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A review by woodsybookworm
Incidents Around the House by Josh Malerman
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
4.5/5 Incidents Around The House
Bela has a friend, her "Other Mother" who lives in her closet, makes her laugh, and says she can fix Bela's parents' tumultuous relationship - but Other Mother wants more than friendship, she wants it all. She wants INSIDE of Bela's heart.
This book had some legitimately terrifying moments where I found myself reading in the dark having to turn on my lamp just so I could see things in the corner of my room. This author owes me a nightlight because I'm not sleeping in complete darkness for at least a week.
I don't usually like to read stories from a child's perspective. The writing tends to be awkward and clunky when adult writers try to write in a child's tone of voice, but Josh Malerman did an excellent job. The vocabulary wasn't too childish, which I appreciated, and we got enough dialogue from the adults in and around Bela's life that the story remained fairly grounded and easy to follow.
Overall, I highly recommend Incidents Around The House and will be looking forward to picking up a physical copy upon its release.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers, Random House and Del Rey, for allowing me to read an ARC copy of this novel before its publication date.
Bela has a friend, her "Other Mother" who lives in her closet, makes her laugh, and says she can fix Bela's parents' tumultuous relationship - but Other Mother wants more than friendship, she wants it all. She wants INSIDE of Bela's heart.
This book had some legitimately terrifying moments where I found myself reading in the dark having to turn on my lamp just so I could see things in the corner of my room. This author owes me a nightlight because I'm not sleeping in complete darkness for at least a week.
I don't usually like to read stories from a child's perspective. The writing tends to be awkward and clunky when adult writers try to write in a child's tone of voice, but Josh Malerman did an excellent job. The vocabulary wasn't too childish, which I appreciated, and we got enough dialogue from the adults in and around Bela's life that the story remained fairly grounded and easy to follow.
Overall, I highly recommend Incidents Around The House and will be looking forward to picking up a physical copy upon its release.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers, Random House and Del Rey, for allowing me to read an ARC copy of this novel before its publication date.