Xie Shizhan Shizhan থেকে Saint-Antoine-de-Breuilh, Francúzsko
This is one of those books that looks and sounds really promising, but you spend the entire book being disappointed. I kept telling myself to keep reading because I genuinely thought there would be a place when it got better, but it never did. Also, let's talk about how this book is supposed to be children's literature - it's a little inappropriate for kids, in my opinion. And there isn't an ounce of horror noted anywhere in here. I was more bored than I ever was scared. This book starts out sounding really interesting. And I love the idea of it. But it's executed so horribly. The writing is immature and I often felt it was impossible to get a mental image of anything because the author tells rather than shows, which makes for a very boring story. I'm also not sure I like the photographs slipped into the story. They were very awkwardly placed within, as in "so-and-so showed me the picture of a very vague description, now let me paste the picture into the story as some sort of unnecessary bonus." I guess it wasn't really what I was expecting, either. I went into it thinking it would be about a man who discovers the secrets of his grandfather's past through an old orphanage, but I never once imagined kids having some sort of magical powers or demons chasing people. It seemed a little immature for my liking. None of the characters acted their ages. I kept forgetting that Jacob is supposed to be sixteen, because there are times when it was easy to imagine him as a 20-something. Then I'd remember that his dad was with because he was too young to go alone and I'd be surprised all over again. Also, Emma's character was so age-inappropriate. I don't think an actual age is given, but when you lump her into a group of children, my natural assumption is that she's maybe twelve or so. But then you wonder why she's flirting with a sixteen year old. And let's not forget that she's actually 70-something, trapped in a child's body, so shouldn't she be acting like a 70 year old? Let's not even begin to talk about why she felt it was okay to have a relationship with Abe 50 years ago and start one with his grandson. Overall, I wasn't impressed with this book in the slightest.