock with a heart of gold is horrified he objectifies two women the same morning. Explain to me how that is something a high-school student would ever think. Especially because after this throughout the rest of the book he more or less objectifies and hero-worships the girl he crushes on. But all the characters are pretty terrible, they all act like what a middle-aged person thinks teenagers act like.
But hey, I can forgive these terrible characters if the things that happen to them are spooky at least. They are going on a field trip to a spooky haunted house right?
Well... kind of. It's actually more of a museum and really this is only an excuse to throw everything and anything that can be seen as creepy in one place. One moment the five kids are running from creepy dolls, the next they are battling a giant squid, angels, creepy clowns you name it. Think of a horror cliche and it's in here, badly done.
If you add a creepy clown to your story, which after Stephen King's It is already a dumb idea. DON'T MAKE THE CHARACTER REFERENCE THAT BOOK. It feels lazy and only shines a light on how lame your creepy clown is. There is no focus and it honestly makes the story, it's scenes feel like a series of random events with a thin narrative. The separate scenes aren't good, the overall story is lame and the politics are infuriatingly obvious, pandering and patronizing.
It boggles my goddamn mind that this was written by a teacher in creative writing. The writing is terrible, it's filled with made-up slang that makes the kids sound like toddlers, clichés and different characters having the same type of thoughts.
Seriously if you are/were more of a Goth/punk/alternative kid in high-school the two punks in this book will make you so angry.
It was also really annoying that you could tell Atwood remembered a word she liked and suddenly used it twice in short succession, often in the thoughts of different characters.
For example one character talks about how noises are taking up all the ear real estate or something dumb like that. A chapter later, another character talks about a walkway/ramp being smashed causing a quick decline in ramp real estate.
This also happened with the word titter and cavernous. These words pop up in two chapters in quick succession and then vanish. It was really distracting and infuriating.
This book was advertised as horror, YA horror but still a horror adventure. It's not at all, it's Goosebumps / Are You Afraid of the Dark levels of horror. So not scary at all.
In short a terrible 'horror' story with token characters, no scares and too much politics. I originally rated this book 2 stars but fuck it, I nearly got an aneurysm writing this review. 1 star.
On the surface this book has a lot I like, a cast of diverse characters on a field trip to a spooky house where creepy things start to happen.
But all is not as advertised and really from the get go this book is a mess. The characters are all stereotypes in the worst way. Mixed with a lot of politics. Seriously I'm very left leaning with my politics in terms of sexuality, gender and all that jazz. And still the politics in this book annoyed this piss out of me.
Seriously, the jock with a heart of gold is horrified he objectifies two women the same morning. Explain to me how that is something a high-school student would ever think. Especially because after this throughout the rest of the book he more or less objectifies and hero-worships the girl he crushes on. But all the characters are pretty terrible, they all act like what a middle-aged person thinks teenagers act like.
But hey, I can forgive these terrible characters if the things that happen to them are spooky at least. They are going on a field trip to a spooky haunted house right?
Well... kind of. It's actually more of a museum and really this is only an excuse to throw everything and anything that can be seen as creepy in one place. One moment the five kids are running from creepy dolls, the next they are battling a giant squid, angels, creepy clowns you name it. Think of a horror cliche and it's in here, badly done.
If you add a creepy clown to your story, which after Stephen King's It is already a dumb idea. DON'T MAKE THE CHARACTER REFERENCE THAT BOOK. It feels lazy and only shines a light on how lame your creepy clown is. There is no focus and it honestly makes the story, it's scenes feel like a series of random events with a thin narrative. The separate scenes aren't good, the overall story is lame and the politics are infuriatingly obvious, pandering and patronizing.
It boggles my goddamn mind that this was written by a teacher in creative writing. The writing is terrible, it's filled with made-up slang that makes the kids sound like toddlers, clichés and different characters having the same type of thoughts.
Seriously if you are/were more of a Goth/punk/alternative kid in high-school the two punks in this book will make you so angry.
It was also really annoying that you could tell Atwood remembered a word she liked and suddenly used it twice in short succession, often in the thoughts of different characters.
For example one character talks about how noises are taking up all the ear real estate or something dumb like that. A chapter later, another character talks about a walkway/ramp being smashed causing a quick decline in ramp real estate.
This also happened with the word titter and cavernous. These words pop up in two chapters in quick succession and then vanish. It was really distracting and infuriating.
This book was advertised as horror, YA horror but still a horror adventure. It's not at all, it's Goosebumps / Are You Afraid of the Dark levels of horror. So not scary at all.
In short a terrible 'horror' story with token characters, no scares and too much politics. I originally rated this book 2 stars but fuck it, I nearly got an aneurysm writing this review. 1 star.
July 3, 2021
i lasted 11%.
this is bad. homophobia, cliche characters (hot jock, mean girl, smart girl, guy that wears black nail polish.) there was a chapter with a guy whose head voice was literally boobs boobs boobs and another character was screeching like a monkey? idk
this reads exactly like an adult who’s never met a teenager wrote it
this is bad. homophobia, cliche characters (hot jock, mean girl, smart girl, guy that wears black nail polish.) there was a chapter with a guy whose head voice was literally boobs boobs boobs and another character was screeching like a monkey? idk
this reads exactly like an adult who’s never met a teenager wrote it
September 21, 2018
Scary, backstabbing glory. Mystery and suspicion in a thrilling book that pulls you in until you've finished the last page! Secrets are spread and released for all the world to see..
October 2, 2017
*Disclaimer: I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Now that it's been getting closer to Halloween, I've been craving some darker reads. When I saw the summary for The Devils You Know, it seemed like the perfect YA horror story with folk legends, haunted houses, and high school drama. M.C. Atwood's debut novel does delivers on the promise of chills, frights, and things that go bump in the night. However, the novel doesn't quite live up to its potential due some off-putting language choices and odd pacing.
The story begins as five very different high school seniors - Violet, Paul, Ashley, Gretchen, and Dylan - get lost on a school trip to the infamous Boulder House in Whispering Bluffs. As it becomes clear that all of the legends about the house's curse are actually true, these students must band together in order to have any chance at getting out of the house alive. However, their journey may ultimately force them to confront more than just the terrors lurking inside the house.
The idea of the house was pretty interesting, I liked how it was set up and the concepts for each of the rooms. It felt like a house of mirrors, where the characters kept getting bounced from one horror to the next. However, I wasn't ever actually scared by anything they ran into. I think that was partially because the book was lacking an eerie, or even spooky, atmosphere. This caused it to feel more like a survival novel instead of a horror one. Nevertheless, I do think that this novel will be creepy enough for some readers, it just didn't quite work for me.
At times, The Devils You Know almost felt like two stories in one. While the five high schoolers were running for their lives, each of their biggest secrets was revealed to the group. There was an element of self-discovery and self-acceptance to this novel that I hadn't expected to find. These more emotional moments didn't always fit well into the plot. This led to a somewhat uneven pacing of the plot. Except for these slower moments, the plot moved along a fast pace that kept me engaged and interested. If these character-based scenes had been woven in better, I think this unexpected emotional aspect would be a major strength of this book.
Additionally, while most of the characters were fine, Dylan really got on my nerves. The language that he used was entirety unnecessary and didn't feel realistic in the slightest. It was distracting and annoying while also making him appear extremely immature. He was the one major negative in this book for me.
The Devils You Know was an entertaining story that kept me interested until the end. While there were some flaws, this one would make a good Halloween read if you're easily spooked but still looking for something on the scarier side.
Now that it's been getting closer to Halloween, I've been craving some darker reads. When I saw the summary for The Devils You Know, it seemed like the perfect YA horror story with folk legends, haunted houses, and high school drama. M.C. Atwood's debut novel does delivers on the promise of chills, frights, and things that go bump in the night. However, the novel doesn't quite live up to its potential due some off-putting language choices and odd pacing.
The story begins as five very different high school seniors - Violet, Paul, Ashley, Gretchen, and Dylan - get lost on a school trip to the infamous Boulder House in Whispering Bluffs. As it becomes clear that all of the legends about the house's curse are actually true, these students must band together in order to have any chance at getting out of the house alive. However, their journey may ultimately force them to confront more than just the terrors lurking inside the house.
