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calarco's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
leahjanespeare's review
3.0
This started strong and dark, but didn't quite follow through. I thought it was going to be a fable about accountability, it then took a direction I wasn't expecting and didn't pack a punch the way Hautman's previous works have. Writing is solid as usual. A middle grade that's probably more relatable to kids than adult readers.
librerika's review
dark
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Very on-the-nose with the message, but it's a good message and a story I definitely haven't heard before, and has a modern fairytale feel that I think will appeal to plenty of middle grade readers. love that the mc learns to question the actions of her dad who, spoiler alert, while he is a doting father, is also a slumlord who refuses to take responsibility for his actions and wants to pass that entitlement on to his daughter bc he thinks thats the easiest way to keep her happy. Also love that once she understands the depth of her father's mistakes, that realization comes hand in hand with the realization that while he cannot continue to live consequence free, everyone deserves another chance, no matter how terrible their mistakes are.
amchristians's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
kailey_luminouslibro's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Annie's father teaches her to write down all the bad things she does and feed the paper into a little hole in the floor of their house. After she drops the paper into the "sin eater" hole, her regrets and guilt go away and she feels better. Annie hears a mysterious skittering and chattering in the cellar, and the neighbors begin to report seeing rats around the neighborhood. Annie learns about her Litvanian heritage and the dark secrets of her family past.
I was worried that this book would be too dark and scary for me, but it never did get super dark. It was creepy, but not too scary. Still, I didn't care for the dark direction of the story. Annie never really makes a stand for goodness or virtue. She just kind of drifts along with her family's sinful darkness. She grows up a little and has some character development, but it doesn't seem like enough. I guess I was expecting a definite showdown between good and evil, and that never happened. I wanted Annie to make strong decisions for good, but she mostly just reacts to other people and then does her own thing without making a definite moral decision. She makes some good decisions, and then drifts along again.
The plot moves very slowly. It has a lot of spooky atmosphere and great descriptive writing, but that slows down the plot quite a bit. Then all of a sudden at the end, five years go by in one chapter and we are left wondering what actually happened to Annie.
I really loved the writing style. The story is peppered with meaningful fairy tales that are reflected in the main plot. Annie reads a Litvanian fairy tale or someone tells her a fairy tale, and then we see those things being played out in the story as Annie reflects on things she is learning. But all the fairy tales are sad. So Annie is learning that life is sad and people are sinful and bad things happen. The whole underlying philosophy of this story is very confused and dark. I'm not sure what the point was. But the writing style is so beautiful and powerful!
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a free and honest review. All the opinions stated here are my own true thoughts, and are not influenced by anyone.
I was worried that this book would be too dark and scary for me, but it never did get super dark. It was creepy, but not too scary. Still, I didn't care for the dark direction of the story. Annie never really makes a stand for goodness or virtue. She just kind of drifts along with her family's sinful darkness. She grows up a little and has some character development, but it doesn't seem like enough. I guess I was expecting a definite showdown between good and evil, and that never happened. I wanted Annie to make strong decisions for good, but she mostly just reacts to other people and then does her own thing without making a definite moral decision. She makes some good decisions, and then drifts along again.
The plot moves very slowly. It has a lot of spooky atmosphere and great descriptive writing, but that slows down the plot quite a bit. Then all of a sudden at the end, five years go by in one chapter and we are left wondering what actually happened to Annie.
I really loved the writing style. The story is peppered with meaningful fairy tales that are reflected in the main plot. Annie reads a Litvanian fairy tale or someone tells her a fairy tale, and then we see those things being played out in the story as Annie reflects on things she is learning. But all the fairy tales are sad. So Annie is learning that life is sad and people are sinful and bad things happen. The whole underlying philosophy of this story is very confused and dark. I'm not sure what the point was. But the writing style is so beautiful and powerful!
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a free and honest review. All the opinions stated here are my own true thoughts, and are not influenced by anyone.
sinslashcos's review
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I have never read a juvenile fiction book that perturbed me so deeply. I don't think I'd recommend this to your average ten year old, but I think this is a very fascinating read, especially as an adult. This book focuses on the theme of morality, discussing the role of your conscience and remorse through the eyes of a ten year-old and utilizing a lot of fairy tales.
yaoipaddle's review
dark
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
4 because i'm out of the target age range and it's pretty enjoyable still.
This book was cute and creepy. I'm an adult but was still kinda creeped out so this would be perfect for a young reader that likes spookier stuff. I also liked some of Annie's growth as a character and how the book explored themes of guilt and forgiveness.
I liked that the cast of characters was mostly Annie's small neighborhood. I think keeping it small in scope gave it a sort of timeless quality until they mentioned COVID lol.
The ending was a little rushed particularly because the rest of the book was very slow paced. I think overall from start to end it wrapped up well and left me satisfied.
The only minor nitpick was Annie mentioning how their clock is set 7 hours *behind* to match Litvania. If she's in the USA this makes no sense and I just have to assume from all we learned about Litvania is that Annie just made a mistake.
This book was cute and creepy. I'm an adult but was still kinda creeped out so this would be perfect for a young reader that likes spookier stuff. I also liked some of Annie's growth as a character and how the book explored themes of guilt and forgiveness.
I liked that the cast of characters was mostly Annie's small neighborhood. I think keeping it small in scope gave it a sort of timeless quality until they mentioned COVID lol.
The ending was a little rushed particularly because the rest of the book was very slow paced. I think overall from start to end it wrapped up well and left me satisfied.
The only minor nitpick was Annie mentioning how their clock is set 7 hours *behind* to match Litvania. If she's in the USA this makes no sense and I just have to assume from all we learned about Litvania is that Annie just made a mistake.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Medical content, Animal cruelty, Terminal illness, and Grief
Moderate: Death of parent, Bullying, and Injury/Injury detail