(This book review is also on my blog.)

The Strange Books secretary gave me a copy in exchange for an honest review. Seeing the synopsis, I was intrigued right away. A collection of short stories filled with mystery and magic? Count me in!

The writing
I really liked the writing in this book. It was easy to read and to follow, yet it was eerie and disturbing. These short stories, though they seem like simple bedtime stories at first, can be awfully spooky as you read on. Apart from being mysterious, these stories were also poetic and oftentimes philosophical—it makes you think. It makes you think about the characters, it makes you think about their world, it makes you think about humanity and our world. As a reader, I applaud the author for achieving that.

The characters
The characters, what I loved about them is that they have this aura of innocence. In each of the stories included in this book, I really noticed that there are characters who hold such innocence and yet they are the ones who are different, the ones who push the story forward. I loved that.

The plot
The plot was easy to follow, and as mysterious and disturbing as they are, I really liked it. There were a couple of stories though, in which the plots were a little vague. And though there were answers to the mysteries, some were a bit confusing. The rest, I really loved.

I particularly loved the last story in this book. It was truly poetic and so real, and the plot was written well.

This was such a quick read and yet it's a book that makes you think and scratch your head. All in all, it was spooky, entertaining, and an awesome read. I give this one 4 stars!