Under the Whispering Door, By T.J. Klune ~ 5.0 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Diversity, Fantasy, Grief, Humor, LGBTQ Relationships, Romance, Suicide

Thanks to NetGalley and Tor Books for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: September 21st, 2021

384 Pages

Synopsis: Under the Whispering Door is a contemporary fantasy with TJ Klune’s signature “quirk and charm” (PW) about a ghost who refuses to cross over and the ferryman he falls in love withWhen a reaper comes to collect Wallace Price from his own funeral, Wallace suspects he really might be dead.

Instead of leading him directly to the afterlife, the reaper takes him to a small village. On the outskirts, off the path through the woods, tucked between mountains, is a particular tea shop, run by a man named Hugo. Hugo is the tea shop’s owner to locals and the ferryman to souls who need to cross over.

But Wallace isn’t ready to abandon the life he barely lived. With Hugo’s help he finally starts to learn about all the things he missed in life.

When the Manager, a curious and powerful being, arrives at the tea shop and gives Wallace one week to cross over, Wallace sets about living a lifetime in seven days.

By turns heartwarming and heartbreaking, this absorbing tale of grief and hope is told with TJ Klune’s signature warmth, humor, and extraordinary empathy. (Goodreads)

Last year I saw numerous rave reviews for T.J. Klune’s The House in the Cerulean Sea, and while I still haven’t had a chance to read it, I did finally purchase it. I’ve also enjoyed the first two books in his Extraordinaires series, so I was quite excited to be approved for an eARC of Under the Whispering Door. I’m writing this review after just finishing it and I am happy to say this ticked off all of my boxes.

The characters were wonderful, starting with Wallace. Before he died he was a cold-hearted, selfish man who didn’t appear to have an empathetic bone in his body. But after his death, when he meets sassy Mei, a reaper, and she brings him to Charon’s Crossing Tea and Treats, where he’s introduced to Hugo, a ferryman, his road to redemption begins. Also residing in this strange weigh station are Hugo’s deceased dog, Apollo, and his grandfather, Nelson. It’s a quirky little family and they take hold of your heart almost instantly. The Manager is a little more frightening, as he’s very much an unknown, although near the end even he undergoes a transformation of sorts. The setting of the tea shop and its quirkier attributes is very visual and I could easily picture it in my head. This isn’t what you’d call an action-packed story, but then it’s not meant to be. By turns it’s a whimsical, heartbreaking, and thoughtful exploration of death, grief, and letting go. It’s quite unlike anything I’ve read and I can honestly say I fell in love with both the characters and the story.

Under the Whispering Door is an absolute treasure of a book that by turns will have you laughing out loud, and sobbing into a tissue. Most of all, it will leave you sad when you’ve come to the end and will remain in your mind even after you’ve moved on to other books.

Dark Things I Adore, By Katie Lattari ~ 4.5 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Mental Health, Mystery, Suicide, Suspense

Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: September 14th, 2021

416 Pages

Synopsis: A debut thriller for fans of Lucy Foley and Liz Moore, Dark Things I Adore is a stunning Gone Girl-esque tale of atonement that proves that in the grasp of manipulative men, women may momentarily fall. But in the hands of fierce women, men will be brought to their knees.

Three campfire secrets. Two witnesses. One dead in the trees. And the woman, thirty years later, bent on making the guilty finally pay.

1988. A group of outcasts gather at a small, prestigious arts camp nestled in the Maine woods. They’re the painters: bright, hopeful, teeming with potential. But secrets and dark ambitions rise like smoke from a campfire, and the truths they tell will come back to haunt them in ways more deadly than they dreamed.

2018. Esteemed art professor Max Durant arrives at his protégé’s remote home to view her graduate thesis collection. He knows Audra is beautiful and brilliant. He knows being invited into her private world is a rare gift. But he doesn’t know that Audra has engineered every aspect of their weekend together. Every detail, every conversation. Audra has woven the perfect web.

Only Audra knows what happened that summer in 1988. Max’s secret, and the dark things that followed. And even though it won’t be easy, Audra knows someone must pay.

A searing psychological thriller of trauma, dark academia, complicity, and revenge, Dark Things I Adore unravels the realities behind campfire legends―the horrors that happen in the dark, the girls who become cautionary tales, and the guilty who go unpunished. Until now. (Goodreads)

The title, cover, and premise of Dark Things I Adore immediately piqued my interest, so I was quite excited when my wish for this was granted on NetGalley. While I’d call it more of a slow burn suspense rather than a thriller, for the most part it lived up to my expectations.

