maggie_ackbooks's Reviews (170)

A  cute storybook about making compromises in order to live your dream.

Super Cute illustrations! 

If you are in active trauma, please don't read this book. 

The Names is a beautiful novel about not only the power of a name, but how domestic violence and trauma affects a family. Over the three different timelines, I bonded with all three iterations of the son. While I cannot speak to the depictions of domestic violence, the depiction of sexual assault closely reflected my own experience and I felt it was handled very well. 

I borrowed an advanced copy from my place of work and cannot wait for its official release so I can read it again. 

I love Hull's creativity using the burlap tarps used to protect shrubs from the winter weather as inspiration for monstrous creatures. Each photo is presented in pairs, the before and after of Hull's imaginative edit. The combination of photos and poetic sentences beautifully reflects Hull's imagination not only as a writer but also as an artist. 

This book sits beautifully at the intersection of my two passions:  epistolary novels and Victorian penny dreadfuls. I loved it! With the turn of each page I felt like I was reading these letters alongside the inspector and, in turn, our missing journalist, trying to piece together not only what happened to Miss Gibson but our suspected Mrs. Lovett as well. Often I ended up flipping back to prior letters to fact check against new information and revelations. This book was mysterious, gruesome, queer, and full of shocking twists!