Sometimes, I don’t know whether or not to count YA and/or kids books in the final reading tally. They’re definitely quick reads, and sort of inflate the numbers, but sometimes I actually enjoy reading the books so much that I want to talk about them, and not just in passing.
Anyway, last week I read Darren Shan’s Lord Loss for our What Would Harry Read blog. Man, it’s one terrifying book. Normally, I don’t go for the really scary stuff, and goodness knows it takes a lot for the RRHB to get me to watch a horror film (after he dragged me to see The Exorcist, I’ve never forgiven him). But the book is so addictive that I found myself enjoying it as much for the style it’s written in, really slick and cool stream of consciousness, as for the main character himself, a tenacious young fellow with the unfortunate name of Grubbs Grady.
Grubbs battles with a hell of a demon, pun intended, called Lord Loss after he discovers his family is kind of cursed. I don’t want to give too much away because there are a lot of really good twists and turns that Shan takes throughout the narrative and it’s actually better not to know they’re coming. I wasn’t prepared for the horror-style violence in the book, but it didn’t dissuade me from reading the book in one quick sitting, late at night, in bed.
No photo in context, but I am going to post the truly terrifying cover, because, well, it’s kind of cool in that old-school horror way.
I always count YA. Sometimes they read faster but often I find them very enjoyable. And with so many books being sold as “adult lit” in one country and “YA” in another is there really a big difference?
This went straight on my Wish List, which I actually have now. Thanks for the great review.
cjh