howlinglibraries's Reviews (1.85k)

I feel like I should preface this review by saying that Diet Riot was one of my most anticipated releases of the year, not only because I love the editors who compiled this anthology, but also because positive fat rep in horror is so rare! I adore the horror genre, always have and always will, but it'd be lying if I said that it isn't historically unkind to anyone who isn't thin and able-bodied. An entire anthology subverting that by giving us fat protagonists, some of whose stories are directly impacted by their sizes while others are simply mentioned in passing, just to remind us that these people exist and deserve stories, too — I loved everything about this idea.

Unfortunately, though... Diet Riot didn't always deliver what I hoped it would. While a few stories in the collection stood out as absolute delights, I was dismayed by how many of the stories I didn't enjoy much, for one reason or another (anticlimactic endings, mediocre writing, etc.) — perhaps the most common reason being that I wanted so much more horror from these stories, but several of them felt more like fantasy or "horror lite". I'm not a fan of the gatekeeping "it didn't scare me, so it isn't horror" rhetoric we see in the community so often, but this isn't about that. A few of these stories simply just didn't feel like they fit in a horror anthology to me, and I was let down by that.

Negatives aside, there were a few stories I absolutely adored in this collection (and I promise it wasn't intentional that 2 of the 3 favorites I'm going to list were the editors' own contributions, but they really were that good!):

While Diet Riot wasn't a total win for me, I'm happy to have discovered some new authors I want to read more work from, and most of all, I'm elated to have seen so much diverse body representation within these pages. I still highly recommend grabbing a copy of this anthology, and I hope Nico and Sonora will co-edit more collections together in the future, because I'll be happily there to read those, too!

✨ Representation: all protagonists are fat; multiple queer protagonists and side characters; multiple BIPOC protagonists and side characters

Thank you to the editors for the review copy! All thoughts are honest and my own. 

 The Haunted Mask was one of my first Goosebumps books ever as a kid, and was a favorite. I can't even remember how many times I re-read this, but it had been many years since my last reading, and I'm so happy that it held up just as well as I remembered it. To this day, I think it's such an iconic title because it's one of the most genuinely creepy children's books I've ever read. Whereas most Goosebumps books rely a little more on cheese and silliness, The Haunted Mask is such an awful, horrific idea and doesn't really let up once the fear sets in. If you've never read this, whether you're a long-time Goosebumps fan or not, I highly recommend it! (Also, I listened to the audiobook and it's excellently narrated!)
 

 This was absolutely incredible and probably my favorite Junji Ito book thus far. The Liminal Zone is a collection of a few different stories, as many of Junji's works are, and these stories share in the bizarre, messed up, outlandish nature that his stories typically do, but something about these really shone for me.

'Weeping Woman Way' features a couple who come across a town that seems to still utilize the old, mostly forgotten tradition of "weeping women" (professional mourners) at funerals, but after coming in contact with one of the weeping women, Mako finds herself inconsolably sad. The depictions of the weeping women were so chilling and fascinating, and I really loved the idea of this corpse that continues to weep long past her death.

'Madonna' is a religious horror story featuring some incredibly messed up zealots who believe they are on a personal mission to find the reincarnation of the virgin Mary, and I loved the way the ending played out and the twists in this one. Junji Ito has toyed with religious themes in some of his previous works, but this was definitely my favorite example of that theme in his writing so far.

'The Spirit Flow of Aokigahara' follows a couple's trip to Aokigahara's infamous "Suicide Forest" after one member of the couple has been diagnosed with a terminal illness. Once arriving in the forest, the two find an unexplainable source of spiritual activity that draws Norio in and begins to create bizarre changes in him. This felt like the most classically familiar style of story from the collection, as it deals with some really bizarre elements and artwork later in the story that were highly unnerving!

'Slumber' is about a young man who has memories of murder every morning when he wakes, but otherwise has no recollection of planning the murders, nor does he have a motive. This was my least favorite in the collection, but I still thoroughly enjoyed it — I only wish there had been a little more explanation regarding the twist, but I've long since learned that sometimes, with Junji's work, you just have to go with the flow!

I highly recommend The Liminal Zone to any horror manga lovers, whether you're brand new to Junji Ito books or have read all of his previous works. Again, I'd say this was my favorite of his books yet, and it made me extremely excited to see what he writes next! 

A Bunnicula graphic novel?! Bunnicula was one of my all-time faves as a kid and this is so exciting. ♥ I have read the original book more times than I can count, but I think this adaptation might be even better somehow. Bunnicula is the kind of story that works so well in a visual format, and this was executed wonderfully. The art is fun and cute, the animals have expressive faces that are so endearing and lovable, and little Bunnicula himself is an absolute doll. Chester's most hilarious moments are played out so well that I laughed out loud a lot reading this, and Harold, of course, is precious, wise, and charming.