The story unfolds through the perspectives of Audra and Max in 2018, and Juniper in 1988. The first few chapters were a little slow and I was unsure what connection tied these three characters together, but it didn’t take long for what seemed to be loose threads to start coming together. I must admit that I was much more invested in what was happening in the present day with the cat and mouse interplay between Audra and Max, especially after I guessed the main thrust of the past story. The other reason is because I love a strong female character and Audra definitely fits that criteria and more. I loved how Audra played Max (trust me, he completely deserves what happens), and although I figured out Audra’s main motive for revenge, there were still a few twists that caught me by surprise. The ending was the most shocking of all and helps make this a most memorable novel.

Dark Things I Adore takes the revenge trope, and adds some unique layers such as hidden notes and making art an integral part of the plot. It’s both character and plot driven which I loved, and I think it will stand out in the crowded field of books of this genre. I do want to warn you that this does deal with mental health issues and suicide, so some readers may have difficulty. Otherwise, Katie Lattari has come out with a wonderful debut that’s sure to appeal to fans of authors such as Ruth Ware, Lucy Foley, and Gillian Flynn.

The Obsession (The Obsession #1), By Jesse Q. Sutanto ~ 4.0 Stars

Tags

Domestic Abuse, Drug Dealing, Mental Illness, Suicide, Suspense, YA Fiction

Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: February 2nd, 2021

304 Pages

Synopsis: 

A classic sort of love story…except somebody might wind up dead.

No one knows Delilah like Logan does. Nobody. He makes sure of it by learning everything he can through her social media and watching her through a hidden camera he has trained on her house. Some might call him a stalker. Logan prefers to be called “romantic.” 

But after Logan sees Delilah killing her abusive stepfather, he realizes there’s still more about her to discover. His sweet, perfect Delilah isn’t so perfect after all.

Delilah knows she should feel guilty, but all she feels is free. She’s so over the men in her life controlling her. Except Logan saw what she did, and he won’t let her forget it.

Delilah is done being the victim. And she refuses to be a character in Logan’s twisted fantasy. If Logan won’t let her go…she’ll make him.

Ahh, young love. Is there anything sweeter than that first teen romance? Well, not in Jesse Sotanto’s crazy, twisted The Obsession. The premise is quite simple: Boy meets girl. Boy stalks girl. Boy discovers secret about girl and blackmails her. Girl is not what she seems and turns the tables on her stalker/blackmailer. The alternating views between Logan and Delilah help flesh out both their personalities which is essential because as you can probably guess from the synopsis, they’re pretty complicated. The dialogue between them is sharp and even occasionally humorous which is a nice contrast to the dark themes of the story. The pace is very fast, in some scenes, a little too fast, especially with regards to the ending, but I can unequivocally state that The Obsession kept me completely mesmerized and I can’t wait for the sequel. I highly recommend this for fans of Pretty Little Liars, and You, by Caroline Kepnes.

What She Found in the Woods, By Josephine Angelini ~ 2.0 Stars

Tags

Contemporary Fiction, Mental Illness, Mystery, Serial Killers, Substance Abuse, Suicide, Suspense, YA Fiction

Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: December 1st, 2020

384 Pages

Synopsis: Running from a scandal at her New York private school, Magdalena heads to her family home to recover under the radar.

Over-medicated and under-confident, she’s fearful she’ll never escape her past.

Until she meets Bo out hiking. Gorgeous, wild, and free he makes her believe she might finally be able to move on.

But when a mutilated body is discovered in the woods, Magdalena realizes she can’t trust anyone.

Not even herself.

I’ve enjoyed Josephine Angelini’s previous books, especially her Starcrossed series, so it comes as a shock that I really didn’t care for her standalone What She Found in the Woods.

My biggest issue was the way social issues like mental illness and drug addiction were portrayed. I don’t want to venture into spoiler territory, but in my opinion these themes were used as shallow plot devices instead of being a thoughtful exploration of the afflictions that plague so many. I feel terrible writing this after reading Angelini’s reasons why she included these topics as part of the story, but as always, I feel the need to be honest with my review.

While the enigmatic Magdalena was a puzzle to me that I felt the need to solve, most of her teen friends were pampered, entitled brats who annoyed the heck out of me. The romance between Magdalena and Bo was sweet, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the main problems I had.

