Snarks & Scrolls Blog

Cover and Chapter 1 Review!

So, let’s take a look at this cover art! I’m aware there are other versions out there, but this is the one that I have. The houses ground the artwork. The fog and full moon do a lot of heavy lifting as well. Draping over the houses and blanketing the ground and bushes make this feel ominous and eerie. Is it possible for a picture to make you feel cold? Well, this does that for me. I’ll explain why.

Once upon a time, when I was a child, my family went to Disneyland in California. On the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, which the movie franchise is loosely based off of, there’s a section where you sail in mostly darkness. There are two ships that are firing cannonballs at each other. There’s a dampness that settles on your skin.

That’s how this cover art feels to me

The stitches through the title is a glimpse of the body horror that this book brings (based on chapter 1).

Okay, so, this book was originally written in Dutch. For translating it into English, the setting was moved from the Netherlands to New York, USA. (Thanks Wikipedia for this tidbit of an interesting fact!)

Chapter one is mundane and slightly off that makes my brain log it. The people going about their lives ignoring the strange is what’s sparking that.

When the lady shows up at the house, it’s still normal-ish. She’s not described in detail yet, which is good writing because the more the chapter goes on, the more she’s unsettling. It’s not an info dump at all.

When we find out that she’s not really anyone’s Gramma, but some old woman with stitched up eyes and mouth that just wanders and shows up? That’s unsettling.

And the vibe switch between what is narrated in the family’s povs vs what is shown in the GoPro is awesome. Two different vibes. One, playful, normal. The other, found footage horror movie.

Definitely intrigued!

So far, I’m getting La Croix, Salt, Creepy Vibes, Page Turner, Arby’s!

Signing off for now!

And I’m hungry…

Uh-ree-vuh-dare-chee!

SnS 🌹💀📜🥤