The idea of the house was pretty interesting, I liked how it was set up and the concepts for each of the rooms. It felt like a house of mirrors, where the characters kept getting bounced from one horror to the next. However, I wasn't ever actually scared by anything they ran into. I think that was partially because the book was lacking an eerie, or even spooky, atmosphere. This caused it to feel more like a survival novel instead of a horror one. Nevertheless, I do think that this novel will be creepy enough for some readers, it just didn't quite work for me.
At times, The Devils You Know almost felt like two stories in one. While the five high schoolers were running for their lives, each of their biggest secrets was revealed to the group. There was an element of self-discovery and self-acceptance to this novel that I hadn't expected to find. These more emotional moments didn't always fit well into the plot. This led to a somewhat uneven pacing of the plot. Except for these slower moments, the plot moved along a fast pace that kept me engaged and interested. If these character-based scenes had been woven in better, I think this unexpected emotional aspect would be a major strength of this book.
Additionally, while most of the characters were fine, Dylan really got on my nerves. The language that he used was entirety unnecessary and didn't feel realistic in the slightest. It was distracting and annoying while also making him appear extremely immature. He was the one major negative in this book for me.
The Devils You Know was an entertaining story that kept me interested until the end. While there were some flaws, this one would make a good Halloween read if you're easily spooked but still looking for something on the scarier side.
July 31, 2017
The Devil’s You Know starts out a folk legend which MC Atwood expertly builds upon with suspense, rich characters and an atmosphere that is so thick, the sharpest blade would have difficulty cutting through. This is a real bonefide chiller which permeates through into your subconscious.
The plot is very well constructed and the characters are richly drawn. The build up to the fantastic and most satisfying climax is so well crafted that it haunts long past closing the cover. The conclusion was handed extremely well and didn’t feel forced. I do not want to give anything away but this is a thriller chiller that will haunt.
I would really want to write more about this adventure horror thriller but I really do not want to divulge the delicious treasures found within the pages. This ticks all the right boxes and setting the house as a character in its own right is pure genius. This is a recommended read.
The plot is very well constructed and the characters are richly drawn. The build up to the fantastic and most satisfying climax is so well crafted that it haunts long past closing the cover. The conclusion was handed extremely well and didn’t feel forced. I do not want to give anything away but this is a thriller chiller that will haunt.
I would really want to write more about this adventure horror thriller but I really do not want to divulge the delicious treasures found within the pages. This ticks all the right boxes and setting the house as a character in its own right is pure genius. This is a recommended read.
August 26, 2017
The Devils You Know starts off a little slow but once they get in the house things take off and it's one weird moment after another as each room in the house has another obstacle to get through after another.
It's about five totally different teenagers who all have a secret they fear getting out and when they sign up for a tour of this house that has a strange legend attached to it they find out there is something strange in that house.
It's really hard to explain so this one will be a short review as it's really just one of those books you have to read for yourself. It's full of creepy stuff like dolls that attack you, the sea room was just creepy! Inside the house not everything wants to kill them so they do run across a few good helpers. The wizard is one of my favorites he was just so darn cute.
Can't say I was a fan of all five teens as there was moments when I wanted to strangle a couple of them but then again they are teens.
Five very different teens go in but the house does change them and I guess when you have to fight for your lives together that would happen. Has kind of a strange ending that makes you have to think a bit. I had to talk it over with a friend who had also read it. Just read it! :)
Fair warning it does have a lot of foul language in it. This is this authors first horror book and I thought she did a great job.
It's about five totally different teenagers who all have a secret they fear getting out and when they sign up for a tour of this house that has a strange legend attached to it they find out there is something strange in that house.
It's really hard to explain so this one will be a short review as it's really just one of those books you have to read for yourself. It's full of creepy stuff like dolls that attack you, the sea room was just creepy! Inside the house not everything wants to kill them so they do run across a few good helpers. The wizard is one of my favorites he was just so darn cute.
Can't say I was a fan of all five teens as there was moments when I wanted to strangle a couple of them but then again they are teens.
Five very different teens go in but the house does change them and I guess when you have to fight for your lives together that would happen. Has kind of a strange ending that makes you have to think a bit. I had to talk it over with a friend who had also read it. Just read it! :)
Fair warning it does have a lot of foul language in it. This is this authors first horror book and I thought she did a great job.
August 7, 2017
This has to be one of the best horror books I have read in a long time! This book not only brings you horror and edge of your seat action, but also brings to light what it means to grow up. This book has so many valuable meanings within it. I particularly love how it shows high school for what it is, a lesson in growing up. This book does a great job of showing teenagers vs social classes, and finding oneself and learning how to stand up in the face of it all. The plot to this was original and well written. The layout of the house was vivid and imaginative and each scene following the different rooms had me unable to put this book down. This book is well written and truly immerses the reader into the world that the author has written. I particularly loved all the banter back and fourth between the main characters and the objects/ people they come across while going through the different rooms. The suspense to this book keeps building upon itself as you continue along with the story. Id particularly love to see a second book from this with maybe a prequel that tells the story to the folk legend that backs this book as it was very interesting. This is definitely an author to watch for! 5 stars from me for this wonderful read!
October 11, 2017
I went into M.C. Atwood’s debut, The Devils You Know, expecting a creepy read to have me jumping at every noise. While there is a pretty decent creep factor the book failed to keep my attention. True, there were moments where I was hooked but then there were moments where I was rolling my eyes, and those moments far outweighed the rest.
In this book we have five points of view, all teenagers from different walks of life. There’s the vapid popular girl, the shy girl no one notices, the Goth boy, the athlete boy, and then the girl with an attitude. It’s like The Breakfast Club in that sense, yet here, everyone has their own deeply hidden secret. These five teens go on a field trip in order to get out of finals for school and it’s at a local haunted house, of sorts. The house is a museum of the bizarre, there are rooms with hundreds of dolls, its own little town like thing, it’s weird. It reminded me of our local Magic House which is essentially a HUGE house of things to explore, learn, create, and play. But this house, was definitely not that house!
Truly, this has all the makings for a great horror story, but what basically had me wanting to throw the book across the room was the language. It felt like I was reading a really bad 90s teen horror movie in terms of language. I was half expecting someone, particularly Dylan, to say, ‘that’s wiggedy wiggedy whack!’ a phrase I can’t even spell because of its outrageousness and outright corniness. Some of the things they say are just so out there, I know that no one was saying these kinds of things when I was a teenager, so I doubt the teens of 2017 are saying it either. I mean I get that this is a young adult novel, but the slang was just so ridiculous. I mean, I hardly used slang like this growing up. It’s almost just too cliché. This seriously felt like 90s teen horror movie material, and maybe that was Atwood’s intended goal. It just didn’t click with me.
Outside of that…this wasn’t that bad a novel. True I started skimming some things because the language was driving me bonkers. But the creepiness was pretty creepy. I mean the dolls are freaking running around the house and attacking people! And they just STARE at you! Totally creepy!! The characters are getting hurt really bad, blood and guts bad. It starts to make you wonder if all of them will survive.
There is one thing that still doesn’t make sense to me and it was the so-called demon who was holding them prisoner and wanting them to work together to get out of the house alive! Should they fail, they would be a part of his morbid and gruesome collection forever. My question is WHY? What is the point of this? The demon like dude didn’t make sense to me. I get the need for a villain giving them a purpose and a reason to fight, but seriously, what was the demon’s motives in all this? He really just wanted to grow his collection?
Then there are these excerpts from a “historical text” that explain the history of the house and the madman behind it. It helps to provide more background information on this house but the ghost story of the house wasn’t ever really explained. Again, maybe there wasn’t a ghost story at all, but there were some scary things happening in this house, you can’t tell me there were no legends about them.
Another thing that continued to confuse me was that this trip to the house was meant as a field trip. There are other students and a teacher somewhere around here, but only these five teens are put through horror after horror. I didn’t understand where the rest of the group suddenly went and what they were doing. The ending only prove to further confuse me on this matter. It was definitely a WTF moment.