There were some elements here that I enjoyed, namely the mystery of what was really happening and who was responsible, but as intriguing as that was, my distaste for the mainly superficial depiction of the all too real illnesses that millions battle, overrode everything else. There are many positive reviews of What She Found in the Woods, on Goodreads, so if your interest is peaked by the premise, don’t just go by my opinion, as I believe I’m an outlier regarding my feelings. As I said, I’ve enjoyed Angelini’s other books, so I’m looking forward to her next.

 

Surrender Your Sons, by Adam Sass ~ 4.5 Stars

Tags

Conversion Therapy, Homophobia, Humor, LGBTQ, Physical & Emotional Abuse, Religious Fanaticism, Romance, Suicide, Violence, YA Fiction

Thanks to NetGalley and Flux for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: September 15th, 2020

392 Pages

Synopsis: Connor Major’s summer break is turning into a nightmare.

His SAT scores bombed, the old man he delivers meals to died, and when he came out to his religious zealot mother, she had him kidnapped and shipped off to a secluded island. His final destination: Nightlight Ministries, a conversion therapy camp that will be his new home until he “changes.”

But Connor’s troubles are only beginning. At Nightlight everyone has something to hide from the campers to the “converted” staff and the cagey camp director, and it quickly becomes clear that no one is safe. Connor plans to escape and bring the other kidnapped teens with him. But first he’s exposing the camp’s horrible truths for what they are—and taking this place down.

Before I review Adam Sass’s excellent Surrender Your Sons, I have first share my complete and utter revulsion that conversion/reparative therapy is still allowed in the majority of states in this country. As of July 1, 2020, there will be only 20 states banning this reprehensible and THOROUGHLY DEBUNKED practice. The majority (including my state of Alabama), still allow parents to approve this “treatment” for their minor children. The Human Rights Campaign has a lot of information if you want to check it out here:

https://hrc.org/resources/the-lies-and-dangers-of-reparative-therapy

And there’s more at The Trevor Project at:

https://thetrevorproject.org/get-involved/trevor-advocacy/50-bills-50-states/about-conversion-therapy/ and https://thetrevorproject.org/category/advocacy/conversion-therapy/

Surrender Your Sons is a story you should go into as blind as possible so I’m going to go even out of my way not to include any spoilers than I usually do. Adam Sass states in his Author’s Note (which you should definitely read), “I want to acknowledge that you’ll find queer pain in this book. However, it’s not about queer pain. It’s about what queers do with pain. This is what drives the entire novel. The plot itself is dark, issue-driven, yet has moments of levity to lighten things up. There are a few themes that could pose a problem for some readers so here are my trigger warnings: Severe homophobia, physical & emotional abuse, graphic violence, sexual content, and suicide. The characters, beginning with Connor are so well written they seem to jump off the pages, and I feel as though I know them all personally, both the ones I liked and the ones I wanted to strangle with my bare hands. The mystery was interesting and kept me guessing right up until the end, but to be honest, I really kept reading because I became so emotionally invested in Connor and his friends. There are a couple of sections around the middle of the book where things slowed down a bit, and I think this could have been trimmed. Otherwise, Surrender Your Sons is a noteworthy addition to LGBTQ+ fiction that I unhesitatingly recommend for anyone 15 and up. It’s dark and brutal at times and will elicit some strong emotions, but it also leaves you with hope at the end. 

 

Chosen Ones (The Chosen Ones #1), by Veronica Roth ~ 4.0 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Dystopian Fiction, Fantasy, Mental Health, Suicide

Thanks to Edelweiss and John Joseph Adams/Houghton Mifflin for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: April 7th, 2020

432 Pages

Synopsis: The first novel written for an adult audience, by the mega-selling author of the Divergence franchise; five twenty-something heroes famous for saving the world when they were teenagers must face even greater demons—and reconsider what it means to be a hero…by destiny or choice.

A decade ago near Chicago, five teenagers defeated the otherworldly enemy known as the Dark One, whose reign of terror brought widespread destruction and death. The seemingly un-extraordinary teens—Sloane, Matt, Ines, Albie, and Esther—had been brought together by a clandestine government agency because one of them was fated to become the “Chosen One,” prophesized to save the world. With the goal achieved, humankind celebrated the victors and began to mourn their lost loved ones.

 Ten years later, though the champions remain celebrities, the world has moved forward, and a whole, younger generation hasn’t doesn’t seem to recall the days of endless fear. But Sloane remembers. It’s impossible for her to forget, when the paparazzi haunt her every step, just as the Dark One still haunts her dreams. Unlike everyone else, she hasn’t moved on; she’s adrift—no direction, no goals, no purpose. On the eve of the Ten Year Celebration of Peace, a new trauma hits the Chosen: the death of one of their own. And when they gather for the funeral at the enshrined site of their triumph, they discover to their horror that the Dark One’s reign never really ended.

