“He understood that the ghost existed first and foremost within his own head. That maybe ghosts always haunted minds, not places.”
I read NOS4A2 a few years ago and loved it. I’ve since accumulated a few Joe Hill books and they’ve just sat, neglected, on my shelves. I FINALLY picked up Heart-Shaped Box and I regret not reading it sooner! You can tell that this is a debut novel, but that doesn’t make it any less impactful or terrifying or memorable.
Judas and Georgia are great characters – for a book that focuses so much on just two people (with some supporting characters sprinkled throughout) they really anchor the story. You’re rooting for them. They’re flawed, and they can be frustrating, but they feel very real. At its heart, this is a FANTASTIC revenge story.
“Is it cold there? I bet it’s cold. It’s going to get a lot colder before he’s through.”
I don’t scare easily (at least, when i’m reading!) but this has some CREEPY scenes in it. Ghosts appearing at random times in your house will always be terrifying and Hill nails it with Craddock. He’s super creepy (even his NAME is creepy. Craddock. Why…WHY?) and I really shouldn’t have been reading this right before bed, in a dark room, with just my book light for illumination.
The end of this book really pushed it into 3.5/4-star territory for me. I’d highly recommend this for horror fans. I certainly won’t wait years until I pick up another Joe Hill novel.
Read with Aimee 