Sadly, The Devils You Know was not at all what I was hoping for. Not only did I feel some of the language was clichéd, it was also just overdone; but there were too many unanswered questions. Looking back, I think what was the point of all that? Basically, what the characters just went through, what was the point, the goal, the lesson? I found I could not think of an answer and I feel that no matter what book you read, that question should always be answered. The creep factor to this one was pretty good, but sadly not even that could keep me hooked into the story.
Overall Rating 2/5 stars
In this book we have five points of view, all teenagers from different walks of life. There’s the vapid popular girl, the shy girl no one notices, the Goth boy, the athlete boy, and then the girl with an attitude. It’s like The Breakfast Club in that sense, yet here, everyone has their own deeply hidden secret. These five teens go on a field trip in order to get out of finals for school and it’s at a local haunted house, of sorts. The house is a museum of the bizarre, there are rooms with hundreds of dolls, its own little town like thing, it’s weird. It reminded me of our local Magic House which is essentially a HUGE house of things to explore, learn, create, and play. But this house, was definitely not that house!
Truly, this has all the makings for a great horror story, but what basically had me wanting to throw the book across the room was the language. It felt like I was reading a really bad 90s teen horror movie in terms of language. I was half expecting someone, particularly Dylan, to say, ‘that’s wiggedy wiggedy whack!’ a phrase I can’t even spell because of its outrageousness and outright corniness. Some of the things they say are just so out there, I know that no one was saying these kinds of things when I was a teenager, so I doubt the teens of 2017 are saying it either. I mean I get that this is a young adult novel, but the slang was just so ridiculous. I mean, I hardly used slang like this growing up. It’s almost just too cliché. This seriously felt like 90s teen horror movie material, and maybe that was Atwood’s intended goal. It just didn’t click with me.
Outside of that…this wasn’t that bad a novel. True I started skimming some things because the language was driving me bonkers. But the creepiness was pretty creepy. I mean the dolls are freaking running around the house and attacking people! And they just STARE at you! Totally creepy!! The characters are getting hurt really bad, blood and guts bad. It starts to make you wonder if all of them will survive.
There is one thing that still doesn’t make sense to me and it was the so-called demon who was holding them prisoner and wanting them to work together to get out of the house alive! Should they fail, they would be a part of his morbid and gruesome collection forever. My question is WHY? What is the point of this? The demon like dude didn’t make sense to me. I get the need for a villain giving them a purpose and a reason to fight, but seriously, what was the demon’s motives in all this? He really just wanted to grow his collection?
Then there are these excerpts from a “historical text” that explain the history of the house and the madman behind it. It helps to provide more background information on this house but the ghost story of the house wasn’t ever really explained. Again, maybe there wasn’t a ghost story at all, but there were some scary things happening in this house, you can’t tell me there were no legends about them.
Another thing that continued to confuse me was that this trip to the house was meant as a field trip. There are other students and a teacher somewhere around here, but only these five teens are put through horror after horror. I didn’t understand where the rest of the group suddenly went and what they were doing. The ending only prove to further confuse me on this matter. It was definitely a WTF moment.
Sadly, The Devils You Know was not at all what I was hoping for. Not only did I feel some of the language was clichéd, it was also just overdone; but there were too many unanswered questions. Looking back, I think what was the point of all that? Basically, what the characters just went through, what was the point, the goal, the lesson? I found I could not think of an answer and I feel that no matter what book you read, that question should always be answered. The creep factor to this one was pretty good, but sadly not even that could keep me hooked into the story.
Overall Rating 2/5 stars
October 17, 2017
You can find the full review and all the fancy and/or randomness that accompanies it at It Starts at Midnight
2.5*
This one sounded quite exciting from the synopsis. And definitely perfect to read for the Halloween season! And while it was creepy, there were certain aspects that fell short for me. Let's first discuss the things I enjoyed though!
The plot itself was really quite interesting. This house clearly had a lot of secrets, and weird shenanigans happening at every turn. Really, there was not really a dull moment in the book. It was on the shorter side, but the pages were used well and the story moved quickly.
The characters definitely act like typical teens. It's quite refreshing, really. They were all unique personalities for sure, and sometimes it was pretty clear that they weren't thinking things through. They all also had secrets that I think they were more worried about than the scary ass dolls that were trying to kill them. Which let's be real, is exactly something we'd feel in our teen years.
I was definitely invested in the outcome. I wanted to keep reading to see what would happen to the characters, and what the secrets of the house were. The character development also kept me quite interested.
Of course, there were also some things I didn't really care for, so here we go:
Some of the language choices and thought processes were... weird. Look, I know I am not a teen, but I have literally never heard a human being of any age say "fuck-a-doodle-doo". Ever. And I really never hope to again. This gem, along with many others, was delivered by Dylan. Over and over and over. He was probably the most frustrating character, and not just linguistically. A lot of his whiny behavior I could kind of excuse as teenage angst, but then there were times that I just couldn't anymore with his nonsense. And Paul spends half the time thinking about marrying Violet, a girl he's spoken to literally once before this. Insta-love is rude enough when the characters aren't physically fighting for their lives.
I feel like I didn't get as many answers as I'd have liked. Not about the house, not about the characters. I just wanted a bit... more from the ending, really. It wasn't bad, but it just wasn't enough.
Even though there were a lot of creepy aspects to the story, I never fully felt them. Of course I understood on a logical level, but it never fully segued into anything that actually made me feel creeped out. And even though the stakes were, again, logically high, I didn't feel them as such.
Bottom Line: While the plot and characters were quite intriguing, it just missed the mark in a few ways.
*Copy provided for review
2.5*
This one sounded quite exciting from the synopsis. And definitely perfect to read for the Halloween season! And while it was creepy, there were certain aspects that fell short for me. Let's first discuss the things I enjoyed though!
The plot itself was really quite interesting. This house clearly had a lot of secrets, and weird shenanigans happening at every turn. Really, there was not really a dull moment in the book. It was on the shorter side, but the pages were used well and the story moved quickly.
The characters definitely act like typical teens. It's quite refreshing, really. They were all unique personalities for sure, and sometimes it was pretty clear that they weren't thinking things through. They all also had secrets that I think they were more worried about than the scary ass dolls that were trying to kill them. Which let's be real, is exactly something we'd feel in our teen years.
I was definitely invested in the outcome. I wanted to keep reading to see what would happen to the characters, and what the secrets of the house were. The character development also kept me quite interested.
Of course, there were also some things I didn't really care for, so here we go:
Some of the language choices and thought processes were... weird. Look, I know I am not a teen, but I have literally never heard a human being of any age say "fuck-a-doodle-doo". Ever. And I really never hope to again. This gem, along with many others, was delivered by Dylan. Over and over and over. He was probably the most frustrating character, and not just linguistically. A lot of his whiny behavior I could kind of excuse as teenage angst, but then there were times that I just couldn't anymore with his nonsense. And Paul spends half the time thinking about marrying Violet, a girl he's spoken to literally once before this. Insta-love is rude enough when the characters aren't physically fighting for their lives.
I feel like I didn't get as many answers as I'd have liked. Not about the house, not about the characters. I just wanted a bit... more from the ending, really. It wasn't bad, but it just wasn't enough.
Even though there were a lot of creepy aspects to the story, I never fully felt them. Of course I understood on a logical level, but it never fully segued into anything that actually made me feel creeped out. And even though the stakes were, again, logically high, I didn't feel them as such.
Bottom Line: While the plot and characters were quite intriguing, it just missed the mark in a few ways.
*Copy provided for review
May 22, 2018
Aww, I'm disappointed. I love a good scary novel, so when I saw this at my library, the cover art just jumped right out at me and I needed to take it home. Sadly, my idea of what was going to happen in this YA was a lot scarier than what did happen.
Instead, there was a sequence of muddled events, and shallow character development. Sigh.
Instead, there was a sequence of muddled events, and shallow character development. Sigh.
September 28, 2017
This is one of my most anticipated reads for this year and it did not disappoint. I have been looking for something creepy like this for a while, it had a lot of elements I like and some I was a little meh about but overall, I enjoyed this book.
The book is told in multiple POVs. Ashley, Gretchen, Dylan, Paul and Violet, each MC has their own chapter. The book follows the 5 kids into Boulder House, it's this weird house that was built into a boulder by a man named Maxwell Cartwright, Jr. , the house has a bunch of seriously weird rooms. Each room is a different theme, it’s an attraction that draws a lot of people but every so often the house looks for souls to add to its collection. The inside of the house reminds me of old amusement park figures. I can picture it being like creepy old doll like figures.
When I started this book I wasn’t sure I was going to like it because honestly each character irked me. The beginning chapters introduces you to each characters and build their back stories keeping a few things secret that you can either figure out on your own or find out later in the book. As the story progressed I started to like it even more and I also started to like each character. I did have an issue with Dylan, his “yo” drove me crazy, but I didn’t want to see him anything happen to him. Each kid has a bit of teen angst going on and you get a lot of there personalities in the beginning but as time goes on they all grow a little and you find a lot out of each one of them. I think it covers a lot of social issues in between all the horror! I also really liked the wizard.
The story for me was creepy and even has some serious build to it. Like each room just gets creepier and the descriptions of what is going on and happening to them made me have a hard time putting this one down. The twist with the characters were enjoyable and the last page of this book will have me thinking for a very long time. (I can’t tell you)
Overall, I really enjoyed this book, I liked the build of characters and the story. It was pretty creepy but not terrifying, however, it might be for some people. I highly recommend for anyone that really wants a fun, creepy read that is reminiscent of a good old fashioned B-horror movie.
Thanks for stopping by to check out my review.
Have a great day and Happy Reading!
This review was originally posted on Because reading is better than real life
December 20, 2017
In Spring Green, Wisconsin there sits the House on the Rock. Built by Alex Jordan Jr. in his most Frank Lloyd Wright way, the house itself is an architectural oddity, both interesting and questionable. But not long after building the house, Jordan decided to start amassing massive collections of complete kitsch and crap, which he then stored in warehouse upon warehouse attached to the house. The result is a holy terror of a tourist attraction, both megalomaniacally huge and schizophrenically put together in what would clearly be the series finale of Hoarders were Jordan not simply rich enough to just keep building on more space. It's a dark, damp terror of hallways, covered in old carpet, lacking windows or exits and smelling always like mold and body odor. Between the barely lit, narrow halls are cavernous rooms filled with fake streets and shops, giant plaster sea creatures, circus paraphernalia, a huge carousel of wild and fictional animals, animatronic bands and so so many doll collections. It is a place that when I visited I felt surely I was to be murdered in, and it is the place, where I ever to decide to go crazy and murder people, that I would likely go.
It was therefore, the perfect setting for Atwood to use as the basis for her horror novel, and I was beyond excited to start reading. I remained excited through each turn down the hall, as each crazy room came into description, and I remembered my own experiences and the exact items and feel she was describing. If you've had the great misfortune to walk through the entirety of The House on the Rock, you will probably get the same thrill, but I'll be honest and say that if you haven't, I am just not sure you will. When you strip away the familiarity that comes from reading about a horrible place you have also been, there isn't quite so much left to the story to love. It has a pretty straight forward young adult feel to it, the characters and dialogue almost a bit too juvenile. And the plot is so tied up in the House itself that it feels as lackluster and narrow as the hallways themselves.
I did enjoy reading Atwood's story, and the creep factor is high. But I can't be sure that all of that isn't because I've been to The House on the Rock and I hated every mildewy step. If you haven't, if you're not nodding along at how crazy messed up that place is, I'm just not sure it will be as entertaining or worthwhile.
It was therefore, the perfect setting for Atwood to use as the basis for her horror novel, and I was beyond excited to start reading. I remained excited through each turn down the hall, as each crazy room came into description, and I remembered my own experiences and the exact items and feel she was describing. If you've had the great misfortune to walk through the entirety of The House on the Rock, you will probably get the same thrill, but I'll be honest and say that if you haven't, I am just not sure you will. When you strip away the familiarity that comes from reading about a horrible place you have also been, there isn't quite so much left to the story to love. It has a pretty straight forward young adult feel to it, the characters and dialogue almost a bit too juvenile. And the plot is so tied up in the House itself that it feels as lackluster and narrow as the hallways themselves.
I did enjoy reading Atwood's story, and the creep factor is high. But I can't be sure that all of that isn't because I've been to The House on the Rock and I hated every mildewy step. If you haven't, if you're not nodding along at how crazy messed up that place is, I'm just not sure it will be as entertaining or worthwhile.
December 19, 2017
At the tender age of 17, Maxwell Cartwright, Jr., lost his mind and turned to evil...... One hot, humid day Maxwell Cartwright, Jr.’s father set down his plow in the middle of the field...... He walked to the barn, slow and steady, never turning his head. Unaware of the murder of crows in the trees, hundreds of hunched blackbirds, sitting on branches, looking on silently. He took out his shotgun and blew his brains out.
Stephen King, Rob Zombie, and Amy Lukavics got together and added pieces of themselves into a bubbling cauldron. The wind started to howl, the sky turned black, and the haunting chanting began. At the end of this ritual, M.C. Atwood was brought into the horror legendary world.
Horror and YA isn’t something that comes around often. Well, horror ya that is actually worth talking about. This is one of those ones that we all should be talking about. The creep factor that follows you from page to page is what your nightmares feed upon.
From the start, you get this overwhelming feeling of being trapped in two different worlds. First is Mean Girls with the eye-rolling teen lingo and pettiness and second, you get the haunted house hilarity spook show of House of a 1000 Corpses. That’s when you know that you’re in for a hell of a ride.
The unique cast of characters are perfectly constructed for this haunted thrill ride. The continuing building of the atmosphere seemed to get more enjoyable as time went on and I was sad when it ended. I hope this isn’t the last we hear from this house.
Even after reading what these teens went through, I still want to explore Boulder House and get lost.
Be careful of those damn rams. I’ve heard that they can be douchetrolls!!
Stephen King, Rob Zombie, and Amy Lukavics got together and added pieces of themselves into a bubbling cauldron. The wind started to howl, the sky turned black, and the haunting chanting began. At the end of this ritual, M.C. Atwood was brought into the horror legendary world.
Horror and YA isn’t something that comes around often. Well, horror ya that is actually worth talking about. This is one of those ones that we all should be talking about. The creep factor that follows you from page to page is what your nightmares feed upon.
From the start, you get this overwhelming feeling of being trapped in two different worlds. First is Mean Girls with the eye-rolling teen lingo and pettiness and second, you get the haunted house hilarity spook show of House of a 1000 Corpses. That’s when you know that you’re in for a hell of a ride.
The unique cast of characters are perfectly constructed for this haunted thrill ride. The continuing building of the atmosphere seemed to get more enjoyable as time went on and I was sad when it ended. I hope this isn’t the last we hear from this house.
Even after reading what these teens went through, I still want to explore Boulder House and get lost.
Be careful of those damn rams. I’ve heard that they can be douchetrolls!!
January 31, 2017
With a smart plot and voices full of wit and pizazz, this fast-paced, fun, and terrifying novel had me at the edge of my seat. Highly recommend.
October 31, 2020
Weird an rough to get through. Just bad writing I think.
October 4, 2017
You can find this review and others on my blog http://www.shades0fpaper.wordpress.com
Well… To say I’m disappointed is a statement. When I heard about this book I was really excited, because it was the perfect read for this time of the year and I immediatly added to my most anticipated books of this year, so first thanks to the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read this book earlier. However, the story wasn’t as I thought it would be.
You know I’m a scared chicken when it comes to horror, but I’ve decided to give it a try this year since I had a few books I’m interested in. And I don’t know, I expected this one to be more creepy and scary, and I wasn’t. Yes, it had that eery vibe all paranormal or horror novels have, but I thought I would be more scared, due to the premise of the story.