To be honest, I’ve had a mixed feelings about Veronica Roth’s YA books. I enjoyed Divergent, but the rest of the series fizzled, and Carve the Mark and it’s sequel The Fates Divide, never really caught my interest. When I saw the premise for her first adult book, The Chosen Ones though, my curiosity was piqued, and I was thrilled when my request for an ARC on Edelweiss was approved. And you know what? I liked it!

The first forty or so pages were a bit slow for me because it’s a huge info dump, but once I got past that the plot really took off for me. The story begins ten years after The Dark One was defeated by then prophesied Chosen teenagers: Sloane, Matt, Ines, Esther, and Albie. Coming up on the 10th anniversary, they’re all suffering from PTSD and coping (or not), in various ways. At first, Sloane isn’t easy to like. She’s bitter and angry and has closed herself off from everyone. She and Matt are together, but she doesn’t even allow him access to everything that’s going on with her. But as more was revealed about the torment and trauma she endured, the more I understood her and emphasized with her. While most of the story focuses on  Sloane, you also get to know her fellow Chosen Ones pretty well, and I liked all of them except for Matt who was a little too “golden boy” for me. I’m interested on seeing where all these characters go in the next book.

The world(s) building is fantastic and once again emphasizes Roth’s main strength—her wonderfully detailed and visual writing style. Except for the bumpy beginning, I stayed fully immersed thanks in part to this and the fairly steady pacing. The conclusion was a little rushed, but perfectly sets things up for the next book.

In my opinion, The Chosen Ones is a strong beginning in this new series for adults, and I’m very much looking forward to seeing what comes next. Roth starts with a familiar fantasy/dystopian trope, and then brilliantly dismantles it. It’s messy and complicated but in a good way, and I highly recommend it for anyone who’s ever wondered what adulthood was like for the Harry Potters of the literary world.

Imaginary Friend, by Stephen Chbosky ~ 4.0 Stars

Tags

Adult Non-Fiction, Child Abuse, Domestic Violence, Horror, Mystery, Substance Abuse, Suicide, Suspense, Torture

Thanks to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: October 1st, 2019

720 Pages

Synopsis: Christopher is seven years old. Christopher is the new kid in town. Christopher has an imaginary friend. The epic work of literary horror from the #1 bestselling author of THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER.

We can swallow our fear or let our fear swallow us.

Single mother Kate Reese is on the run. Determined to improve life for her and her son, Christopher, she flees an abusive relationship in the middle of the night with Christopher at her side. Together, they find themselves drawn to the tight-knit community of Mill Grove, Pennsylvania. It’s as far off the beaten track as they can get. Just one highway in, one highway out.

At first, it seems like the perfect place to finally settle down. Then Christopher vanishes. For six awful days, no one can find him. Until Christopher emerges from the woods at the edge of town, unharmed, but not unchanged. He returns with a voice in his head only he can hear, with a mission only he can complete: Build a tree house in the woods by Christmas, or his mother and everyone else in the town will never be the same again.

Soon, Kate and Christopher will find themselves in the fight for their lives, caught in the middle of a war between good and evil, with their small town as the battleground.

Imaginary Friend is probably one of the most anticipated books of 2019, as it’s the first book written by The Perks of Being a Wallflower author, Stephen Chbosky, in twenty years. Given how much I loved POBAW and the film adaptation, as soon as I found out about it I contacted the publisher and begged for an eARC. Grand Central Publishing was already one of my favorite publishing houses, but now they’ve gone to the top of my list thanks to their generosity.

Chbosky’s first book as well as its film adaptation has an enormous cult following, so his second twenty years later, is a dream come true, particularly as it’s so different. If you look on Goodreads you’ll see a lot of mixed reactions to it. After spending the last four nights reading, I can say that while I did have a couple of issues, for the most part I really enjoyed it. 

One of the chief complaints seems to be the length. Yes,720 pages makes for a long story, but this didn’t bother me until the last 200 pages. At that point I think the battle between good and evil goes on a little too long and could have been pared down some. One saving grace is that Chbosky and his editor were smart when they decided to make the chapters short because this helps keep the pace going even during the slower sections. The actual horror portion doesn’t truly kick in until a little past the first quarter. Instead, this first part is spent introducing the characters which I didn’t mind at all because I loved them, especially Christopher, a seven-year-old boy who literally winds up having the fate of the world resting on his tiny shoulders. Having a small child be the main character in an adult novel carries quite a bit of risk, but Stephen Chbosky successfully pulls it off. He perfectly captures Christopher’s feelings of confusion, frustration, and fright, as well as his love for his mother and friends. The bond between Christopher and his mom, Kate, is beautiful and one of my favorite parts of the story. 

