hanner1210's review against another edition
dark
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
gmalboeuf's review against another edition
3.0
A dark, fast read. Well done, simply not my favorite. The form was very interesting, the mutliple POV switches that often seemed to happen at the drop of a hat did not dissuade my reading like I thought it might. The fluidity of the story telling was helpful to the shorter length of the novel and made me feel like I slid headfirst into the brutal ending.
abbennsky's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Death
guywho_reads's review against another edition
3.0
3.5⭐️
The Laws of The Skies is about a first grade camping trip gone horribly wrong. When the class bully gets pushed over the edge he goes on a murderous rampage, leaving his classmates to survive the night in the woods. The story is very graphic, but reads almost poetically with as if literary horror. Some characters/plot points felt unnecessary and were incorporated just for shock value in my opinion…but that ending made it all worth it.
Recap with all the SPOILERS below:
•
•
•
So basically, Enzo is this really mean little six-year-old sociopath who murders everyone on his camping trip, whether directly or not. We get some of his backstory alluding to the fact that he has an abusive dad, and is a victim of the cycle of toxic masculinity. He’s been taught to fight and stand up for himself, and never be viewed as weak. When his teacher belittle him in front of his class and then punishes him, Enzo takes revenge. He bashes in his teachers skull with a rock in front of all of his classmates. The teacher was in the middle of sharing the worlds most disturbing campfire story ever. It was called ‘The laws of the skies’ and was the story of a little mouse who wanting to learn to fly. He grew wings but then got brutally attacked by the other birds and they peck out his eyes. It’s not important, but I kind of liked it. The children take off the narration jumps between the different child clusters. We follow a group of three best friends, a group of like six kids, and then two little girls off of their own. Oh yeah I forgot to mention there were two parent chaperones, but they were picked off pretty early with one getting food poisoning and need to go back home early. The other chaperons drunk husband come to pick her up, and assaults her and then they crash into the lake. The other one got lost on her way back to the camp and eventually gets murdered by Enzo. Enzo continues picking them up off one by one stalking the paid of girls, taunting them. The three best friends try to swim away and drown, while the group of six eat poisonous berries. Only one boy remains it ends with them brawling. Enzo gets tied to a post left for dead as the other one walk towards the road to safety. He hears Enzo screams before collapsing on the path and dying. We find out that Enzo screams are from him slowly getting eaten alive by a wild boar.
The Laws of The Skies is about a first grade camping trip gone horribly wrong. When the class bully gets pushed over the edge he goes on a murderous rampage, leaving his classmates to survive the night in the woods. The story is very graphic, but reads almost poetically with as if literary horror. Some characters/plot points felt unnecessary and were incorporated just for shock value in my opinion…but that ending made it all worth it.
Recap with all the SPOILERS below:
•
•
•
So basically, Enzo is this really mean little six-year-old sociopath who murders everyone on his camping trip, whether directly or not. We get some of his backstory alluding to the fact that he has an abusive dad, and is a victim of the cycle of toxic masculinity. He’s been taught to fight and stand up for himself, and never be viewed as weak. When his teacher belittle him in front of his class and then punishes him, Enzo takes revenge. He bashes in his teachers skull with a rock in front of all of his classmates. The teacher was in the middle of sharing the worlds most disturbing campfire story ever. It was called ‘The laws of the skies’ and was the story of a little mouse who wanting to learn to fly. He grew wings but then got brutally attacked by the other birds and they peck out his eyes. It’s not important, but I kind of liked it. The children take off the narration jumps between the different child clusters. We follow a group of three best friends, a group of like six kids, and then two little girls off of their own. Oh yeah I forgot to mention there were two parent chaperones, but they were picked off pretty early with one getting food poisoning and need to go back home early. The other chaperons drunk husband come to pick her up, and assaults her and then they crash into the lake. The other one got lost on her way back to the camp and eventually gets murdered by Enzo. Enzo continues picking them up off one by one stalking the paid of girls, taunting them. The three best friends try to swim away and drown, while the group of six eat poisonous berries. Only one boy remains it ends with them brawling. Enzo gets tied to a post left for dead as the other one walk towards the road to safety. He hears Enzo screams before collapsing on the path and dying. We find out that Enzo screams are from him slowly getting eaten alive by a wild boar.
jdukes11's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.5
trashroyal's review against another edition
3.0
A short, gruesome story that's worth the hour or so to read.
cfloyd's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25