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chnh's review against another edition
5.0
nostalgic, hopeful, relatable, imaginative, introspective.
i loved this book. the author had this way of making you feel like you’re a kid again and in the summer of the saturday night ghost club. the characters are so lovely you just want to hug them. you feel the childhood love jake experiences.
the connections made from the main characters childhood to his later career in neuroscience and also with the spooky element of brains was neat. the way the author tied the whole story together and put all the pieces together was so bittersweet and beautiful.
uncle calvin is perhaps the best of us. a good man, who endures the worst of what life has to offer.
this book touches on themes like childhood love, growing up, the power of childhood fear and those who entertain it, bullying, the magic of memories, and the nostalgia we feel for our hometowns.
a great read for gaining perspective, seeking to understand each other, and how we should protect those we love.
…
“sometimes these stories we tell allow us to carry on. sometimes stories are the best we can hope for.”
“there was a bright lunacy in her eyes.”
“i figured some people have edges that don't allow them to slot neatly into the holes society expects them to fit into, that was all.”
“i’d believed that the lives unfurling behind those doors were much the same as my own. every boy and girl had good parents like my parents. every child went to bed with a full belly, in a warm bed, knowing they were loved. that was the life every child was supposed to have, wasn't it?”
“life was coming together for them, as it sometimes does for good people who make a point of being decent.”
“[he] loved [her] in a needful and elemental way, the way a flower loves the sun.”
i loved this book. the author had this way of making you feel like you’re a kid again and in the summer of the saturday night ghost club. the characters are so lovely you just want to hug them. you feel the childhood love jake experiences.
the connections made from the main characters childhood to his later career in neuroscience and also with the spooky element of brains was neat. the way the author tied the whole story together and put all the pieces together was so bittersweet and beautiful.
uncle calvin is perhaps the best of us. a good man, who endures the worst of what life has to offer.
this book touches on themes like childhood love, growing up, the power of childhood fear and those who entertain it, bullying, the magic of memories, and the nostalgia we feel for our hometowns.
a great read for gaining perspective, seeking to understand each other, and how we should protect those we love.
…
“sometimes these stories we tell allow us to carry on. sometimes stories are the best we can hope for.”
“there was a bright lunacy in her eyes.”
“i figured some people have edges that don't allow them to slot neatly into the holes society expects them to fit into, that was all.”
“i’d believed that the lives unfurling behind those doors were much the same as my own. every boy and girl had good parents like my parents. every child went to bed with a full belly, in a warm bed, knowing they were loved. that was the life every child was supposed to have, wasn't it?”
“life was coming together for them, as it sometimes does for good people who make a point of being decent.”
“[he] loved [her] in a needful and elemental way, the way a flower loves the sun.”
andrewhatesham's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
This wasn't much like what I expected so I was a bit disappointed, and I also felt like the pacing and plot structure could have been better, but other than those things, this book is alright.
Don't go into this thinking it's gonna be scary or very plot driven, it's more of a reflective character driven story.
Don't go into this thinking it's gonna be scary or very plot driven, it's more of a reflective character driven story.
Content Warnings
Minor: Death, Bullying, Cursing, Gore, Child death, Grief, Medical content, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, Murder, and Medical trauma
the1germ's review against another edition
3.0
I almost DNF'd this book, mainly because I'm kinda tired of the Stephen King style, nostalgic coming of age story and that is very much what this is. Maybe it's because I just got off from reading Fairy Tale and it left such a bad taste in my mouth lol.
However, two things must be said about Craig Davidson: 1) He pulls off exactly the same nostalgic vibe of King's novels like IT or Fairy Tale, but in a quarter of the page count it takes King to do it. 2) He does all this WITH a banger of an ending that makes the whole experience better and worth revisiting later.
I'm glad I finished this one despite my early boredom, because the ending left me SPUN, and the themes about memory and finding meaning in stories of the supernatural really resonated with me.
However, two things must be said about Craig Davidson: 1) He pulls off exactly the same nostalgic vibe of King's novels like IT or Fairy Tale, but in a quarter of the page count it takes King to do it. 2) He does all this WITH a banger of an ending that makes the whole experience better and worth revisiting later.
I'm glad I finished this one despite my early boredom, because the ending left me SPUN, and the themes about memory and finding meaning in stories of the supernatural really resonated with me.
zj5's review against another edition
3.0
Certainly not bad but not really what I was looking for either. It is another in the line of 80s nostalgia trips but luckily it leans more towards Bradbury or King than Cline. It's a fun enough book that gets pretty sad in places and it's a worth a look if you're especially wistful for the summertime when you were 12 and everything seemed possible. I would have liked more conspiracy/haunting stuff but it's hard to argue against the metaphor. Not sure the framing device was all that necessary, felt a little too close to being Richard Dreyfuss typing at the computer, but it does add some nice insight all the same.
reo3oe's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
3.5
Liked this book quite a bit. I did pick it up because I thought it was going to be more about hi-jinks of kids getting mixed up in some hauntings and investigations and what I got instead was a slower, sadder story that took on a much more melancholic turn than expected. Still, what I got was a treasure of a book and I will need to reread it again with the appropriate mindset.
skittlesandwich's review against another edition
2.0
Nothing really happens. It was kind of boring and I almost didn't finish it
easywriter81's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
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? No
4.25
thriller_chick's review against another edition
DNF.
Started strong, better than expected then…. Idk what happened.
Started strong, better than expected then…. Idk what happened.
ellieellie16's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
burnsie227's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Short and sweet. It was refreshing to read a different genre than my normal (although I guess I have been reading a lot of mystery lately). A little spooky but nothing that keeps me up at night (and I have a low threshold for this). I liked that the book took place in Niagara Falls, Canada (though I wish it was Niagara Falls USA lol) because there was a surprising amount of familiarity. I would recommend.