karis321's reviews
1162 reviews

 

I dunno, I just found this okay.

I was surprised when I wasn't digging the ghost diary entries like I thought I would, given that there were a lot of interesting things happening, but I nearly found myself skimming past just to get back to present day with Adam. Not because I was enjoying it, for I found Adam to be insufferable at times, but at least it was able to hold my attention more than the diary entries. Maybe because they were written in big blocky texts, like an actual diary. More realistic, yes, but it was hard for me to read, especially when the writer was describing the words she exchanged rather than separating them from the paragraph, if you get what I'm saying.

As I said, I didn't really like Adam. Yes, he was going through a lot, with his terrible boyfriend, emotionally neglect father, and general self-worth issues. Maybe it's the neurodivergence in me, but if someone wrongs me, especially if the relationship was romantic, I wouldn't go crawling back to them like Adam did multiple times throughout the book. It got even messier when he got involved with another boy while in Japan, and it really dragged the whole plot for me because I did not like what was happening at all. Plus, the reason behind his mom's death involved the dad cheating, and while Adam got angry about it, it got swept under the rug by the end, which confused me more than anything.

Anyway, this was certainly something I read. Kinda sad I didn't like it more, because there are some good bits about Japanese history that I liked, but it was the whole I couldn't vibe with.

 Leo and Coach Hedge's backs must be killing them from carrying this book.

This book is definitely for the kid-friendly gothic-esque lovers, like The Nightmare Before Christmas and Coraline, but the worldbuilding still stands firmly as its own thing and I really loved that! I loved that there were so many different Nightmare creatures, with some being silly and some being dangerous. The titular Labyrinth and the Sorrows were brimming with life and character; I really hope we get more of them in the sequel.

Ix is a very enduring, lovable protagonist. Her love of puns, the connections she has/forms with various Nightmare creatures, the found family she forms with Morrigan, Ollie, and Captain Kel and his husband, it just made me love this kid a lot. I hope Vedder has her whole school journey planned out, because I really wanna see how this kid grows and changes with every book.

I could gush a bit more, but it's better if I don't say anymore. I think kids and adults alike will love this book when it officially releases this February!