October is coming to a close and so is spooky season, but there were plenty of great scary books to read this month!
LET THE RIGHT ONE IN – John Adjvide Lindqvist (Released May 2004)
I’ve been loving being apart of the #BuddyReadsToDieFor with Chandra and Janelle, and I’m so happy they FINALLY got me to read this book!
Here’s the synopsis:
It is autumn 1981 when the inconceivable comes to Blackeberg, a suburb in Sweden. The body of a teenage boy is found, emptied of blood, the murder rumored to be part of a ritual killing. Twelve-year-old Oskar is personally hoping that revenge has come at long last—revenge for the bullying he endures at school, day after day.
But the murder is not the most important thing on his mind. A new girl has moved in next door—a girl who has never seen a Rubik’s Cube before, but who can solve it at once. There is something wrong with her, though, something odd. And she only comes out at night..
Chandra’s Thoughts: 5/5 stars
Oh this book. *SWOON* This is a reread for me (which doesn’t happen often) and ohmyfang, it’s just as good as I remember! As anyone who has been following me knows, I love it dark and creepy and this book is SO DARK and atmospherically creepy. This book has SO MUCH ATMOSPHERE. You really feel yourself become a part of the story and it’s like walking through a foggy mist of graphic violence. This read touches on a lot of dark subjects and the bullying was probably the hardest to read. How do you NOT feel for Oskar. And then he meets Eli! Yay for friendship!
I can feel myself on the edge of a babble cliff so let me try to make this short. I think some readers will think this story is a bit slow… and it is but while I normally like a faster pace, this just lends to the foreboding feel of everything that is happening. It makes the graphic scenes POP. But most importantly, can we talk about how well the author takes us within the mind of a person being turned? I love this exploration of mental trauma that we typically don’t get from vampire novels.
Which character could I love more? Oskar? Eli? Could we get a novel on Eli alone?
Look, this is a read that will stick with you. There are certainly a couple of scenes that will forever be tattooed on my brain. This is an amazing, horrific vampire story that is craved during this spooky season. Eat up.
My Thoughts: 5/5 stars
I’m so happy that this was the October #BuddyReadsToDieFor choice because it made me FINALLY pick up this incredible book. Going into LET THE RIGHT ONE IN, I knew nothing expect that it had to do with vampires. I haven’t seen either film, so I went into this completely blind. This was SO atmospheric and SO creepy! I wasn’t expecting it to be as graphic and violent as it was and I loved every minute of it.
This is much more than just a vampire story – we get the friendship between Eli and Oskar as well as seeing into the traumatic experience of being turned into a vampire. That’s something you don’t see in most books about vampires and I think the author really captured the torment and how dark the experience was. On the other hand, we have the incredible budding friendship between Oskar and the new neighbor girl, Eli. I absolutely love them and how they look out for each other.
There is definitely going to be a lasting impression from this book. The atmosphere, the constant dread and foreboding, then the truly graphic scenes that are mixed in. I understand the hype behind this vampire novel and now I need to watch the movies. If you’re like me and have this waiting on your shelf, do yourself a favor and read it now! The only regret you’ll have is that you waited so long.
Jessicamap Reviews 