Helpful Score: 1
I got a copy of this book to review through NetGalley. I really enjoy ghost stories and thought this sounded like a wonderful one. This was such an engaging story, so well done, and so hard to put down. I loved it!
Okiku is a vengeful spirit who avenges murdered children. That is until she sees Tark, there is something about Tark that grabs her attention. Tark has some sort of dark spirit looming over him. Tarks cousin Callie is concerned about Tark and can also sense the darkness around him. The three of them get involved in a dark quest to remove a Tarks curse.
Wow this was an incredibly gripping and engaging horror novel; I could not put this book down. Parts of this horror book are very graphic and gory, so just a heads up.
There is a lot of Japanese mythology and discussion of Japanese ghost stories in here that was fascinating. All the characters were incredibly complex and interesting. The plot was very well done and had some excellent twists and turns in it.
Okiku is a very interesting character and very much an anti-hero. She is a terribly vengeful ghost, but only to those who deserve it. In a twisted way she has her own set of noble morals.
Tark is a dark and brooding pre-teen, but he has reason to be. His mother has tried to kill him multiple times and he has a dark spirit that has loomed over him since he was very young.
Callie is a perfectly normal and well adjusted teachers aid, she loves teaching kids. She has been Tarks sister more than his cousin, helping him through many dark times in his life. She gets drawn into this whole mess out of a simple need to help Tark.
The plot starts out creepy and ends creepier. There are two stories here. One is of a man who seems to be stalking Tark for unknown reasons. The second is the mystery behind Tarks dark spirit. Woven in between these two plots is Okikus story. We see both into scenes from her past and the present.
The story starts from Okikus point of view but we also hear from Tark and Callie. The switch in points of view worked wonderfully for this book.
I absolutely loved hearing Okikus history and the legends surrounding her. I also really enjoyed all of the Japanese mythology throughout. The book ties everything up really nicely.
I really really loved this book. I am not a huge fan of horror books, I am too much of a wuss about being scared. However, this book had just the right amount of creepy couple with a lot of interesting Japanese mythology. The plot was absolutely engaging and made the book impossible to put down. The characters had a lot of depth and were incredibly interesting. I highly recommend this book to fans of creepy or horror-type mysteries with fantasy elements. Actually I recommend it to everyone, it was a great book.
Okiku is a vengeful spirit who avenges murdered children. That is until she sees Tark, there is something about Tark that grabs her attention. Tark has some sort of dark spirit looming over him. Tarks cousin Callie is concerned about Tark and can also sense the darkness around him. The three of them get involved in a dark quest to remove a Tarks curse.
Wow this was an incredibly gripping and engaging horror novel; I could not put this book down. Parts of this horror book are very graphic and gory, so just a heads up.
There is a lot of Japanese mythology and discussion of Japanese ghost stories in here that was fascinating. All the characters were incredibly complex and interesting. The plot was very well done and had some excellent twists and turns in it.
Okiku is a very interesting character and very much an anti-hero. She is a terribly vengeful ghost, but only to those who deserve it. In a twisted way she has her own set of noble morals.
Tark is a dark and brooding pre-teen, but he has reason to be. His mother has tried to kill him multiple times and he has a dark spirit that has loomed over him since he was very young.
Callie is a perfectly normal and well adjusted teachers aid, she loves teaching kids. She has been Tarks sister more than his cousin, helping him through many dark times in his life. She gets drawn into this whole mess out of a simple need to help Tark.
The plot starts out creepy and ends creepier. There are two stories here. One is of a man who seems to be stalking Tark for unknown reasons. The second is the mystery behind Tarks dark spirit. Woven in between these two plots is Okikus story. We see both into scenes from her past and the present.
The story starts from Okikus point of view but we also hear from Tark and Callie. The switch in points of view worked wonderfully for this book.
I absolutely loved hearing Okikus history and the legends surrounding her. I also really enjoyed all of the Japanese mythology throughout. The book ties everything up really nicely.
