A review by probablyjenna
Woodworm by Layla Martínez

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Ohhhh, I really liked this one.

I am a sucker for a haunted house story, and this is a concise, eerie story about a house that lives and breathes. The first line of the book is what really sold me: “I walked in and the house pounced on me.” UM OKAY TELL ME MORE!

Layla Martinez is talented at providing just enough detail to keep the suspense and tension building on each page. She is not worried about the reader fully understanding; she is on a mission to tell this story, whether you get it or not. I am always impressed with an author who can be restrained, resisting the urge to lay it all out there in an obvious way, and Martinez is masterful in this element.

At its heart, this is a story about women fighting back against the forces that try so hard to keep them down. Told in alternating POVs between a grandmother and her granddaughter, you slowly untangle the history of the house and its inhabitants. 

This is an unsettling read, but not wildly scary so I think anyone intrigued by horror could pick this up & enjoy!

*Also* I am currently preparing to teacher Shirley Jackson’s We Have Always Lived in the Castle so it’s fresh on my mind, but I feel like Woodworm is a spiritual sister to that book.