Let the Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist -- A Book Review

synopsis:
Tie-in to the award-winning 2009 film, John Ajvide Lindqvist’s original novel is a unique and brilliant fusion of social novel and vampire legend, a deeply moving fable about rejection, friendship and loyalty.

This book was creepy. So, creepy that I couldn't read it before bed: I had a dream that I was hanging out with my old high school friends and we had to escape from Thief River Falls, MN because everyone there was a vampire. So, it was sorta like a zombie movie, but with vampires. Buffy showed up too. Strange. After that I decided it was best not to read the novel before bed.
I think what made it so freaky is the way the story read. Like a news story or something a friend told you about as if it actually happened. It didn't read like fiction. I like how the synopsis of the book is very simple and doesn't give anything away. I'm going to follow suit and not say too much. Except I don't think I'll be seeing the movie as the book scared me. It's not very often that a book actually scares me. So kudos to Mr. Lindqvist.
On another note - it is a bit slow at times and the characters one-dimensional, but it didn't hinder the book for me. I don't always need a book where the characters are easy to relate to. Sometimes it's not the point of the story. This book isn't something I'd recommend to just anyone. If you're looking to be creeped out have a go at it, but don't worry it's not that scary that you can't fall asleep, just know that your dreams may be a bit tainted. :0)

About the Author: John Ajvide Lindqvist is a Swedish author who grew up in Blackeberg, the setting for Let Me In. Wanting to become something awful and fantastic, he first became a conjurer, and then was a stand-up comedian for twelve years. He has also written for Swedish television. Let Me In was a bestseller in Sweden and was named Best Novel in Translation 2005 in Norway. It is being made into a major motion picture. Let Me In is Lindqvist’s first novel.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith -- A Book Review

"It is a truth universally acknowledged that a zombie in possession of brains must be in want of more brains." So begins Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, an expanded edition of the beloved Jane Austen novel featuring all-new scenes of bone-crunching zombie mayhem. As our story opens, a mysterious plague has fallen upon the quiet English village of Meryton—and the dead are returning to life! Feisty heroine Elizabeth Bennet is determined to wipe out the zombie menace, but she's soon distracted by the arrival of the haughty and arrogant Mr. Darcy. What ensues is a delightful comedy of manners with plenty of civilized sparring between the two young lovers—and even more violent sparring on the blood-soaked battlefield as Elizabeth wages war against hordes of flesh-eating undead. Can she vanquish the spawn of Satan? And overcome the social prejudices of the class-conscious landed gentry? Complete with romance, heartbreak, sword fights, cannibalism, and thousands of rotting corpses, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies transforms a masterpiece of world literature into something you'd actually want to read.

Coraline by Neil Gaiman -- A Book Review

It was a happy accident the day I came upon Neil Gaiman. I was browsing around Waterstones looking for that 3rd book, as Waterstones always has a 3 for 2 deals on. I have always liked authors such as Edgar Allen Poe, H.P. Lovecraft, and Ray Bradbury and Neil Gaiman’s book Fragile Things was on the table mixed with such authors. The main reason I was drawn to it was the sticker on the cover that said “3 for 2.” Also the cover was really cool. I know I’m not to judge a book by its cover, but being somewhat of an artist myself I can’t help but admire book cover art. Hey I think I have a new calling….

This title Coraline was written for ages 9-12 and being only 192 pages I was able to finish it in less then a day. When I first read Gaiman’s work I was unsure how I felt about him. Now I know that he will eventually be talked about like the authors I mentioned above. Coraline was an engaging read. I also enjoyed how it was short and to the point. Sometimes authors get to windy and babble too much about things that don’t have any relevance to the story. It has Alice in Wonderland qualities about an alternate world where you learn that the grass isn’t always greener on the other side.

Cujo by Stephen King -- A Book Review

Cujo is so well-paced and scary that people tend to read it quickly, so they mostly remember the scene of the mother and son trapped in the hot Pinto and threatened by the rabid Cujo, forgetting the multifaceted story in which that scene is embedded. This is definitely a novel that rewards re-reading. When you read it again, you can pay more attention to the theme of country folk vs. city folk; the parallel marriage conflicts of the Cambers vs. the Trentons; the poignancy of the amiable St. Bernard (yes, the breed choice is just right) infected by a brain-destroying virus that makes it into a monster; and the way the "daylight burial" of the failed ad campaign is reflected in the sunlit Pinto that becomes a coffin. And how significant it is that this horror tale is not supernatural: it's as real as junk food, a failing marriage, a broken-down car, or a fatal virus.

Recently I have had an urge to read some of Stephen King’s work. I set my sights on The Stand first, but after seeing how fat it was I changed my mind. Not that I don’t like fat books…I just wasn’t in the mood for an epic. My sister, Janet, was somewhat of an old-school Stephen King fan and she recommended Cujo.

** Spoilers ** 

My Review:
I found the story to be very captivating. The characters felt real to me that is what you need or you won’t care what happens to them.

I think one of the themes of the story is about survival in extreme circumstances. Being trapped in a car for 2 ½ - 3 days in over 100 degree weather because of a rabid dog is something extra ordinary, but not unbelievable. It also has to do with fate. What are the chances of the circumstances that leave them there for that long?

Being a mother I understood Donna’s dilemma. She had a choice stay in the car and hopes someone comes by or run to the door and hope to make it there alive. I couldn’t leave my 4-year-old son by himself. If she had made a run for the door and Cujo attacked Tad would have been witness to his mother’s brutal murder. Not only that but then he would be alone in an over heated car. Since earlier in the book she got caught out cheating she kept thinking this was her punishment. When Vic found out she cheated his first instinct was to take Tad away. He asks himself why he kept thinking he needed to grab his son and leave. It’s because he knew that would hurt her like it hurt him. In the end there son is taken from them having died of heat exhaustion and dehydration. None of Stephen King’s characters are protected.


I believe that certain things happen to us for a reason. Call it fate or destiny or whatever. Lets use 9/11 for example how many stories came out afterwards of people taking a different route to work that morning or someone going in late because they had an errand to run. It was a choice made by the individual, but what made them make that choice?