Book Review: Here there are Monsters by Amelinda Bérubé

Rating: 6/10 

Overview: This twisted, something-in-the-woods tale captures the story of two sisters and their struggling relationship, which only worsens after one goes missing and one is left to choose between the worlds of real and make-believe. Skye and Deirdre have always loved playing with homemade monsters in their imaginary kingdoms, but when Skye decides it's time to grow up and begins pulling away from Deirdre to trade her life of pretend with new highschool friends, Deirdre starts to change too. Disappearing further into herself, the monster playmates she crafts take on a darker note as the time she spends in the woods grows longer and longer, until one night, Deirdre simply doesn't come home. When the night stretches into days and the police come up empty-handed, Skye realizes finding Deirdre is her responsibility and dutifully begins slicing away pieces of her new, normal life to offer up as sacrifices to the whispering voices who pulled her sister into the swamp.

As a Reader: Flipping through the pages of this book was like holding that eerie someone is watching me feeling in my hands. The story was a perfectly edgy and immersive experience that sucked my feet into the mud right alongside the rainboots of Skye and Deirdre. The collision of the sisters' real and imaginary worlds was seamless, making the characters' disbelief, panic, and fear a consistently believable presence. The ending came as satisfactorily unhappy, with a twist that, while a bit unsurprising, fit well with the overall tone of the story. As a reader, I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a quick, unsettling read that just might keep them up at night. 

As a Writer: I envy the emotional response this novel was able to pull from me. While I don't often write material that gives off this type of cold-sweat uncertainty, reading Here there are Monsters got me thinking about ways I can use language more effectively to create an emotional atmosphere instead of simply narrating the plot. As a writer, I was a bit disappointed by the characters in this novel. I understand that due to its brief nature and fast pace, it would have been difficult to establish a strong bond between readers and characters, but the lack of connection I felt to the characters is the biggest reason for my 6/10 rating. I wish the story had devoted more time to character background and development, which would have given the twist and ending more power over me as a reader. I think if I'd had a greater investment in the characters, the overall effect of the novel would have been incredibly more profound. I have mentioned in previous posts that my relationship with characters, whether they inhabit my favorite novels or novels I have written myself, are more important to me than any other aspect of a story. Reading books like Here there are Monsters reminds my writer's half why it is indescribably important to pay special attention to the relationship I am weaving between my characters and readers.

What do you think? Feel free to comment on your experience with the novel, with character development, or with the monsters in your woods!