The writing was a mayor turn off for me. It’s told in multiple perspectives, and it seemed like the author tried to replicate how teenagers talk nowadays, which, let me tell you, it’s not right. When I was younger I didn’t talk like that, and I was really confused by that writing. And it appeared as if the author was trying to hard to let us know that the characters were in high school. But then in other parts of the story (mainly the ones that told you the story of the house and its owner), the writing was completely different, so that made me think it was intentional, which only made me saltier.
The characters unfortunately were so clique as well. Now this trope sometimes I like seeing, like in One of Us is Lying, where it was well executed, but in this particular story, it made me connect less and less with each of them. I didn’t particulary care for any of them, and some of their interactions were quite annoying to me.
What I did enjoy was how they tried to stay together despite hating each other. Now some things were a bit rushed, but the way they tried to survive and how they lean on each other was something I did appreciate.
Unfortunately, like I said before, it didn’t scare me at all. I feel the author tried to incorporate a lot of creepy stuff in just one book that didn’t add up with the story, and because how short the book was, it had a few plot holes and I didn’t grab a lot of things from it.
Overall I think the story had a lot of potential, but it was underdeveloped, and I didn’t care that much for the characters to be that invested in the story.
I recieved an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. This doesn’t change my opinion whatsoever. All thoughts are my own.
1.5⭐️
“We are going to play a game now, you and me. Though, I should warn you: the House always wins.”
Well… To say I’m disappointed is a statement. When I heard about this book I was really excited, because it was the perfect read for this time of the year and I immediatly added to my most anticipated books of this year, so first thanks to the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read this book earlier. However, the story wasn’t as I thought it would be.
You know I’m a scared chicken when it comes to horror, but I’ve decided to give it a try this year since I had a few books I’m interested in. And I don’t know, I expected this one to be more creepy and scary, and I wasn’t. Yes, it had that eery vibe all paranormal or horror novels have, but I thought I would be more scared, due to the premise of the story.
“The win, starting as a breeze, blew with a gale force so fierce it blew the bones of the crows three counties over. They say the land glowed red. Some say his eyes, did, too.”
The writing was a mayor turn off for me. It’s told in multiple perspectives, and it seemed like the author tried to replicate how teenagers talk nowadays, which, let me tell you, it’s not right. When I was younger I didn’t talk like that, and I was really confused by that writing. And it appeared as if the author was trying to hard to let us know that the characters were in high school. But then in other parts of the story (mainly the ones that told you the story of the house and its owner), the writing was completely different, so that made me think it was intentional, which only made me saltier.
The characters unfortunately were so clique as well. Now this trope sometimes I like seeing, like in One of Us is Lying, where it was well executed, but in this particular story, it made me connect less and less with each of them. I didn’t particulary care for any of them, and some of their interactions were quite annoying to me.
What I did enjoy was how they tried to stay together despite hating each other. Now some things were a bit rushed, but the way they tried to survive and how they lean on each other was something I did appreciate.
“He made a promise: he would build a House. A House upon this veryspot. The House would be his vengeance.”
Unfortunately, like I said before, it didn’t scare me at all. I feel the author tried to incorporate a lot of creepy stuff in just one book that didn’t add up with the story, and because how short the book was, it had a few plot holes and I didn’t grab a lot of things from it.
Overall I think the story had a lot of potential, but it was underdeveloped, and I didn’t care that much for the characters to be that invested in the story.
I recieved an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. This doesn’t change my opinion whatsoever. All thoughts are my own.
1.5⭐️
December 11, 2017
Review Originally Posted On The Sassy Book Geek
1.5 Stars
**** Huge thank you to Soho Teen for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review! ****
Trigger Warnings: Racism, Homophobia, Victim Blaming, and Statutory Rape
Sadly I was more than a little disappointed with this book especially since I’m always up for YA Horror books! Unfortunately this isn’t really a horror book, in my opinion it’s exactly like “Night at the Museum” with slightly creepier things running around. I was expecting to be creeped out and scared a lot more than I was but it still managed to hold my attention for the most part, so there is something to be said for that.
Plot
The story starts out pretty slow with the set up since we are introduced to each character through their own perspective, which got to be too much to keep track of at times but they did have their own unique voices so it was manageable. After the characters are FINALLY in the Boulder House things start to get a little more fast-paced and a little more interesting as well. They must all now work together in order to escape this house of horrors but may not be able to manage it since they are all harboring secrets they wish to remain hidden.
I thought the “secret” aspect to the plot was pretty interesting since a lot of these kids had some pretty odd secrets but this is where a lot of the trigger warnings I mentioned come into play: racism, homophobia, and the victim blaming/statutory rape (which was the worst one) and that’s why the kids chose to keep their secrets. I won’t spoil any of it but just know that the majority of the plot twists have these triggers in them and they can be a bit over whelming.
As far as the rest of the plot went I just felt like it was a mess, honestly what the heck was even going on? These kids went from room to room and everything got weirder and weirder as they progressed through the house! There’s whales, unicorns, centaurs, vicious angels, and all kinds of odd things that they come across. It just felt like the plot was “trying too hard” to be entertaining and it just came off being strange and messy.
Then there’s the writing….it felt really immature. Granted it is told from the perspectives of high schoolers and I’m sure Atwood was aiming for a younger crowd but it was just too much for me. The phrases “douchemunch”, “asstroll”, and “fuck-a-doodle-doo” show up way more times than I’d like to count, do people actually talk like this? It really got on my nerves while reading.
Characters
The characters are all high school students and all fit into various tropes: shy girl, popular/mean girl, goth girl and her boyfriend, and the jock. They all act accordingly as well, aside from their secrets but as I said I’m not spoiling them! Aside from the fact that they all couldn’t be more different they do try to stick and work together, which I liked since it would have been very infuriating for them NOT to in the situation.
I also liked the dash of diversity among the characters since we do have a lesbian character, bisexual character, and African-American character.
Other than that I didn’t really care about any of them and their dialogue and actions could get really annoying at times, as I mentioned when discussing the writing.
The Romance
Another really messy aspect of the story: the romance. Every character got in on this too which is why it got to be too messy and too much overall.
There’s a couple that starts out a couple but one is bisexual and doesn’t care for their significant other anymore, one is secretly gay and has a crush on another character, one is head over heels for their significant other, and two other characters secretly have crushes on each other but won’t admit it.
Too messy, right? I thought so.
In Conclusion
My thoughts on this book overall were that it was way too messy and I was very disappointed. However, I did finish reading it so points for that.
What I Liked:
Managed to hold my attention
Relatively fast paced
Bit of diversity in the cast of characters
What I Didn’t Like:
Plot was very messy and over the top
The writing and dialogue were very immature
Overly complicated romantic sub-plot
Recommend?
This just wasn’t my cup of tea and that disappointed me. There just weren’t enough horror elements for me to seriously consider this a horror book and everything was too messy and downright weird.
1.5 Stars
**** Huge thank you to Soho Teen for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review! ****
Trigger Warnings: Racism, Homophobia, Victim Blaming, and Statutory Rape
Sadly I was more than a little disappointed with this book especially since I’m always up for YA Horror books! Unfortunately this isn’t really a horror book, in my opinion it’s exactly like “Night at the Museum” with slightly creepier things running around. I was expecting to be creeped out and scared a lot more than I was but it still managed to hold my attention for the most part, so there is something to be said for that.
Plot
The story starts out pretty slow with the set up since we are introduced to each character through their own perspective, which got to be too much to keep track of at times but they did have their own unique voices so it was manageable. After the characters are FINALLY in the Boulder House things start to get a little more fast-paced and a little more interesting as well. They must all now work together in order to escape this house of horrors but may not be able to manage it since they are all harboring secrets they wish to remain hidden.
I thought the “secret” aspect to the plot was pretty interesting since a lot of these kids had some pretty odd secrets but this is where a lot of the trigger warnings I mentioned come into play: racism, homophobia, and the victim blaming/statutory rape (which was the worst one) and that’s why the kids chose to keep their secrets. I won’t spoil any of it but just know that the majority of the plot twists have these triggers in them and they can be a bit over whelming.
