Language: R (133 swears 27 'f'); Mature Content: PG-13 (Consistent drinking and drug use throughout, suicide and suicide attempts, off-page sex) Violence: PG-13 (Murders with descriptive gore)
BUYING ADVISORY: HS - OPTIONAL
AUDIENCE APPEAL: LOW
Richard escapes as soon as he can from his small Californian town and abusive family to the east coast university: Hampden. There, he finds himself studying ancient languages alongside five other students and their eccentric professor. The group idolizes this professor and, as they become increasingly immersed in his teachings, they slip farther and farther into obsession, danger, and evil.
This book took me two months and two formats to finish (starting paperback and ending audiobook), meaning it was terribly difficult to finish. The writing feels very classical and certainly pretentious, as the narrator studies languages, and I had to look up words on nearly every page. Although the beginning 200 pages were incredibly slow and uneventful, the ending was gut-wrenching and I was wholly invested in that last two hours. Further, I don't think many high schoolers would actually make it past those first couple hundred pages. As far as mature rating goes, the drinking and drug abuse was constant throughout the whole novel by all characters, there is off-page sex, mention of sex between siblings, mention of domestic abuse, and there were multiple deaths by both murder and suicide. All main characters are white.
Sierra Finlinson
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment