Title: The Girl
from the Well
Author: Rin
Chupeco
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Fire
Publication Date: August
5, 2014
Genres: YA,
Horror, Mystery
Reviewed by: Angie
Edwards
Source: Publisher
via NetGalley
My rating: 3/5
SUMMARY
A dead girl walks the streets.
She hunts murderers. Child killers, much like the man who threw her body down a well three hundred years ago.
And when a strange boy bearing stranger tattoos moves into the neighborhood so, she discovers, does something else. And soon both will be drawn into the world of eerie doll rituals and dark Shinto exorcisms that will take them from American suburbia to the remote valleys and shrines of Aomori, Japan.
Because the boy has a terrifying secret - one that would just kill to get out.
The Girl from the Well is A YA Horror novel pitched as "Dexter" meets "The Grudge", based on a well-loved Japanese ghost story.
She hunts murderers. Child killers, much like the man who threw her body down a well three hundred years ago.
And when a strange boy bearing stranger tattoos moves into the neighborhood so, she discovers, does something else. And soon both will be drawn into the world of eerie doll rituals and dark Shinto exorcisms that will take them from American suburbia to the remote valleys and shrines of Aomori, Japan.
Because the boy has a terrifying secret - one that would just kill to get out.
The Girl from the Well is A YA Horror novel pitched as "Dexter" meets "The Grudge", based on a well-loved Japanese ghost story.
REVIEW
Before
you read my review, read the book summary first if you haven’t done so yet.
Alright.
I take it you know what the book is about. Are you as intrigued by the book
summary as I was? Those who know a little about me know I’m a huge horror fan.
I love horror books and horror movies. According to the book summary, The Girl from the Well is pitched as Dexter meets The Grudge. Dexter is
undoubtedly one of my many favorite tv shows, and I have watched both Japanese
horror movies, The Grudge and The Ring. I enjoyed both (especially the
first The Grudge movie starring Sarah
Michelle Gellar).
I have
no idea how this book can be compared to Dexter
since he isn’t a vengeful spirit, but I see how certain elements in this story
are similar to The Grudge. In fact, I
think the main thing about this story that pushed all the wrong buttons with me
is that too many elements in this book have been “borrowed” from The Grudge, as well as The Ring.
The
second thing which made this book tremendously less enjoyable for me is the
narrative. It’s in third person, which isn’t so much a problem for me, but for
the first forty percent or so, I wasn’t sure who the narrator was. Only later
did I figure out it’s from one point of view, and the entire story is being
told by a three-hundred-year-old spirit. I only got used to this form of
narrative towards the end of the story. It didn’t exactly endear the characters
to me, and instead it made it harder for me to connect, or feel anything, for
them. I found it implausible that Okiku, the spirit from whose point of view
the story is told, would know what Callie is thinking, feeling, or seeing at
any given time. She might be a ghost, but she’s not all-knowing.
The third
issue I had was the writing. I knew I was reading an ARC copy, so I’m not
talking about the grammar or formatting. I’m talking about the way it is
written with the jumbled thoughts Okiku has which hampers the flow, the sudden
changes between scenes, and the counting. What the heck was up with the
counting? I understood why the number nine would set her off on a psychopathic
rampage, and I’m also sure it was intended as one of Okiku’s quirks, but
eventually it became an annoyance.
The
aforementioned were the things that didn’t work for me in this book. What
warrants it a three-star rating is that I liked the idea behind the story, even
though much was borrowed from the two previously mentioned movies. The ending
was also absolutely perfect. The idea of a vengeful spirit becoming...less
vengeful, and avenging her death in a somewhat moral manner, is a concept I
feel is new and original (maybe that’s the comparison to the tv series, Dexter). Out of all the characters,
Okiku was the only one for which I felt sympathy, as well as gratitude when she
played hero. I didn’t care about any of the other characters, but this was
mainly due to the writing.
I was
hoping this book would scare the bejeesus out of me, that’s why I requested it
for review. But, alas, it failed to do so. If I hadn’t seen the above two
movies several times, The Girl from the
Well would’ve had me sleeping with the lights on. The horror scenes and
exorcism was written really well. The descriptions of Okiku in her vengeful
form, and the other evil spirit inhabiting Tark’s body (the boy with the many
strange tattoos), were also done extremely well, even though they are described
as looking exactly like the characters in The
Grudge and The Ring. Because of
that, these two spirits didn’t faze me at all, and the horror element in this
book was lost for me. But, if you’re not so much into the horror genre, and you
just want a quick read to send chills down your spine, you’ll certainly love
this book. There are evil spirits, a lunatic trying to kill her child, freaky
dolls, Japanese lore, and an exorcism that will assure you a week’s worth of
nightmares. If you’re a hardcore horror fan, though, this wouldn’t be the book
I’d recommend for you.
ABOUT the AUTHOR
Despite an
unsettling resemblance to Japanese revenants, Rin always maintains her sense of
hummus. Born and raised in Manila, Philippines, she keeps four pets: a dog, two
birds, and a husband. Dances like the neighbors are watching.
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