As far as the rest of the plot went I just felt like it was a mess, honestly what the heck was even going on? These kids went from room to room and everything got weirder and weirder as they progressed through the house! There’s whales, unicorns, centaurs, vicious angels, and all kinds of odd things that they come across. It just felt like the plot was “trying too hard” to be entertaining and it just came off being strange and messy.
Then there’s the writing….it felt really immature. Granted it is told from the perspectives of high schoolers and I’m sure Atwood was aiming for a younger crowd but it was just too much for me. The phrases “douchemunch”, “asstroll”, and “fuck-a-doodle-doo” show up way more times than I’d like to count, do people actually talk like this? It really got on my nerves while reading.
Characters
The characters are all high school students and all fit into various tropes: shy girl, popular/mean girl, goth girl and her boyfriend, and the jock. They all act accordingly as well, aside from their secrets but as I said I’m not spoiling them! Aside from the fact that they all couldn’t be more different they do try to stick and work together, which I liked since it would have been very infuriating for them NOT to in the situation.
I also liked the dash of diversity among the characters since we do have a lesbian character, bisexual character, and African-American character.
Other than that I didn’t really care about any of them and their dialogue and actions could get really annoying at times, as I mentioned when discussing the writing.
The Romance
Another really messy aspect of the story: the romance. Every character got in on this too which is why it got to be too messy and too much overall.
There’s a couple that starts out a couple but one is bisexual and doesn’t care for their significant other anymore, one is secretly gay and has a crush on another character, one is head over heels for their significant other, and two other characters secretly have crushes on each other but won’t admit it.
Too messy, right? I thought so.
In Conclusion
My thoughts on this book overall were that it was way too messy and I was very disappointed. However, I did finish reading it so points for that.
What I Liked:
Managed to hold my attention
Relatively fast paced
Bit of diversity in the cast of characters
What I Didn’t Like:
Plot was very messy and over the top
The writing and dialogue were very immature
Overly complicated romantic sub-plot
Recommend?
This just wasn’t my cup of tea and that disappointed me. There just weren’t enough horror elements for me to seriously consider this a horror book and everything was too messy and downright weird.
August 9, 2017
I received this book for free from the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
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I’m a horror buff, so as soon as I heard this book was The Breakfast Club meets Stephen King, I was hooked. The story meshes together five very different high school seniors, all embodying a certain stereotype, trying to escape a house determined to kill them and make them into part of its collection. It was fast-paced, and I adored the concept. While I feel it was just average at best, I certainly couldn’t put it down.
The real faults of this novel were in its writing. It didn’t flow well, and the word choice made it painfully clear that the author was trying to make these characters seem quirky and relatable. Some moments seemed messy, rushed, and underdeveloped. I got lost in the chaos of the plot too often for my liking, and the routine became boring towards the end.
While I adored some of the characters, I absolutely despised others. I loved Ashley and Gretchen – especially their attraction to each other – and not only did I find their POVs most entertaining, but Ashely was by far the most interesting and complex. I was not, however, a fan of Dylan and his childishness or Paul and Violet’s relationship. I’ve never been a fan of insta-love, but their focus on relationship drama in a life or death situation really put me off. Violet surprised me, and I ended up liking her far more than I anticipated, but she still wasn’t all that captivating.
The physical obstacles, fun and interesting as they were, always interrupted the deeper emotional moments. I began to crave real depth, but it didn’t come until nearly the end of the book. When the emotional floodgates did break, the social commentary was moving and effective. I wish there had been far more of it.
For those looking for a light yet still engrossing horror read, this is the perfect recipe. Though I personally would’ve liked to be more scared, I found the plot engaging and was always anticipating the next move. Overall, this was a solid read, especially for a debut. I look forward to the author’s work in the future.
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I’m a horror buff, so as soon as I heard this book was The Breakfast Club meets Stephen King, I was hooked. The story meshes together five very different high school seniors, all embodying a certain stereotype, trying to escape a house determined to kill them and make them into part of its collection. It was fast-paced, and I adored the concept. While I feel it was just average at best, I certainly couldn’t put it down.
The real faults of this novel were in its writing. It didn’t flow well, and the word choice made it painfully clear that the author was trying to make these characters seem quirky and relatable. Some moments seemed messy, rushed, and underdeveloped. I got lost in the chaos of the plot too often for my liking, and the routine became boring towards the end.
While I adored some of the characters, I absolutely despised others. I loved Ashley and Gretchen – especially their attraction to each other – and not only did I find their POVs most entertaining, but Ashely was by far the most interesting and complex. I was not, however, a fan of Dylan and his childishness or Paul and Violet’s relationship. I’ve never been a fan of insta-love, but their focus on relationship drama in a life or death situation really put me off. Violet surprised me, and I ended up liking her far more than I anticipated, but she still wasn’t all that captivating.
The physical obstacles, fun and interesting as they were, always interrupted the deeper emotional moments. I began to crave real depth, but it didn’t come until nearly the end of the book. When the emotional floodgates did break, the social commentary was moving and effective. I wish there had been far more of it.
For those looking for a light yet still engrossing horror read, this is the perfect recipe. Though I personally would’ve liked to be more scared, I found the plot engaging and was always anticipating the next move. Overall, this was a solid read, especially for a debut. I look forward to the author’s work in the future.
July 23, 2021
This one is kind of all over the place. It's very tropey, but would probably work for a teen for whom those tropes have not become wearisome. The protagonists are five teens who represent stereotypes--the nerd, the jock, the goth, the popular girl, and the skater dude. They go on the field trip from hell, which turns out to be a house/museum built by a weird demonic guy. Separated from their class, the five teens (who all have secrets) are forced to battle their way through each room to try to win their freedom.
*** SPOILERS ***
The rooms have EVERY horror trope known to man--scary dolls, a creepy clown, wild animals, suits of armor coming to life, etc. You name it, they have it. I think a lot of kids would probably like it because there are parts that are pretty humorous. The characters also have moments where they really connect with each other. It's pretty gritty at times. I actually started to believe that some of them wouldn't make it out alive. Some of the dialogue came across as the way an adult thinks a teenager talks. I read a few reviews and some people were really angered by the character Dylan and his fondness for the phrase, "F***-a-doodle-doo" which is pretty understandable, I guess. I do agree that, while a lot of teens liberally sprinkle their conversations with profanity, that particular phrase is not one they are likely to use.
My final take is that it is kind of a mixed bag--there were some good things about it, and some not so good. Of course, I wasn't the target audience to begin with, and I do think they might be a little more entranced with it than I was.
*** SPOILERS ***
The rooms have EVERY horror trope known to man--scary dolls, a creepy clown, wild animals, suits of armor coming to life, etc. You name it, they have it. I think a lot of kids would probably like it because there are parts that are pretty humorous. The characters also have moments where they really connect with each other. It's pretty gritty at times. I actually started to believe that some of them wouldn't make it out alive. Some of the dialogue came across as the way an adult thinks a teenager talks. I read a few reviews and some people were really angered by the character Dylan and his fondness for the phrase, "F***-a-doodle-doo" which is pretty understandable, I guess. I do agree that, while a lot of teens liberally sprinkle their conversations with profanity, that particular phrase is not one they are likely to use.
My final take is that it is kind of a mixed bag--there were some good things about it, and some not so good. Of course, I wasn't the target audience to begin with, and I do think they might be a little more entranced with it than I was.
June 8, 2017
I want to thank the wonderful woman (I'm sorry I forget your name!) at Soho Teen's booth who let me grab a galley of M.C. Atwood's debut novel, THE DEVILS YOU KNOW. I've been itching to read this and it was one more I could cross off my Amazon wishlist. :)
I have to give Atwood credit. This is her first (published) novel and she did a great job of telling this story in alternating Points-of-View (5 all together, with bonus pages from a "historical document"). Each character was unique and their voices really stood out in their chapters. (Though, I'm sorry -- Dylan got REALLY annoying REALLY quick.)
I love a good haunted house story, and Atwood took it a step further with 'run for your lives, literally' in this story. However, I felt that she cut descriptions short, though that could be because of the audience (teens) and that the chapters were no more than 4-5 pages in length. (Although I almost appreciated she didn't Stephen King the descriptions and scare the bejesus out of me...) On the plus side! The descriptions she does include are really great and gave a good "horror movie vibe." (If you like horror movies, you'll really like this.)