The story itself is a creative spin on the familiar good vs evil theme. There’s a ton of religious symbolism which may not appeal to every reader, but I thought was entirely in keeping with the storyline. There’s some awkward and repetitive phrasing scattered throughout which was occasionally distracting, but it didn’t substantially detract from my enjoyment. In addition to the main story with Christopher and his family and friends, there are others centered around secondary characters which blend intriguing layers into the larger picture. There are quite a lot of twists, and one in particular that I thought particularly brilliant. The ending perfectly wraps all the plot lines up yet leaves the door open a crack for a possible sequel.

Imaginary Friend may not be the same generation-defining literary achievement as its predecessor was, but it’s a thoroughly enjoyable horror story that’s perfect for fans of books like The Stand, by Stephen King. One word of caution. There are quite a few themes here that may be triggers for some people. These include: child abuse, domestic violence, suicide, torture, substance abuse, and extreme violence and gore. Also, I am now terrified of deer! 

Swipe Right For Murder, by Derek Milman ~ 5.0 Stars

Tags

Contemporary Fiction, Homophobia, Humor, LGBT, Romance, Suicide, Terrorism, Thriller, YA Fiction

Thanks to JIMMY Patterson Books for providing an ARC in exchange for and honest review.

Release Date: August 6th, 2019

336 Pages

Synopsis:

On the run from the FBI.

Targeted by a murderous cult.

Labeled a cyber-terrorist by the media.

Irritated by texts from his best friend.

Eye contact with a nice-looking guy on the train.

Aidan has a lot to deal with and he’s not quite sure which takes top priority.

Finding himself alone in a posh New York City hotel room for the night, Aidan does what any red-blooded seventeen-year-old would do—-he tries to hook up with someone new. But that lapse in judgement leads him to waking up next to a dead guy, which sparks an epic case of mistaken identity that puts Aidan on the run from everyone—-faceless federal agents, his eccentric family, and, naturally, a cyber-terrorist group who will stop at nothing to find him. 

He soon realizes the only way to stop the chase is to deliver the object that everyone wants, before he gets caught or killed. But for Aidan, the hardest part is knowing who he can trust not to betray him—-including himself.

It’s only halfway through 2019, but I already know that Swipe Right For Murder is going to be one of my favorite books of the year. An ingenious ode to Alfred Hitchcocks North by Northwest and a poignant coming-of-age story, it tackles some serious issues such as: terrorism, homophobia, an inappropriate relationship between an adult and a teen, and suicide. At the same time it displays a wry sense of humor that had me laughing out loud several times. While Aidan is immature at the beginning, his personal growth expands by leaps and bounds as the story progresses. He’s someone you want to shake and hug at the same time. The plot itself is absolutely crackers, but it’s so much fun that it’s easy to suspend disbelief and just hang on for the wild ride. 

I loved Derek Milman’s first book, Scream All Night, and honestly wondered if his sophomore effort would live up to his debut. I’m thrilled to say that I think it actually surpassed it! Both books blend the world of classic film, with contemporary coming-of-age themes, sympathetic and relatable main characters, and over-the-top (in a good way) storylines. I can’t recommend this author highly enough to both teens and adult fans of YA fiction, and fans of classic films in general. I can’t wait to see what this incredible author comes out with next!

The Cheerleaders, by Kara Thomas ~ 4.0 Stars

Tags

Abortion, Coming-of-age stories, Murder, Mystery, Statutory Rape, Suicide, Suspense, YA Fiction

Thanks to NetGalley and Delacorte Press for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: July 31st, 2018

384 Pages

Synopsis: There are no more cheerleaders in the town of Sunnybrook.

First there was the car accident—two girls hitting a tree on a rainy night. Not long after, the murders happened those two girls were killed by the man next door. The police shot him, so no one will ever know why he did it. Monica’s sister was the last cheerleader to die. After her suicide, Sunnybrook High disbanded the cheer squad. No one wanted to be reminded of the girls they lost.

That was five years ago. Now the faculty and students at Sunnybrook High want to remember the lost cheerleaders. But for Monica, it’s not that easy. She just wants to forget. Only, Monica’s world is starting to unravel. There are the letters in her stepdad’s desk, an unearthed, years-old cell phone, a strange new friend at school…Whatever happened five years ago isn’t over. Some people in town know more than they’re saying. And somehow Monica is at the center of it all. 

