carlys987's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I would've enjoyed a little more spooky, but this was still fun! Once I got the hang of who each character was, I was so invested in their own little dramas, and how those played into the larger plot. I'd recommend for anyone looking for a book to get into the Halloween spirit - it's clear that Golden himself is a big Halloween guy.
noahhalmrast's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
moonlit_shelves's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
zakura317's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Body horror, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Death of parent
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Pedophilia, Toxic friendship, Outing, Alcoholism, and Homophobia
Minor: Racism
sdevine's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
fiendfull's review against another edition
3.0
All Hallows is a horror novel set in the 1980s, in which a neighbourhood's Halloween plans fall prey to domestic drama, mysterious children, and a malevolent force. As the Barbosa family prepares their annual haunted woods attraction whilst trying to accept that they're about to lose their house and children and adults prepare for trick or treating and a block party at the Koenigs', four strange children are appearing amongst those of the neighbourhood. Everyone might be distracted, but something is happening in Coventry, Massachusetts, and interpersonal drama won't stop that.
This book is very different to Road of Bones, the other Golden novel I've read, as it is much more of a straightforward horror setup: something going wrong at Halloween in a neighbourhood fraught with drama. Most of the tension in the book is interpersonal, though there are a couple who turn out to be very dark, but that's really a subplot to the domestic drama and the slow burn horror plot about the strange children asking for help (a slightly weird choice for something that's a subplot that doesn't really go anywhere after a certain point in the book, considering it adds a much darker edge that then disappears). Once the horror stuff properly kicks in later in the book, it is a classic horror climax with some gory moments, but is pretty predictable, and there's not much depth to the horror because the focus is on the characters.
Not being nostalgic for 80s America meant that I didn't get all of the specific descriptions of things and did occasionally forget it was set in the 80s, especially as a lot of more recently-set horror has to find ways to get rid of mobile phones anyway. The book does attempt to delve into the characters, seeing as character drama is a big part of it, though with so many characters it can be a bit hit or miss whether it all comes together—there's a teenage coming-of-age/coming out story that gets a decent amount of time, and a focus on the Barbosa family falling apart, but other elements feel more perfunctory. There is a decent amount of tension around who will make it through the night and some of these subplots do add to that.
This is a fun horror novel if you're looking for something that's a classic Halloween-set narrative with people running around a town trying to make it through the night. It doesn't have the most horror in it, and though I know I have a tendency to compare things to Point Horror, this does feel like a good adult novel for people who liked the horror-light of a lot of Point Horror books.
michellegodardricher's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed this book immensely. The build up of the plotting took awhile before the terrifying parts began. Once they did the story became a fast, insane read.
bibliogirl0511's review against another edition
dark
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
mafaichney's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
kendallreads's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0