eBook, 304 pages
Release Date: August 5, 2014
Publisher: Sorcebooks Fire
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.
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.
Thoughts:
If you're looking for a scary read, look elsewhere. The Girl from the Well won't be for you. But it was entertaining, and I had a great time.
The entire story is told from the perspective of Okiku, the girl from the well herself. It's probably this reason I wasn't scared. Okiku is the terrifying bogeyman, and it's hard to fear something when you're inside her head and know her thoughts. If The Ring had been told from the perspective of Samara, I'm sure it wouldn't be a horror movie.
The Girl from the Well was definitely entertaining, though. Okiku is an interesting point-of-view character, especially once she meets Turk and Callie. Together, the three make an unlikely band of heroes. It's Turk and Callie's story through Okiku's eyes that kept me turning the pages. There were twists and turns, and a fantastic ending.
At times, the flowery prose was distracting and confusing, but overall I loved The Girl from the Well!
Would I recommend this book? Yes
Would I re-read it? One day...
Would I read a sequel? It's a stand-alone, but yes
Next Monday... I'll be trying Half-Bad by Sally Green
