The Boy Who Drew Monsters; Keith Donohue
Picador - 2014
In a wintery, seacoast town in Maine, for 10 year-old Jack Peter Keenan, life is anything but normal. Three years earlier Jack and his friend nearly drowned in the ocean there, and now Jack protests if he is
forced outdoors for any reason. To complicate his life even more, Jack
suffers from some form of autism, but his friend Nick is patient and
loyal.
Lately Jack has taken to drawing
monsters, and at the same time strange things seem to be happening in
and or around the Keenan house. Jack's father, Tim, runs
around outdoors chasing strange sightings, and quite honestly, at times
I thought of Jack Nicholson's character in "The Shining". The mother
Holly fears her son is losing control and at times has even been
violent, hitting her when she frightens him. Oddly, she turns to a local priest and a
Japanese gardener for input when she and her husband do not seem to see things the same way when it comes to Jack.
For the most part
the story kept me engaged and left me wondering as I read, what was real
and what was imagined. The bleak winter setting on the cold, desolate
Maine coast was a perfect for this story, and there were many
elements of strange happenings throughout the book. One thing I didn't
care for, and felt it only served to distract from the core story, were
tales of shipwrecks and ghosts which was told secondhand by the priest
and gardener. Overall a good story; readers who like creepy stories should give this one a
try, especially in the cold, dead of winter.
4/5 stars
(library book)
Sounds exceedingly creepy!!!!
ReplyDeleteIt sounds very interesting Diane, I do like the occasional scary mystery. I'll keep this in mind. Thanks for the review. Thanks for visiting also, the cat and the dog were not mine but those of a friend I was visiting. I don't have any pets any more but enjoy visiting friends who do and they get lots and lots of fussing from me :) Have a great weekend!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your honest review of this book, Diane. It does have an interesting premise.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the review. I don't much care for the creepy stuff so maybe not for me.
ReplyDeleteYep, creepy cool might work!
ReplyDeleteI don't read many creepy books, but this sounds really interesting!
ReplyDeleteThis one has been making some of the Best of 2014 lists, but sounds like it may be a bit hyped. I'm not a big ghosts fan either...
ReplyDeleteThe book review paper that my library hands out had this book listed consistently for several months. I gave in and read it. I like it. Your review is right on point - well we do agree! It is creepy and the descriptions of weather create a freezing feeling!
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