The story was good, but there was the classic "we are all in this together, even though we all keep MASSIVE secrets" plot line. That was a little annoying because I felt like she was trying to preach about how we should accept each other, even though we're all different. (I get it, I do -- but not in the middle of a horrorshow freak house, please.)
I also did not like the ambiguous ending. I shouldn't have read the last page.
In the end, I'd recommend this for any fan of horror movies/ya novels. I'll keep an eye out for what Atwood releases next, too. But I'm also kind of glad I didn't buy it. It's not a "forever keep" book for me.
I have to give Atwood credit. This is her first (published) novel and she did a great job of telling this story in alternating Points-of-View (5 all together, with bonus pages from a "historical document"). Each character was unique and their voices really stood out in their chapters. (Though, I'm sorry -- Dylan got REALLY annoying REALLY quick.)
I love a good haunted house story, and Atwood took it a step further with 'run for your lives, literally' in this story. However, I felt that she cut descriptions short, though that could be because of the audience (teens) and that the chapters were no more than 4-5 pages in length. (Although I almost appreciated she didn't Stephen King the descriptions and scare the bejesus out of me...) On the plus side! The descriptions she does include are really great and gave a good "horror movie vibe." (If you like horror movies, you'll really like this.)
The story was good, but there was the classic "we are all in this together, even though we all keep MASSIVE secrets" plot line. That was a little annoying because I felt like she was trying to preach about how we should accept each other, even though we're all different. (I get it, I do -- but not in the middle of a horrorshow freak house, please.)
I also did not like the ambiguous ending. I shouldn't have read the last page.
In the end, I'd recommend this for any fan of horror movies/ya novels. I'll keep an eye out for what Atwood releases next, too. But I'm also kind of glad I didn't buy it. It's not a "forever keep" book for me.
December 2, 2017
OK, this must be the year for the YA horror comeback because I've come across some really good ones. This creepy story revolves around 5 teens who barely know or like each other but must band together if they want to make it through the day in a haunted house. Throw in some secrets that were never meant to be revealed, a little romance, a whole lot of teen angst, and oh yeah a house full of dead things that keep trying to kill our MC's, and this book is a recipe for success. I also like the way this author handles the issues these teens are dealing with. This is a great job for a YA debut!
August 3, 2019
3.5 stars.
I have such mix feelings about this book. The story was intriguing and entertaining. I was hooked in some ways and wanted to see how it ended. But the dialogue had me rolling my eyes so much. The dialogue definitely felt like it was written by someone who doesn't really know how teens talk. It was hard to give the dialogue a pass. It's too bad because this books has so much potential to be a 4 star or higher. But that's just my opinion.
I have such mix feelings about this book. The story was intriguing and entertaining. I was hooked in some ways and wanted to see how it ended. But the dialogue had me rolling my eyes so much. The dialogue definitely felt like it was written by someone who doesn't really know how teens talk. It was hard to give the dialogue a pass. It's too bad because this books has so much potential to be a 4 star or higher. But that's just my opinion.
September 3, 2017
5 stars. Author spotlight review to come!
August 31, 2020
This book was light, dark, dorky, adorable, real, honest, chilling, and heart-warming all at once. I loved watching the characters grow and morph in the presence of one another. If you're looking for an easy read that tackles the tortures of high school in a creepy, creative way, this is the YA story for you!
September 26, 2017
A fun read if you don't think too hard.
The 'Breakfast Club' element is both overdone and called out as a trope within the story, so you kinda just have to smile and nod and move along.
Lots of surreal horror intercut with 'touching' scenes of the teens realizing what 'really matters'. But really, this is just a fast popcorn read and it's fun if you keep your brain on mute.
I worry that there may be a sequel.
The 'Breakfast Club' element is both overdone and called out as a trope within the story, so you kinda just have to smile and nod and move along.
Lots of surreal horror intercut with 'touching' scenes of the teens realizing what 'really matters'. But really, this is just a fast popcorn read and it's fun if you keep your brain on mute.
I worry that there may be a sequel.
January 30, 2018
DISCLAIMER: I am a MA in Writing Student at Rowan University who has recently had the opportunity to study under Professor Atwood. The following review may be biased.
When I saw that I would be required to read MC Atwood’s debut young adult novel, The Devils You Know for my Seminar II class this semester as part of my MA in Writing program at Rowan University, I was very excited. Last fall I had a wonderful experience studying under Professor Atwood by taking her Writing Genre Fiction course. Atwood is hilarious and one of the kindest individuals I’ve ever met. She is also seriously talented as both a writer and an editor.
The Devils You Know was a real pleasure to read. I love that while the book is Atwood’s favorite genre – horror – it is also still young adult. While terrifying, it was also extremely relatable. This novel is about more than a creepy haunted house with scary clowns and dolls (seriously…so many dolls…). It’s a story about friendship and finding yourself in the midst of the terror known as high school.
In the beginning of the novel, Paul, Violet, Dylan, Ashley, and Gretchen don’t know each other very well for the most part. Paul is seen as being the cool black guy that everyone loves. Violet is the quiet “nice” girl that no one knows very well, but Paul has a crush on, and she is beginning to develop feelings for as well. Dylan tries a little too hard to be a bad ass and I can really see him as being a bit of a punk rocker/skater kid. Ashley is the stuck up, rich, right-winged Republican princess that owns the school and absolutely HATES Gretchen (the feeling appears to be mutual), and Gretchen is Dylan’s partner whom is every bit as weird and tough as he is.
The quintent rarely ever crosses paths and most certainly wouldn’t call each other friends. However, when the opportunity to visit the legendary Boulder House on a class field trip presents itself, all five members of the group sign up and find themselves forced to not only share in the same space and experiences, but to also work together as a team and get to REALLY know the truth about each other. Sometimes the truth can be completely alarming and sometimes you think you know someone (as is the case of Dylan and Gretchen), but later realize you don’t know that person at all.
For instance – who would’ve guessed that Paul likes to wear tights and role play during medieval events? Nice girls finish last…and get taken advantage of as seen by the way Mr. Rhinehart takes advantage of Violet by having an affair with her the day she turns 18. Dylan is not actually Dylan at all…he’s John Michael…and despite his foul mouth and constant use of the word “yo”, he’s not as tough as he wants people to think he is. He’s actually a very conservative Christian who attends church every week with his rich parents. On the other end of the spectrum, Ashley isn’t the conservative Christian she wants everyone to believe she is. In fact, she’s gay and she’s trying everything to hide her true identity from everyone, especially her Republican parents. After all, her father IS a well-known senator who HATES anyone that’s not straight. If he knew the truth about her it would destroy him and the rest of her family. What’s worst – she doesn’t hate Gretchen at all. In fact, she’s in love with her. As for Gretchen? She’s tough because she has to be, not because she wants to be. Her family is on food stamps and she makes her own clothes because she has no choice. Her mother is ill and the family constantly struggles with money.
In order to survive the house and everything in it – from demonic angels to creepy evil dolls to scary clowns to even whales and everything in between, the quintent must work together. However, when the quintent’s secrets are revealed to one another, they all feel such a strong sense of shame that they want to go through the house alone. However, they later learn that while they each have their own secrets, it doesn’t make them less and if anything, knowing the truth about who they are is what will not only bring them closer together, but also force them to want to stick together to support each other and to make it out of the house alive and beyond the house, to make it through high school alive, too.
Some of the novel’s strengths lie in the extreme attention to details, particularly with the imagery and descriptions of the house. It’s a very unique and clever book that while sticking to the main conventions of the horror genre, doesn’t fall into the trap of cliches. For example: there’s an entire room dedicated to whales and aquatic lives. I’ve never been afraid of whales and squids/octapuses, but I am now! I also really appreciated the way the novel took the very successful risk of having multiple narrators/points of views. Each chapter was told by a different character – Ashley, Gretchen, Dylan, Violet, and/or Paul. This allowed the reader to get up close and personal with all of the characters. Atwood did a great job of breaking them all down and creating an equal balance between each character’s voice so it never felt like you had too much of one character and not enough of another character. It also never got too confusing or overwhelming; five seemed like the perfect number.
