Something to know about me: I have a soft spot for B-horror movies. Like the "straight to tv ones" that are kinda predictable but have a little je ne sais quoi that keeps them engaging.

And that's basically why I liked this book.

Right off the bat: the book is unrealistic in a way that puts many readers off of it. Personally, I don't mind suspension of disbelief as long as the "internal rules" of the story remain consistent and here, I found that they did. This book basically explores the question "what if your young child is intentionally malicious, keeps escalating their violent behaviour, and no one believes you?". The powerlessness of the situation was conveyed in a really interesting way and I generally found the child's "creative" pursuits very surprising.

One thing that sets this novel apart from other ones exploring the trope is that we have lots of insight into the child's mind and inner logic. I found this particularly well done as we navigate the weird line between feeling endearment and horror.

All that said, I'll reiterate that this book requires a suspension of disbelief. There's a few obvious "solutions" that come to mind, especially in the early portions of the book, and it's frustrating to not have the characters resort to those. I nevertheless enjoyed it and found it a page turner. So, while this book is definitely not for everyone, I would recommend it for fans of psychological horror who don't mind suspending disbelief and enjoy the "is my child evil" trope.