I bought this book to help with a paper I’m writing on violence against children in residential schools. This was a harrowing read, and it served its purpose well. Reading about Augie and his companion’s experiences at St. Therese Residential School was heartbreaking. Augie’s resilience, humour, and determination in telling his story are a testament to how difficult it is to break a strong spirit.

We know this was not an easy story for David Carpenter to capture or for Augie Merasty to tell. Augie lived simply, without technology. He was elusive, wayward. He had suffered extensive trauma and battled substance abuse. Despite these challenges, Carpenter did an incredible job with what he had, and Augie was phenomenal in his outspoken retelling of his devastating past.

This is not a book that should be rated at all. It’s not up to us to judge someone’s experiences or Carpenter’s efforts in piecing together what he could. But I’m giving it five stars, not just to counter those who felt the need to give it less, but because it deserves all five and more.

C’est une histoire d’amour condamnée dès le début, d’une manière qui te fait réfléchir à la vie, à la mort et à nos propres relations. Ouf ! Arrache-moi le cœur tant qu’à faire ! Celui-là m’a eue. Les livres ne me rendent pas émotive, mais celui-là... Peut-être parce que je suis restée éveillée bien trop tard pour le finir (tu sais, cette émotivité décuplée au beau milieu de la nuit quand tu es épuisée) ? J’ai essayé de le poser pour dormir, mais impossible de dormir, je ne pouvais pas arrêter d’y penser. Alors j’ai rallumé ma lampe et je l’ai terminé. Mais non, ce n’était pas juste la fatigue. Ce livre te saisit, et si tu ne ressens rien, c’est que tu es un monstre sans cœur. Tant d’histoire en seulement 137 pages ! Incroyablement bien écrit. Toutes les étoiles. À relire. J'insiste que tout le monde le lise. 

I really enjoyed this three-person POV, Inception-like novel, where a young woman's relentless nightmare blurs the line between dreams and reality, haunting both her and her family. There are so many layers to this story, each pulling you deeper and deeper into the nightmare along with the characters, who felt raw and real. 

(Received as an ARC.)

I think that was just OK. I was intrigued at the start but then got a bit bored with it. Nothing really happens, which I know is kind of the point, but...nothing really happens. I would have liked for something to happen. 

A very unique take on true crime telling in poetry format. These poems were all heartbreaking, tales of women who never came home—some recovered while their attackers remain free, some never found, with accused men refusing to speak, others vanished, their families left wondering and hoping.

Great concept. 

"Read the book and live. Don't and die." ~Prefessor Devera, p. 117

I'm out. DNF'ing at page 160. 🫡 I should have trusted my instincts after book 2. 

This collection presents an interesting range of poems, with some that resonated more deeply than others. While I understood the themes explored, I found myself struggling to relate to certain pieces due to where I am in my own life. My mother has mentioned something similar before, and though I understood, I didn't fully experience the feeling until now—this book feels more suited to a younger version of me. I think my own experiences and existential reflections have evolved in ways that made it difficult for me to connect with the content. I can see how this collection would have spoken to me much more strongly twenty years ago, and I do think it could be incredibly impactful for younger readers in particular.

I also found myself a bit bothered, maybe more than I should have been, by the formatting of the book. Stanzas work better when all the lines are kept on the same page, as it can disrupt the flow when they break across pages. It’s a small detail, but for me, it took away from the reading experience and the visual rhythm of the poems.

Note: I received a free copy of this book from BookSirens in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. 

Yay for revenge!! *does a little happy dance*

This read so fast! Straight to the point and just what I needed this week. So entertaining. So many pearl-clutching moments. The kill scenes were brilliant, ruthless, and justified. Delilah Dawson can make me want to exact revenge myself with just one sentence.

I want a visual of all the fashion and all the pink. The whole story gives incredible visuals. It would make a great movie that I would watch over and over, alternating with rereads of this fantastic little book.

If you watched Ready or Not (the 2019 film, not the beloved 1993 Canadian drama series), and the Menu, and enjoyed those, this is a book for you. 

I absolutely ate this up. I didn't want to put it down, and anytime I had to, I was thinking about it. Grady Hendrix takes his time to put you right there alongside his characters and that's exactly how you feel.

I enjoyed that horror existed in several forms in this book. Historical horror at the ways unwed mothers were treated before Roe, authoritarian horror in the ways the girls and their decisions are controlled, body horror in the pregnancies, and in the practice of witchcraft. The witches themselves...And the patriarchy!

Thank you Grady Hendrix for entertaining me with your feminist horror book. I felt for these girls. I wasn't an unwed, pregnant teen in Florida in the 70s...but I was a 20-year-old unwed mother in Canada in the 00s. Not the same, not even close. But you nailed the discomfort, the worries, the feelings. Well done, Sir. 

 My goal is to read more French books this year. My first French finish of 2025 is Là où je me terre by Caroline Dawson (the English version: As the Andes Disappeared, translated by Anita Anand). I had this goal last year too. I read one French book last year (sorry, mom). So I only need one more to improve on said goal 😝

J'ai beaucoup aimé ce petit roman autofictionnel. Caroline joue bien avec les mots. J'ai surtout aimé le chapitre "Cité RockDétente". Je ne m'attendais pas à lire les mots de "C'est Zéro" de Julie Masse et à avoir la chanson prise dans la tête. Je pensais qu'elle y resterait pendant toute ma lecture... mais, quelques phrases plus tard, c'est "Tous les garçons et les filles" qui a gagné la battle of the bands.

J'ai aussi aimé le chapitre "Ce soir l'amour est dans tes yeux". Le garçon qui ne vous souvient pas, ugh! Mais surtout l'aspect poignant du fait qu'elle était déjà consciente des difficultés que sa mère affrontait dans son travail de femme de ménage. Ce n'est que lorsqu'elle se retrouve elle-même en plein chaos qu'elle comprend pleinement la douleur de sa mère, qui devra nettoyer cette même porcherie.

Il y avait aussi beaucoup d'humour et de nostalgie. En tant qu'enfant des années 80 et 90, j'ai apprécié les références culturelles.