davidcottington's review against another edition
Really great YA thriller. Full of suspense and believable.
kba76's review against another edition
4.0
I'm not ashamed to admit to feeling a little traumatised after finishing The Bunker Diary. While I admired the idea, and found elements of it utterly gripping, there was a small part of me that found it all a bit macabre - it made me think of Saw and other such movies/books. Not really my thing!
So it was not without some caution that I started this. Brooks has a habit of taking seemingly ordinary characters and finding the downright odd to focus on. In this case, it works brilliantly.
Elliot is scared of everything and from what we are told he has always been this way, there is no apparent medical explanation for it and nobody is quite sure how to do anything other than help him exist as best he can.
A simple exploration of Elliot's life might have become a little dull, so Brooks has him inadvertently caught up in a horrific crime and he is forced to confront his worst fears in an attempt to find his anxiety medication. Not quite sure how successful this course of action would be as a therapy, but it makes for an interesting read.
Thanks to NetGalley and publishers Egmont for the advance copy.
So it was not without some caution that I started this. Brooks has a habit of taking seemingly ordinary characters and finding the downright odd to focus on. In this case, it works brilliantly.
Elliot is scared of everything and from what we are told he has always been this way, there is no apparent medical explanation for it and nobody is quite sure how to do anything other than help him exist as best he can.
A simple exploration of Elliot's life might have become a little dull, so Brooks has him inadvertently caught up in a horrific crime and he is forced to confront his worst fears in an attempt to find his anxiety medication. Not quite sure how successful this course of action would be as a therapy, but it makes for an interesting read.
Thanks to NetGalley and publishers Egmont for the advance copy.
chloereadsbooksyoutube's review against another edition
2.0
I'm not sure why it took me so long to read such a small book. I didn't really like this book; I found myself wanting to find out what was going to happen but I didn't actually care about the characters, it was just written in a way that made you want to just read the next chapter. I was going to give it 3 stars but the ending was a bit of a let down for me.
nobodyatall's review against another edition
3.0
Very well written, but pretty nonsensical, I found myself asking "but, but, how?" at pretty much every new paragraph.
nikexistiertnik's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
i read the german translation of the book and i don't know if that's responsible for it, but i really didn't like the style and the format idk.
the story was okay.
the story was okay.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Panic attacks/disorders, and Blood
emya's review against another edition
challenging
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
kaylareed717's review against another edition
5.0
A crazy, riveting story of crippling fear and overcoming fear for the ones we love.
wondermajica's review against another edition
3.0
Enslaved by intense fear and anxiety from birth, Elliot spends the majority of his time in his bedroom at home. The only thing that keeps “the beast” living inside him under control is his “anti-fear” pill, and due to a pharmacy mix up he has found himself with only enough to last him 24 hours. Thanks to the addition of a raging snowstorm and it being the day before Christmas Eve, his situation has become exceptionally more desperate and unfortunately for Elliot, things are only going to get worse.
Brooks does a wonderful job portraying Elliot’s fear. In particular, I appreciated how well done the scene involving him leaving the house on his own for the first time was. The back and forth panic of “I’m going” and “No, I can’t” really hit home for me. As someone who prefers to have more details when a character is suffering from mental illness, I would have liked more information on what was going on with him though. Did he never get a proper diagnosis? It is not something that is super important to the story, just something extra that would have been nice.
I found myself mildly annoyed with how short each “chapter” was. It is the kind of story that goes back and forth between two main perspectives, but the way it was done felt a bit jolting to me. Just when you get used to one point of view and character mindset, we go back to the other. It also felt like there were far too many unnecessary details. Pretty much everyone who shows up in the story has a first and last name and enough information to give you a little detail about them. We do not need this level of detail for each police officer or each person Elliot runs into. It comes off as filler to me.
*Thanks to Netgalley I received a digital ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Brooks does a wonderful job portraying Elliot’s fear. In particular, I appreciated how well done the scene involving him leaving the house on his own for the first time was. The back and forth panic of “I’m going” and “No, I can’t” really hit home for me. As someone who prefers to have more details when a character is suffering from mental illness, I would have liked more information on what was going on with him though. Did he never get a proper diagnosis? It is not something that is super important to the story, just something extra that would have been nice.
I found myself mildly annoyed with how short each “chapter” was. It is the kind of story that goes back and forth between two main perspectives, but the way it was done felt a bit jolting to me. Just when you get used to one point of view and character mindset, we go back to the other. It also felt like there were far too many unnecessary details. Pretty much everyone who shows up in the story has a first and last name and enough information to give you a little detail about them. We do not need this level of detail for each police officer or each person Elliot runs into. It comes off as filler to me.
*Thanks to Netgalley I received a digital ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
mechbutterfly's review against another edition
3.0
I recived a copy from the publisher via NetGalley. Thank you! All opinions are my own.
I've been a little torn how to rate it - the idea of the book is incredibly interesting, a story about fear. Awareness of mental health is incredibly important and I think the author portrayed Elliot's inner demons very well. Alas, as a thriller the story didn't work for me.
I've been a little torn how to rate it - the idea of the book is incredibly interesting, a story about fear. Awareness of mental health is incredibly important and I think the author portrayed Elliot's inner demons very well. Alas, as a thriller the story didn't work for me.