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A review by frogie
Thornhill by Pam Smy
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
A story told in two parts running parallel to one another - a silent graphic novel about a lonely girl in 2017, and an epistolary novel about a selectively mute, severely bullied girl in 1982.
While the art style wasn't quite my thing, the simplicity of it and the lack of dialogue bubbles really did the story justice. The author did a good job of expressing a scene without having to resort to characters talking to each other.
Story-wise, I definitely felt the underlying unease. Mary's story was definitely front and centre; though Ella's sheer loneliness was nothing to scoff at, it was horrible to read Mary struggle in the face of an unrepentant bully. The ending was depressing but not really unexpected. The main theme throughout this story seems to be neglect and its ever-spreading consequences - for the victims and the perpetrators both.
Genre-wise, I consider this more gothic than it is horror.
While the art style wasn't quite my thing, the simplicity of it and the lack of dialogue bubbles really did the story justice. The author did a good job of expressing a scene without having to resort to characters talking to each other.
Story-wise, I definitely felt the underlying unease. Mary's story was definitely front and centre; though Ella's sheer loneliness was nothing to scoff at, it was horrible to read Mary struggle in the face of an unrepentant bully. The ending was depressing but not really unexpected. The main theme throughout this story seems to be neglect and its ever-spreading consequences - for the victims and the perpetrators both.
Genre-wise, I consider this more gothic than it is horror.