There are no more cheerleaders in Sunnybrook, but that doesn’t mean anyone else is safe.

Before I begin I want to list a few trigger warnings: Statutory Rape, Suicide, Teen Pregnancy, Abortion, Murder, and Drug Abuse.

Phew. So, you might have surmised that The Cheerleaders is a pretty grim read, and you’d be right. It’s dark and gritty, and surprisingly realistic. I would have given it 5 stars except for one thing that kept bothering me through the book. Before I tell you you need to know this verges on spoiler territory, so if you haven’t read the book but are planning to, skip the next paragraph.

***As the book opens, sixteen-year-old Monica has just had an abortion after having a short relationship with a guy ten years her senior. It’s kind of dropped in there and then doesn’t go anywhere until the man shows up as a new coach at her high school. The big problem I had which caused me to to mark the book down a full point, was that instead of acknowledging directly that their sleeping together was statutory rape, there’s more victim shaming, especially from Monica herself, which really annoyed me. I kept hoping that by the end of the book Monica would realize that this creep took advantage of her at a time when she was especially vulnerable, but nope, that never happened. I don’t understand why Kaza Thomas decided to go this route, especially with the current social climate and the Me Too movement. It’s too bad because otherwise I loved everything else about the book. ***End of spoiler***

Monica is someone I think most teens will relate to. She’s not perfect and she tends to act impulsively, but her heart is in the right place. While she didn’t have a close friendship with her older sister, she’s determined to discover the truth. The relationship between family members is realistic as are the ones Monica has with her friends. There are also chapters that are interspersed from Monica’s sister Jen which looks back at the events of five years ago and what led up to the deaths of five teenage girls in such a short amount of time. The mystery kept me guessing for much of the book and there were quite a few twists that caught me by surprise. 

Overall, The Cheerleaders is an intriguing whodunnit that does a good job of avoiding the usual suspension of disbelief issues that are prevalent in many similar amateur teen sleuth stories. It doesn’t have a happily-ever-after ending, but it provides closure for the characters and leaves the reader hopeful for Monica and her family. 

 

 

Neanderthal Opens the Door to the Universe, by Preston Norton ~ 4.5 Stars

Tags

Bullying, Child Abuse, Contemporary Fiction, Drug Abuse, High School, Homophobia, Humor, Religious Fanaticism, Suicide, YA Fiction

Thanks to NetGalley and Disney-Hyperion for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: June 5th, 2018

400 Pages

Synopsis: Cliff Hubbard is a huge loser. Literally. His nickname at Happy Valley High School is Neanderthal because he’s so enormous—-6’6” and 250 pounds to be exact. He has no one at school and life at his trailer park home has gone from bad to worse since his older brother’s suicide.

There’s no one Cliff hates more than the nauseatingly cool quarterback, Aaron Zimmerman. Then Aaron returns to school after a near-death experience with a bizarre claim: while he was unconscious he saw God, who gave him a list of things to do to make Happy Valley High suck less. And God said there’s only one person who can help: Neanderthal.

To his own surprise, Cliff says he’s in. As he and Aaron make their way through the List, which involves a vindictive English teacher, a mysterious computer hacker, a decidedly unchristian cult of Jesus Teens, the local drug dealers, and the meanest bully at HVHS—-Cliff feels like he’s part of something for the first time since losing his brother. But fixing a broken school isn’t as simple as it seems, and just when Cliff thinks they’ve completed the List, he realizes their mission hits closer to home than he ever imagined.

Neanderthal Opens the Door To The Universe is one of those books that took me by surprise in regards to how much I liked it. While some of the dialogue is a little awkward and it’s intentionally filled with high school cliches, because of the well-rounded and relatable characters, interesting plot, and positive message, it has a certain charm to it that I think will appeal to a wide audience. The story tackles many social issues: suicide, drug abuse, religious fanaticism, homophobia, bullying, and child abuse. But it never devolves into an annoying after school special/soap opera. This is partly due to the dry humor that pervades the story, but also because the darker themes are balanced by the inspiring responses from the teenage characters.

In the end, Neanderthal Opens the Door to the Universe is quite uplifting and it’s a story I won’t forget anytime soon. Because of the colorful language involved and dark topics, I wouldn’t recommend this for older teens. I think it’s a wonderful choice for high school classrooms, forthcoming summer reading lists, and book discussion groups.