If you've never read Bunnicula in any format, I highly recommend picking it up. Told through the perspective of Harold the dog, we watch the Monroe family adapt to life with a very odd new orphaned bunny who has a shocking, spooky secret. Chester the cat is a monster-obsessed bookworm with a very big imagination and some hilarious schemes to unveil Bunnicula's true identity to the oblivious humans, and Harold finds himself torn between helping his old friend and protecting the new baby of the family. The entire story is so funny and zany and warm-hearted, and it has built itself a legacy amongst readers of all ages for a very good reason! I can't wait to get a finished copy of this to read to my kiddo, and to re-read for myself many times over, just like the original!

Thank you to the publisher for the review copy! All thoughts are honest and my own. 

This was a pretty fun, very quick little read! It's definitely predictable and rushed, given the incredibly short page count, but I love a good story about a kid who's just not quite right and Mary delivered.
 

I absolutely loved this and I hope every library will order a copy of Smaller Sister, because this is a book that NEEDS to be put into the hands of young readers. Whether they're dealing with a family member's eating disorder or mental health struggles or their own, or even simply struggling with classroom bullies and how to value themselves despite what others say, this would be such a valuable story. Lucy is a fun narrator to follow, the art is cute and colorful, and there's a nice mix of light stuff to offset the heavy topics of disordered eating and bullying. The fact that it's all semi-autobiographical is lovely and as someone who battled disordered eating for most of my life, it felt clear to me that it was written by someone who had been there, understood the issue, and treated it with the utmost care and respect. I'll be highly recommending this one for a long time to come!
 

 

And Then I Woke Up feels like a difficult title to rate and review, because it was a difficult title to form a solid opinion on. I am absolutely enthralled by the concept of this story, and loved the narrative voice and the storytelling style, yet something didn't quite click for me throughout the bulk of the novella. I think this story suffers from repetition more than anything else, as it is an extremely character-focused story with very little action (though it has a decent depth of plot). That said, I did enjoy our narrator as a storyteller very much, so I suppose the book's flaws are also its qualities, in a sense (can you see now why I'm struggling to rate and review this?).

And Then I Woke Up is a zombie story of sorts, but told from the perspective of someone who has been "cured" — and these definitely aren't your average zombies. There isn't much to say without running the risk of spoilers, but I was fascinated by the entire premise that Devlin came up with and its social commentary on the way people view and spread information and "truth" in the modern age. The last 20% or so of the novella was phenomenal and I loved watching things unfold, so I'm very happy that I kept going through the more boring elements of the middle.

While And Then I Woke Up didn't fully captivate me, there was something about it that I think will stick with me for a while, and I'm extremely interested in future releases from this author. If you enjoy post-apocalyptic stories with a twist and a healthy (but not overly on-the-nose) commentary on some of the uglier sides of humanity, I highly recommend checking it out! 

What a fascinating, odd little journey. It's such a short book that there isn't much I can say about the plot without spoiling the entire thing, and I recommend going into it knowing as little as possible — I unfortunately saw a post comparing this story to another story (that I won't name, for obvious reasons) and it spoiled the entire premise for me, so if you're reading this review and unaware of what Comfort Me With Apples is about, I'd stop right here and go pick it up!

I'm not sure that I would consider this a thriller or horror (honestly, it struck me more as a fantasy parable), but I did enjoy it immensely, especially the last few chapters. I loved the play on apple types and I found the writing to be very lovely, though I will admit that I'm glad it was only just over 100 pages, as I don't think the story or the writing style would've held up as well in a full novel. This was a delightful, bite-sized introduction to Valente's writing and I look forward to reading more from this author! 

 

I've been hearing about this book and meaning to read it for so long, and I'm incredibly happy that I finally did, because wow, did I love this. One of my "oddly specific favorite tropes" in horror is the ultra-psychological possession story that keeps you guessing, wondering, "Is it a possession or something else?" and this story executes that theme splendidly.

Most of all, I loved how incredibly mundane and everyday so much of this story felt. Without giving too much away, there are moments in Come Closer that made me seriously think about what it would be like to be in Amanda's shoes, or for someone in my own personal life to be possessed, and it was downright chilling. As someone who is a far cry from a skeptic, nothing about Amanda's situation felt too far outside the realm of possibility, which only added to the intensity and made this novella entirely unputdownable for me. I feel like Come Closer is one of those stories that will certainly stick with me for a while, and I highly recommend it to any fan of psychological horror stories.

On a final note, I don't normally compare books, but I'll make an exception here: I especially recommend this story for anyone who loved A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay (another personal all-time favorite)!