A review by amy_reads4
Penpal by Dathan Auerbach

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

PenPal follows an unnamed man’s journey through his childhood, uncovering sinister secrets as he goes, through both memory and conversations with his mother.

Whilst I did enjoy the story it wasn’t what I was expecting personally, I was expecting a fast paced horror story but found this to be a slow paced thriller, with lots of filler, information, and the whole book itself is only 5 chapters, which made it a bit of a battle for me to read.

Please check your trigger warnings when reading this, as this book contained one of my only triggers so I think that will add to my experience of the book, which is a fault of my own, not the authors.

The end of this book was truly harrowing and not something I think I will forget for a long time coming. The author does a great job of taking you along on the protagonists journey.