I really really loved this book. I am not a huge fan of horror books, I am too much of a wuss about being scared. However, this book had just the right amount of creepy couple with a lot of interesting Japanese mythology. The plot was absolutely engaging and made the book impossible to put down. The characters had a lot of depth and were incredibly interesting. I highly recommend this book to fans of creepy or horror-type mysteries with fantasy elements. Actually I recommend it to everyone, it was a great book.
MY THOUGHTS
I'm not very familiar with the story that this book is based off of, but you don't necessarily have to be in order to enjoy this book! This book was disturbing, creepy, and I loved it!
One of my favorite aspects of this book was the POV. The POV is mostly from Okiku's perspective. Okiku is a very interesting perspective because she's, well, a vengeful spirit which makes her a very interesting narrator. Her perspective is also interesting because she, since she's a ghost, she is oftentimes (when she's not killing anyone) just floating around in the background, telling up the events happening in front of her. It's kind of a perspective I don't see very often in books, reminded me of Tiger Lily, only because of the narration.
I also, of course, loved the creepiness of the book. I love ghost stories, they scare the hell out of me, but I find ghosts stories very intriguing! This book was no different! I loved how creepy this book was and I was very interested to figure out what exactly was going on. Yes, I read this book in one sitting.
And now, something I was very happy to find out about this book: THERE WAS NO ROMANCE! Yes! While I can sometimes be a romantic, romance usually annoys me in books and I was so glad that I found a book where there was no stupid, pathetic romance to distract the characters and the reader (me) from the actual plot.
So, I keep raving about this book, what problems did I have with it? It's odd, but some of the things I loved about this book, I also didn't like. I loved the unique narration, but it made me feel disconnected from the story. I loved the creepiness, but it wasn't creepy enough for me (which is odd, since this was a very creepy book). These "issues" are very small and are not really a big problem. Overall, I still loved this book.
IN CONCLUSION
If you're looking for a fact-paced, horror-filled YA book with NO ROMANCE! Yes, you definitely need to pick up this book, you will not want to put it down.
I am definitely looking forward to more from Rin Chupeco.
I'm not very familiar with the story that this book is based off of, but you don't necessarily have to be in order to enjoy this book! This book was disturbing, creepy, and I loved it!
One of my favorite aspects of this book was the POV. The POV is mostly from Okiku's perspective. Okiku is a very interesting perspective because she's, well, a vengeful spirit which makes her a very interesting narrator. Her perspective is also interesting because she, since she's a ghost, she is oftentimes (when she's not killing anyone) just floating around in the background, telling up the events happening in front of her. It's kind of a perspective I don't see very often in books, reminded me of Tiger Lily, only because of the narration.
I also, of course, loved the creepiness of the book. I love ghost stories, they scare the hell out of me, but I find ghosts stories very intriguing! This book was no different! I loved how creepy this book was and I was very interested to figure out what exactly was going on. Yes, I read this book in one sitting.
And now, something I was very happy to find out about this book: THERE WAS NO ROMANCE! Yes! While I can sometimes be a romantic, romance usually annoys me in books and I was so glad that I found a book where there was no stupid, pathetic romance to distract the characters and the reader (me) from the actual plot.
So, I keep raving about this book, what problems did I have with it? It's odd, but some of the things I loved about this book, I also didn't like. I loved the unique narration, but it made me feel disconnected from the story. I loved the creepiness, but it wasn't creepy enough for me (which is odd, since this was a very creepy book). These "issues" are very small and are not really a big problem. Overall, I still loved this book.
IN CONCLUSION
If you're looking for a fact-paced, horror-filled YA book with NO ROMANCE! Yes, you definitely need to pick up this book, you will not want to put it down.
I am definitely looking forward to more from Rin Chupeco.
Fantastically creepy book. Everything you ever wanted to know about the creepy girl in the white dress with her long black hair hanging in her face. It was like watching one the Japanese horror movies but way better and way more informative.
Sooo creepy but sooo good!!! An amazing read!
