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mikaylasky's review against another edition
1.0
Felt like a Stephen King book and not in a good way.
bookish_ann's review
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
2.75
Action horror, not scary. Fast paced, with a vintage King vibe. There were some noticeable and irksome flaws in the storytelling - significant plot holes and inconsistencies, as well as insultingly underwritten female characters. Mary and Jenny only exist in terms of their relationship to the male characters. Why include them at all if they are just props?
Decent enough book but not sure I’ll make more by this author a priority, but also I would not avoid him.
Decent enough book but not sure I’ll make more by this author a priority, but also I would not avoid him.
danwa's review
4.0
“Sometimes good people did bad things. Only nine years old, Henry Thorne hadn’t yet learned this valuable life lesson. But he would. He would learn it on a mild summer day in 1995 in the most horrible way possible…”
In A Child Alone with Strangers, Philip Fracassi has managed to evoke emotional connection with characters to root for and villains to detest while giving added layers to some of these. Another strength of the book is taking familiar tropes and plot points and making them compelling. He’s done this with a steamrolling writing style which makes for a fast read even at 575 pages. That said, there are small digressions throughout which add to the atmosphere and humanity of the story but this book could have been a bit more trim. This is one reason for the four rather than fine star rating. Another reason for my rating is that, while I liked the concepts of the story, I found myself wanting those aspects to be explored in more ways that surprised me and leaned toward a more epic feel. Overall, a fun and propulsive read with many strengths that does remind of classic King in its characterization, dialogue and plotting. For me, Gothic has been the more enjoyable Fracassi experience in comparison, but I will continue to seek out his work.
In A Child Alone with Strangers, Philip Fracassi has managed to evoke emotional connection with characters to root for and villains to detest while giving added layers to some of these. Another strength of the book is taking familiar tropes and plot points and making them compelling. He’s done this with a steamrolling writing style which makes for a fast read even at 575 pages. That said, there are small digressions throughout which add to the atmosphere and humanity of the story but this book could have been a bit more trim. This is one reason for the four rather than fine star rating. Another reason for my rating is that, while I liked the concepts of the story, I found myself wanting those aspects to be explored in more ways that surprised me and leaned toward a more epic feel. Overall, a fun and propulsive read with many strengths that does remind of classic King in its characterization, dialogue and plotting. For me, Gothic has been the more enjoyable Fracassi experience in comparison, but I will continue to seek out his work.
shawn_of_the_read's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
anaveragelife's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
meankelly's review against another edition
5.0
Excellent
This was one of the few books that are completely unpredictable. All of the characters were well developed and the story line never once lost momentum. Loved it!
This was one of the few books that are completely unpredictable. All of the characters were well developed and the story line never once lost momentum. Loved it!
caleighsmith's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
anotherbooklady's review
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
📚87 /100 (2024 Reading Goal)
📖 𝘼 𝘾𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙙 𝘼𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙒𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙎𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙧𝙨
✍️ 𝗣𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗽 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗶
🎧 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗕𝗼𝘆𝗻𝘀
⭐️⭐️⭐️
𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜 𝗟𝗶𝗸𝗲𝗱:
Supernatural elements, descriptive writing, a cabin in the woods, clairvoyant child, 1990’s setting
𝗧𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗪𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀:
child abuse, sexual assault, bullying, racial slurs, animal harm, misogyny
𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄:
This book left me feeling conflicted. I really liked the story of Henry-a young boy who is kidnapped for ransom and held captive in a cabin deep in the woods in Southern California. Henry is a bright, intelligent, and gifted child. I found him to be very well developed and beautifully written.
Unfortunately this book overall was just a miss for me. I’m a fan of horror novels-I like creepy houses, paranormal happenings, clairvoyant children, and monsters-but maybe not 𝘢𝘭𝘭 of those things happening in one story. For me, it felt like there were just too many characters and too much happening at once that slackened the pace of the story.
At times the novel read like a police procedural, or a ghost story, or a monster tale and it left me feeling impatient. This book is a long, slow burn and at 575 pages, I felt more exhausted and relieved to be finished instead of being satisfied by the end.
Fracassi is a fantastic, descriptive writer (𝘽𝙤𝙮𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙑𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙮 is one of my favorite horror reads), so I’m saddened that this book just wasn’t for me.
Narrator Sterling Boyns has a wonderful, rich voice and differentiated characters wonderfully. Unfortunately, the narrator would repeatedly mispronounce wording throughout, and the audiobook itself had some weird editing issues that kept taking me out of the story.
📖 𝘼 𝘾𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙙 𝘼𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙒𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙎𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙧𝙨
✍️ 𝗣𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗽 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗶
🎧 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗕𝗼𝘆𝗻𝘀
⭐️⭐️⭐️
𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜 𝗟𝗶𝗸𝗲𝗱:
Supernatural elements, descriptive writing, a cabin in the woods, clairvoyant child, 1990’s setting
𝗧𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗪𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀:
child abuse, sexual assault, bullying, racial slurs, animal harm, misogyny
𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄:
This book left me feeling conflicted. I really liked the story of Henry-a young boy who is kidnapped for ransom and held captive in a cabin deep in the woods in Southern California. Henry is a bright, intelligent, and gifted child. I found him to be very well developed and beautifully written.
Unfortunately this book overall was just a miss for me. I’m a fan of horror novels-I like creepy houses, paranormal happenings, clairvoyant children, and monsters-but maybe not 𝘢𝘭𝘭 of those things happening in one story. For me, it felt like there were just too many characters and too much happening at once that slackened the pace of the story.
At times the novel read like a police procedural, or a ghost story, or a monster tale and it left me feeling impatient. This book is a long, slow burn and at 575 pages, I felt more exhausted and relieved to be finished instead of being satisfied by the end.
Fracassi is a fantastic, descriptive writer (𝘽𝙤𝙮𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙑𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙮 is one of my favorite horror reads), so I’m saddened that this book just wasn’t for me.
Narrator Sterling Boyns has a wonderful, rich voice and differentiated characters wonderfully. Unfortunately, the narrator would repeatedly mispronounce wording throughout, and the audiobook itself had some weird editing issues that kept taking me out of the story.
craigmatthews87's review against another edition
5.0
I loved Gothic, thought Boys In The Valley was the best horror book of 2023, and A Child Alone With Strangers may just be the best of the three. 600-plus pages that fly by, with a basic premise that's along the lines of the Reservoir Dogs crew kidnapping Danny Torrance, but that hatches into something much more sinister.
A hefty read that has some wonderfully graphic descriptions, true spine-tingling terror, more than a few tear-jerking moments, and an evocative yet easy to read style—it all combines to feel like, dare I say it, classic era Stephen King. I smashed through the book in a three or four days, and spent my time away from the book wishing I could dive back into the world Fracassi has crafted with this. An experience I tried to savour every minute of, and didn't want to end.
A hefty read that has some wonderfully graphic descriptions, true spine-tingling terror, more than a few tear-jerking moments, and an evocative yet easy to read style—it all combines to feel like, dare I say it, classic era Stephen King. I smashed through the book in a three or four days, and spent my time away from the book wishing I could dive back into the world Fracassi has crafted with this. An experience I tried to savour every minute of, and didn't want to end.