So why four stars and not five? While I really enjoyed this book and struggled to put it down, it wasn’t perfect. There were still some things that bothered me with this book. One of the main things I didn’t like was Dylan’s character. He really annoyed me. I didn’t like his dialogue and I had trouble believing that’s how he would actually talk. I think there was an instance in the beginning where he said something along the lines of “I remembered to turn my swag on” which made me cringe. Do people even use the term “swag” anymore? I thought that died around 2008. “Fuck-a-doodle-doo” also sounded really awkward to me. I could believe him saying it once or twice, but constantly throughout the book? And no one ever comments on how weird it sounds? I had trouble buying it. Lastly, by the end of the book I was really annoyed by his constant use of the word “yo”. I think he said it but I feel like that would be something he’d say in the beginning of a sentence, not the end and reading it vs. hearing it – it reads kind of awkwardly and annoyed me as a reader. Lastly – his name is something completely different than what everyone calls him and no one knew this? I feel like the school would at least have his legal name down and probably call him by it on the first day of class. I just didn’t buy that as being his secret.
Also, reading this as a conservative Christian, I realize I’m a little biased but I did take some issues with the content of the novel. At times I felt like I was being attacked based on my views and like I was supposed to apologize or feel bad about being a conservative, Republican, Christian. I go to church every week the way Dylan/John Michael did – I don’t think that’s a “bad” thing in itself.
Lastly, demonic/fallen angels? The angels which are typically symbols for good, were made into symbols for evil. I wasn’t really okay with that imagery. I felt like the idea of Christianity throughout the novel was being shown in a negative light. Some of the jabs against Christianity/Republicans (such as the subtle George Bush reference…) felt a little over-done/cheap. I also thought of the impact/influence they may have on the novel’s target teenage audience which made me a little uncomfortable.
But overall I did really like this novel. It was very well researched, well written, and engaging. 4 out of 5 stars.
When I saw that I would be required to read MC Atwood’s debut young adult novel, The Devils You Know for my Seminar II class this semester as part of my MA in Writing program at Rowan University, I was very excited. Last fall I had a wonderful experience studying under Professor Atwood by taking her Writing Genre Fiction course. Atwood is hilarious and one of the kindest individuals I’ve ever met. She is also seriously talented as both a writer and an editor.
The Devils You Know was a real pleasure to read. I love that while the book is Atwood’s favorite genre – horror – it is also still young adult. While terrifying, it was also extremely relatable. This novel is about more than a creepy haunted house with scary clowns and dolls (seriously…so many dolls…). It’s a story about friendship and finding yourself in the midst of the terror known as high school.
In the beginning of the novel, Paul, Violet, Dylan, Ashley, and Gretchen don’t know each other very well for the most part. Paul is seen as being the cool black guy that everyone loves. Violet is the quiet “nice” girl that no one knows very well, but Paul has a crush on, and she is beginning to develop feelings for as well. Dylan tries a little too hard to be a bad ass and I can really see him as being a bit of a punk rocker/skater kid. Ashley is the stuck up, rich, right-winged Republican princess that owns the school and absolutely HATES Gretchen (the feeling appears to be mutual), and Gretchen is Dylan’s partner whom is every bit as weird and tough as he is.
The quintent rarely ever crosses paths and most certainly wouldn’t call each other friends. However, when the opportunity to visit the legendary Boulder House on a class field trip presents itself, all five members of the group sign up and find themselves forced to not only share in the same space and experiences, but to also work together as a team and get to REALLY know the truth about each other. Sometimes the truth can be completely alarming and sometimes you think you know someone (as is the case of Dylan and Gretchen), but later realize you don’t know that person at all.
For instance – who would’ve guessed that Paul likes to wear tights and role play during medieval events? Nice girls finish last…and get taken advantage of as seen by the way Mr. Rhinehart takes advantage of Violet by having an affair with her the day she turns 18. Dylan is not actually Dylan at all…he’s John Michael…and despite his foul mouth and constant use of the word “yo”, he’s not as tough as he wants people to think he is. He’s actually a very conservative Christian who attends church every week with his rich parents. On the other end of the spectrum, Ashley isn’t the conservative Christian she wants everyone to believe she is. In fact, she’s gay and she’s trying everything to hide her true identity from everyone, especially her Republican parents. After all, her father IS a well-known senator who HATES anyone that’s not straight. If he knew the truth about her it would destroy him and the rest of her family. What’s worst – she doesn’t hate Gretchen at all. In fact, she’s in love with her. As for Gretchen? She’s tough because she has to be, not because she wants to be. Her family is on food stamps and she makes her own clothes because she has no choice. Her mother is ill and the family constantly struggles with money.
In order to survive the house and everything in it – from demonic angels to creepy evil dolls to scary clowns to even whales and everything in between, the quintent must work together. However, when the quintent’s secrets are revealed to one another, they all feel such a strong sense of shame that they want to go through the house alone. However, they later learn that while they each have their own secrets, it doesn’t make them less and if anything, knowing the truth about who they are is what will not only bring them closer together, but also force them to want to stick together to support each other and to make it out of the house alive and beyond the house, to make it through high school alive, too.
Some of the novel’s strengths lie in the extreme attention to details, particularly with the imagery and descriptions of the house. It’s a very unique and clever book that while sticking to the main conventions of the horror genre, doesn’t fall into the trap of cliches. For example: there’s an entire room dedicated to whales and aquatic lives. I’ve never been afraid of whales and squids/octapuses, but I am now! I also really appreciated the way the novel took the very successful risk of having multiple narrators/points of views. Each chapter was told by a different character – Ashley, Gretchen, Dylan, Violet, and/or Paul. This allowed the reader to get up close and personal with all of the characters. Atwood did a great job of breaking them all down and creating an equal balance between each character’s voice so it never felt like you had too much of one character and not enough of another character. It also never got too confusing or overwhelming; five seemed like the perfect number.
So why four stars and not five? While I really enjoyed this book and struggled to put it down, it wasn’t perfect. There were still some things that bothered me with this book. One of the main things I didn’t like was Dylan’s character. He really annoyed me. I didn’t like his dialogue and I had trouble believing that’s how he would actually talk. I think there was an instance in the beginning where he said something along the lines of “I remembered to turn my swag on” which made me cringe. Do people even use the term “swag” anymore? I thought that died around 2008. “Fuck-a-doodle-doo” also sounded really awkward to me. I could believe him saying it once or twice, but constantly throughout the book? And no one ever comments on how weird it sounds? I had trouble buying it. Lastly, by the end of the book I was really annoyed by his constant use of the word “yo”. I think he said it but I feel like that would be something he’d say in the beginning of a sentence, not the end and reading it vs. hearing it – it reads kind of awkwardly and annoyed me as a reader. Lastly – his name is something completely different than what everyone calls him and no one knew this? I feel like the school would at least have his legal name down and probably call him by it on the first day of class. I just didn’t buy that as being his secret.
Also, reading this as a conservative Christian, I realize I’m a little biased but I did take some issues with the content of the novel. At times I felt like I was being attacked based on my views and like I was supposed to apologize or feel bad about being a conservative, Republican, Christian. I go to church every week the way Dylan/John Michael did – I don’t think that’s a “bad” thing in itself.
Lastly, demonic/fallen angels? The angels which are typically symbols for good, were made into symbols for evil. I wasn’t really okay with that imagery. I felt like the idea of Christianity throughout the novel was being shown in a negative light. Some of the jabs against Christianity/Republicans (such as the subtle George Bush reference…) felt a little over-done/cheap. I also thought of the impact/influence they may have on the novel’s target teenage audience which made me a little uncomfortable.
But overall I did really like this novel. It was very well researched, well written, and engaging. 4 out of 5 stars.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 12, 2017
I received a galley copy at book expo and let my high school students read it and review it. They said Devils You Know has great character development, suspenseful and some comic relief. My students loved it.
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