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A review by shanyreader
The House on Stone's Throw Island by Dan Poblocki
3.0
Here it is! The first full book of 2016!
I've read pretty much all of Poblocki's books and while this one is not my favorite by any means, it...really wasn't my favorite by any means. Now, I'll start by saying I love this guy and I will continue to read whatever else he publishes, I just felt like this book was...just very okay.
I was hoping that but I think that the way that the book went was actually even more heartbreaking, even unfair. I didn't expect a happy ending, since Poblocki is definitely not one to shy away from a more mature, and certainly very very dark form of middle school horror, but I was still hoping for a
Let's talk about the good: You know there are ghosts, and you know what--they actually do have a very threatening presence. Poblocki always makes very high stakes in his books and that's what really keeps them interesting. You know that the characters are really fighting for their very LIVES here.
I was invested all the way and even though it took less than two hours to read, I was thoroughly enjoying myself
The bad: I somehow didn't feel as invested in the characters since there were so many and they weren't fleshed out as well as in other books. There was one person who I was just like: who are you again? Like, you keep popping up but who exactly are you? It was almost hard to keep track of who was who sometimes. I also hoped that I could have liked Josie and Eli better, but something kept me from really clicking with them...maybe its because they did less exploring and mystery solving together because they were kinda just...being normal kids with normal kid problems and the snippets of the supernatural they were encountering was just very...tame. No real jumpscares T.T
Plus, something about the secluded island and the
So that's my take on the book--it wasn't a bad book and I think it had some scenes that were by far...some of the most mature Poblocki's got so far, but I just don't think all the elements worked together as well as they could have. But I'm looking forward to the next one!
I've read pretty much all of Poblocki's books and while this one is not my favorite by any means, it...really wasn't my favorite by any means. Now, I'll start by saying I love this guy and I will continue to read whatever else he publishes, I just felt like this book was...just very okay.
I was hoping that
Spoiler
Dory was actually a ghost--since I really fondly remember the Ghost of Graylock and I think that if she had played more of a role besides just being the memory of the mother, we could have had a pretty good storySpoiler
last minute rescue of some sort--it felt like the actual Nazi soldiers themselves weren't entirely resolved. I didn't get what happened at the end with them. Did they crash? Are they going to respawn waiting for another descendant to come by and start the whole thing over again?Let's talk about the good: You know there are ghosts, and you know what--they actually do have a very threatening presence. Poblocki always makes very high stakes in his books and that's what really keeps them interesting. You know that the characters are really fighting for their very LIVES here.
I was invested all the way and even though it took less than two hours to read, I was thoroughly enjoying myself
The bad: I somehow didn't feel as invested in the characters since there were so many and they weren't fleshed out as well as in other books. There was one person who I was just like: who are you again? Like, you keep popping up but who exactly are you? It was almost hard to keep track of who was who sometimes. I also hoped that I could have liked Josie and Eli better, but something kept me from really clicking with them...maybe its because they did less exploring and mystery solving together because they were kinda just...being normal kids with normal kid problems and the snippets of the supernatural they were encountering was just very...tame. No real jumpscares T.T
Plus, something about the secluded island and the
Spoiler
Nazi ghost soldiers--Idk...it seemed much more...something to tie in with your history class just because this is a middle school book and we can be educational about the Nazis. Don't get me wrong--I love historical elements in books, and World War II is my favorite, but I felt like this plot thread came out of nowhere and was just...very strange. It could have worked if the book was longer and these ghosts were explained more. I got their motive--revenge for being murdered, but for me, it just felt too outta left fieldSo that's my take on the book--it wasn't a bad book and I think it had some scenes that were by far...some of the most mature Poblocki's got so far, but I just don't think all the elements worked together as well as they could have. But I'm looking forward to the next one!