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tifftastic87's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Jade returns to Proofrock and is trying so hard to keep her life on track, to just be normal. Proofrock has other plans for her though.
I think this wrapped up everything in such a satisfactory way. The hits never stopped coming though. I kept wanting Jade to get a break, just let her catch her breath! The plot kept moving, the heart strings kept getting tugged and the friendship was overshadowing all of it. I think Jade finally came into herself here, though it was occasionally overwhelming to hear how negatively she feels about herself. That being said, I think it made sense within the plot. Really solid ending for me.
I wasn't sure it was going to be a five until the last two chapters though, those really did it for me. I am also glad the ending wasn't super crisp, that it left it open a little bit for, as the acknowledgements imply, to let Jade move on.
I wasn't sure it was going to be a five until the last two chapters though, those really did it for me. I am also glad the ending wasn't super crisp, that it left it open a little bit for, as the acknowledgements imply, to let Jade move on.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Drug use, Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
itsheyfay's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child death, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Racism, Sexual assault, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, and Classism
poetsofsweetpea's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
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? Yes
5.0
It is always a shock to me when a horror novel wrecks me. It's not that it is hard to bring me to tears, coffee commercials at Christmas time can do it. It's just, when a novel spends a good amount of time ripping the guts from its characters, I figure mine are safe. The Angel of Indian Lake though, gutted me. It's not just that I love Jade. She's one of the few characters in fiction that I genuinely adore, that I want to reach into the pages of the book and shake because she can't see how special she is. It's also because her growth is so completely perfect. While the other novels in the series felt like love letters to the genre of slashers, this third and final installment felt, to me, like an homage to the American experience. In that it highlighted our obsession with pop culture until it mirrors our everyday lives. The seeds may come from foreign places, but the fruit is all ours, the soil, the climate, and the future of the plant are in the hands of the depraved and brave. There are so many things I want to say about this novel. I want to write about why this book made me cry, but I hate spoilers in reviews. I'm also never sure if it is just me or if every reader will love it as much as I do. There were fewer POV's in this one and I was grateful for that. The POV's that emerge also had voices that were different. I was never lost in who was telling me the story. I am glad most of it was from Jade. I listened to the audio book and having Steven King be the voice of the teacher was so perfect. I almost don't want to tell anyone, just so it can hit them the way it hit me. In a lot of ways The Angel of Indian Lake felt like three books, like there were three final scenes. The book was full of blood. It was leaking out on every page, but it also had heart.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
danaslitlist's review against another edition
challenging
dark
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? Yes
5.0
First I want to say a HUGE thank you to the publisher for reaching out to me and offering an E-ARC of The Angel of Indian Lake, I truly appreciate the gift of getting to read one of my most anticipated reads of 2024 early!
I wasn't sure how well this book would do in wrapping up the series and tying all the pieces together. Many a fan of books has experienced the pain of the final installment not living up to what was promised. However, I was beyond pleased and satisfied with this book....even if the bears were a surprise. This has to be the most off the rails book in the trilogy and I honestly believe that it took Stephen Graham Jones' talents to pull it off. In someone else hands, I don't see it falling into place correctly as it did in Mr. Jones.
The core of this story is facing demons and the successes and failures of ones past. And the way that everything is brought back to the beginning, the way the parallels are set up was beyond satisfying.
The Angel of Indian Lake kicks off with one of the most intriguing opening lines I've experienced and doesn't slow down from there at all. Reuniting with Jade, and by extension Stephen Graham Jones, is like being reunited with your best friend who is equally obsessed with slasher films as you are. The entire first chapter is a solid reintroduction to Proofrock and the absolute horrors that living there entails. I didn't think it was possible to really be able to love Jade more than I did from book one but there is something beautiful and transformative about Jade in this final installment.
Seeing how much Jade has changed and how much she hasn't is so reminiscent of Sidney Prescott. Jade has changed for the better. She isn't who she was in book one or book two. And yet, her core, her heart is forever Jade Daniels: slasher girl.
To see her trying so hard to NOT be the girl who cried slasher, to see her change who she is in order to survive, all the while her being completely oblivious to the fact that those choices and those changes ARE how a final girl behaves. That's how a final girl survives.
Jade has always been the final girl in defiance of the trope: not just because she defies the stereotypes (she's not the virgin, she's not the good girl, she's not the white girl) but because the way she survives is by defiance. We have to look at this trilogy how we would look at a slasher movie franchise. The events of the first two acts (books one and two) have now shaped our hero into the final girl. She has emerged.
Just like the rest of the series, The Angel of Indian Lake is a love letter to horror movies. This book is meant for the movie buffs who find themselves inexplicably drawn to slashers, drawn to their stories, and those who feel an understanding for the Jasons and the Carries, just as Jade does.
I truly believe that Jade Daniels will stick with me for the rest of my life and I will be returning to her over and over again.
I wasn't sure how well this book would do in wrapping up the series and tying all the pieces together. Many a fan of books has experienced the pain of the final installment not living up to what was promised. However, I was beyond pleased and satisfied with this book....even if the bears were a surprise. This has to be the most off the rails book in the trilogy and I honestly believe that it took Stephen Graham Jones' talents to pull it off. In someone else hands, I don't see it falling into place correctly as it did in Mr. Jones.
The core of this story is facing demons and the successes and failures of ones past. And the way that everything is brought back to the beginning, the way the parallels are set up was beyond satisfying.
The Angel of Indian Lake kicks off with one of the most intriguing opening lines I've experienced and doesn't slow down from there at all. Reuniting with Jade, and by extension Stephen Graham Jones, is like being reunited with your best friend who is equally obsessed with slasher films as you are. The entire first chapter is a solid reintroduction to Proofrock and the absolute horrors that living there entails. I didn't think it was possible to really be able to love Jade more than I did from book one but there is something beautiful and transformative about Jade in this final installment.
Seeing how much Jade has changed and how much she hasn't is so reminiscent of Sidney Prescott. Jade has changed for the better. She isn't who she was in book one or book two. And yet, her core, her heart is forever Jade Daniels: slasher girl.
To see her trying so hard to NOT be the girl who cried slasher, to see her change who she is in order to survive, all the while her being completely oblivious to the fact that those choices and those changes ARE how a final girl behaves. That's how a final girl survives.
Jade has always been the final girl in defiance of the trope: not just because she defies the stereotypes (she's not the virgin, she's not the good girl, she's not the white girl) but because the way she survives is by defiance. We have to look at this trilogy how we would look at a slasher movie franchise. The events of the first two acts (books one and two) have now shaped our hero into the final girl. She has emerged.
Just like the rest of the series, The Angel of Indian Lake is a love letter to horror movies. This book is meant for the movie buffs who find themselves inexplicably drawn to slashers, drawn to their stories, and those who feel an understanding for the Jasons and the Carries, just as Jade does.
I truly believe that Jade Daniels will stick with me for the rest of my life and I will be returning to her over and over again.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Self harm, and Murder
Moderate: Body horror, Emotional abuse, Gore, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment
Minor: Child death
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