Wednesday, January 20, 2016

Review: Bird Box by Josh Malerman



Bird BoxTitle:  Bird Box 
Author:  Josh Malerman
Publisher: Ecco
Publishing Date: May 13th 2014
Pages: 272
Genre: Adult Psychological Horror
Series: Stand Alone
Source: Audio
 

Something is out there, something terrifying that must not be seen. One glimpse of it, and a person is driven to deadly violence. No one knows what it is or where it came from.

Five years after it began, a handful of scattered survivors remains, including Malorie and her two young children. Living in an abandoned house near the river, she has dreamed of fleeing to a place where they might be safe. Now that the boy and girl are four, it's time to go, but the journey ahead will be terrifying: twenty miles downriver in a rowboat--blindfolded--with nothing to rely on but her wits and the children’s trained ears. One wrong choice and they will die. Something is following them all the while, but is it man, animal, or monster?

Interweaving past and present, Bird Box is a snapshot of a world unraveled that will have you racing to the final page.
I came across this book by accident. I am not sure what I was searching but this book came up. I don't do many adult books for various reasons but when one sounds so awesome its a must read... I take the chance and read it. I am so glad I took the chance on this book. It was pretty awesome. Exactly the kind of read I needed and wanted and wow  it was good. Very creepy and disturbing and dark. 

The world has changed. There is danger outside. Dangerous creatures that if you look, you will go crazy mad and kill others or yourself or both. No one knows exactly what they are or what happens because no lives to learn about it. It's been about 4 1/2 years since the dark started and Malorie and her children have not seen the outside in this long. Now she and her kids will venture outside, down a river, to an unknown place on the promise of a stranger. They have to do this blindfolded in order to stay alive. Throughout the journey Melonie remembers it all from the very beginning to the present day and in those memories she finds the will and the determination to keep herself and her children alive on this dangerous and long journey.

This book wasn't at all what I expected but was everything I wanted. I really really enjoyed it. It was a slow burn kind of read. The first page really caught me but it wasn't a quick paced page turner. It was the page turner as I wanted more but it felt like a slow and deep read. I was really into it. 

The book is written in present POV and memory POV. I love these kind of reads. I don't know what it is but I do just love them. Probably one of my favorite type of formats. It makes the story so much more mysterious. I just can't wait to find out the while truth. Kind of like doing a puzzle. You get the beauty of the picture piece by piece and its fun but the appreciation of the beauty  comes once its finish. This was this book exactly. It was worth the time to finish the puzzle. 

I really loved Malorie. She was a strong woman. She was fearless in some ways but so fragile in others.. but no matter what she was she was determined. Determined to keep her children safe, to teach them, the secure them. to survive. She was smart and she was kind. She was a good mother but a scary mother. She did what she had to with no regret. Very likable character with flaws and all. 

The story was just creepy and dark. It was hard to feel anything but apprehension with every new chapter. With the present I didn't know what danger that Malorie and her children would need to face. With the past I knew Malorie survived but that is all I knew. I didn't know how she ended up alone or with children. I didn't know if I would find out what was causing the crazy or what the creatures were. I was as blind as Malorie's was in the beginning. Slowly it all came together and made sense and it was nice in the end because it felt like a calm after all the nerves and anxiety. Truly though everything between page one and the last page had me biting my nails and hiding under my covers at night. This is what nightmares are made of. 


The only thing that kind of made me roll my eyes. The author didn't know pregnancy that well. I could tell he got it from a book (being male and all) but I am not sure where he got some of the info. Some of it was just off to me and not right. But it didn't take away from the story as it was something to focus on. So I let it slide but I did giggle and roll my eyes at it.



It was everything a psychological horror should be. Read it if you like creepy and dark.











Josh Malerman                                  Josh Malerman is the lead singer and songwriter for the rock band the High Strung. He lives in Ferndale, Michigan.

His novel BIRD BOX came out in May 2014.






11 comments:

  1. I actually like that this one is slow. I find creepy and dark stories to work better when they are slow. It just amplifies the scary factor.
    Malorie sounds like a really interesting character too! I'll look into this one.
    Great review!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I agree... this one the slow burn worked extremely well with because the build up and the unknown is what gave me the heebie jeebies

      Delete
  2. I know Christy@ Christy's Love of Books loved this one, and I think she convinced me to buy it while it was on sale, but I haven't read it. I am scared. How dark is it?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. its not so dark I wouldn't recommend for the weak at heart. the good thing... there is only one particular scene that was hard to handle. The dark is more on the outside. Not really seen or understood just everyone is aware its there.

      Delete
  3. Gosh, this one sounds like a lucky find! I'm glad 90% of it worked like a charm for you. It must be difficult for a male author to write about female experiences and character - I'm impressed that he tried!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. He really did a pretty good job... just a little off on the pregnancy stuff. no man can really understand that stuff though.

      Delete
  4. I think this one sounds interesting, I am especially interested to see how the whole pregnancy thing goes since I am pregnant right now!
    Missie @ A Flurry of Ponderings
    Enter my Ultimate Scavenger Hunt Giveaway

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It might make you laugh. The pregnancy part. The rest of the story... not so much.

      Delete
  5. I feel like the fact that there is a pregnancy scene is going to make this book that much more disturbing considering it's a thriller! But the book does sound mysterious and fascinating - I don't have a clear picture of the plot at all. I'm glad that this was such a great read for you! The cover is really good - it definitely draws me to it!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Kind of like doing a puzzle. You get the beauty of the picture piece by piece and its fun but the appreciation of the beauty comes once its finish. This was this book exactly. It was worth the time to finish the puzzle. Yes, exactly! Lolololol male author's doing pregnancy scene's (doing pregnancy in a book at all tbh) would make me a little wary, but I love slow burn creepy psych thrillers, so I don't think it would bother me too much. :D

    ReplyDelete
  7. Ooooh I like the sound of this! I actually heard about it for the first time rather recently, and I am pretty curious. I am picky about thrillers, but a psychological one will win me over every time. I need to get my hands on this (especially because I want to see this man's idea of pregnancy bwhahaha). Fabulous review!

    ReplyDelete

 
Imagination Designs