“In the end, maybe it’s disturbing how easy it was to adjust. How easy it is for the worst things imaginable to become normal.”

thank you to Netgalley and Tor books for gifting me an eARC of Your Shadow Half Remains by Sunny Moraine, a horror novella inspired by the pandemic. 

This book is for you, if you like:

💫 Unreliable narrators

💫 Character focused stories

💫 Mad women

💫 Explorations of human nature

💫 Unique narrative styles

In this novella, the main character, Riley, slowly descends into madness, as she seeks out her new neighbor despite the possibility of a fatal outcome. My favorite part of the story was the highly suspenseful exploration of relationships and the human need for connection! 

The slow unraveling of Riley’s sanity also makes for a very distinct narrative structure. The narrative comprises largely of Riley’s inner monologue, shifting between her current life and her reflections on the early days of the pandemic. While I enjoyed the distinctiveness of the narrative, I struggled with its being fragmented almost to the point of incoherence at times.

Ultimately, while there’s a lot to love about this novella, and it packs a punch considering its length, a little too much was left up for interpretation for me to really connect with it.