The Night Gardenerby Jonathan Auxier
Review by Andreana Duffy
Summary: The Night Gardener is about two Irish orphans who take up work in an old mansion. There they meet an odd family with odd ailments. They soon there that at night a creature stalks the grounds and they must uncover the mystery behind the creature and the curse that keeps it bound to the house. Continue reading
Horrorstör by Grady Hendrix
Review by Angie Andre
I have lived in the hell many of you know as retail for over 20 years. I appreciated the craziness, impossible expectations, prison like mentality, always selling, selling, selling. Horrorstör is a retail nightmare for its employees. This knock off Ikea superstore in Ohio is a strange place to work. Unexplainable things happen. Sales are low and management wants to know why. Three employees decide to stay overnight and figure out what is happening when the lights go off at night. This is where Hendrix lost me. Continue reading
Review by Anna Yardney
Oskar is the constant target of bullying at school, his parents have split up, and there has been a rash of murders confusing the local police and frightening everyone. In the midst of all this, a mysterious girl named Eli moves into his apartment building with a man who claims to be her father, but obeys her orders like a slave. When the two lonely children make a connection, Oskar has no idea that he will be dragged into the darkening world of murder, lies and secrets that surround his new friend.
John Lindqvist uses a small *Swedish suburb in the grips of winter for the background of this hypnotic story, dealing with themes of isolation, the dangers in our own back yard, and terrible choices made in the name of survival. Let the Right One In builds slowly, using multiple viewpoints with unforgiving language to create a landscape of faltering connections and an indifferent world.
After reading the book, check out the critically acclaimed movie adaptation of Let the Right One In.
About the reviewer: Anna Yardney is a graduate of Drexel’s Master of Library Science program and has been working at Tredyffrin for four years. Her favorite authors include Jorge Borges, Italo Calvino and Catherynne Valente.
*Thanks to ‘C’ for pointing out an error in the original post where it stated that the book took place in Norway.
