Reviews tagging 'Adult/minor relationship'

Penpal by Dathan Auerbach

21 reviews

bumblebre's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5


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nagisasigh's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? N/A
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

this book broke my heart, but it was also gripping and well written.

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jackierobinson's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0


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killmoore_'s review against another edition

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dark sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

1000Vultures (Dathan Auerbach) has been one of my favorite nosleep authors for years, so going in to Penpal I was very familiar with the stories within, and I was thrilled to not only be able to support a wonderful author, but to have one of my favorite collections of nosleep stories on my shelf.

Penpal is a story that takes us on a journey into the past as a man works to unravel the mystery of his lost friend and the unsettling experiences of his childhood. It is dripping with dread, and each story leaves you feeling like maaaybe you should check to make sure the doors are locked one more time before heading to bed.

What makes Penpal successful for me is what we are left without. We never see the monster. In fact, there is a significant section of this book that works to shut down the idea of our villain as the Boogeyman - he's just a man. 

On its own, Penpal is horrific, but as a parent myself with 2 boys in the age range of our MC, it is absolutely gut wrenching. 

I'm not giving this 5 stars simply because of the format - it reads very much like a nosleep post (which it is) and tends to be a bit wordy and disconnected at points. However, if nosleep is your jam, or maybe you just want to read something that will leave you sick to your stomach, Penpal is the perfect novel for you.


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ivymaew's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


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fancypotato1995's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.5


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aflogive's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75


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raesengele's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75


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racl's review against another edition

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dark sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

It took me a while to realize why it all seemed so familiar - I read a few of the short stories back in the day on creepypasta! They still have that feeling to them, and I found a lot of the language used funny relating to six year olds. They seemed much more capable and mature than I remember being at that age.
The end wrapped up the overarching story very well, but dont expect it to be happy.

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ggcd1981's review

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challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

Uma indicação de Booktubers de terror, Penpal foi uma experiência complexa. Antes de iniciar a leitura estava ciente de que o livro “nasceu” em posts feitos pelo autor em um subreddit. Talvez eu tenha sido influenciada inicialmente por conhecer esse fato pois achei que era clara a inexperiência do autor em sua escrita na primeira parte do livro. Desde coisas como repetições de palavras em um mesmo parágrafo até a execução confusa do enredo na primeira metade. Inclusive ressalto que esse é o principal ponto negativo que aponto para Penpal. Em grande parte do livro a narrativa é contada por meio de histórias que são memórias do narrador sobre sua infância e adolescência. Contudo isso é realizado de forma não linear, ou seja, em uma memória o narrador tinha 6 anos, na próxima 10 anos, depois de volta aos 6 e na seguinte salta aos 13 ou 15 anos, apenas para voltar a infância novamente. Essa “não linearidade” torna a história difícil de entender em alguns momentos. Em diversos momentos me perguntei “mas se ‘aquilo’ aconteceu antes, porque os personagens ainda agem dessa maneira?”. Houveram momentos em que literalmente não sábia se a história contada tinha acontecido antes ou depois da anterior. 

Penpal é a história de um homem que teve um stalker por grande parte de sua infância e adolescência. Ele não diz isso diretamente, o leitor é levado a deduzir isso através das histórias do passado que o protagonista narra. Um ponto um pouco irritante do desenvolvimento da obra, porem relacionado mais ao meu gosto pessoal, é que na maior parte do livro o leitor consegue sentir que o narrador está retendo informação. O personagem da mãe claramente sabe mais do que diz (mesmo que em várias situações faria mais sentindo ela compartilhar essas informações do que as guardar). É claro que o autor fez esses personagens “escolherem” guardar essas informações, independentemente de ter sentido ou não, para que estas fossem reveladas com mais efeito posteriormente no livro. 
 Foi apenas no último quarto da obra que a história começou a ser menos confusa e se começa a ter uma visão mais compreensiva de como as coisas aconteceram. Esse quarto final foi o que salvou o livro para mim, pois respondeu grande parte das perguntas que tinha e finalmente as informações retidas pelos personagens foram reveladas. Sem final feliz o livro terminou com bastante atmosfera tendo um final pesado que mais uma vez me fez refletir sobre a experiência de culpa, luto e perda. Temas que são muito próximos de mim. Dou 3.75 estrelas. 


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