***Trigger Warning ⚠️ Discussions of Physical Harm to Children, Discussions of Torture and Suicidal Thoughts in the Book***
Back in Steve’s pov where he’s lost sleep after the event with the Delarosas. I can imagine how terrifying that’d be no matter how many times you’ve had to comfort someone seeing a Witch like that for the first time and coming to the realization that you’re stuck in this town with her forever.
Also, Steve teaches at a college, I think? And does research as well, and there’s a line that he’s surprised how easily he can lie to his colleagues and how they bothers him, and Peter would say it’s part of being in Black Springs. So, he doesn’t work in the town, which means, he can survive outside of it for work, but not for longer than 1.5 weeks based on an earlier chapter. I wonder if she’s taken down or appeased, or whatever, if the curse was broken, that they’d be able to leave and live their lives like everyone else, but then again, with that kind of knowledge of things unexplained, how could you live a normal life ever again?
And that sort of answers that. Steve having a talk with his son, Tyler, about their little prank, and how he got off lucky. They have a ten commandments like decree to stay safe and keep the witch a secret from any outsiders, to the point of children beating other children black and blue for telling their outsider friends and family. Yikes! I’ll probably have to start adding little disclaimers or trigger warnings for the blog posts on this book because it’s getting Raw Cacao Nibs dark. And explaining now what Doodletown means is essentially an asylum just out of the Witch’s influence where they send people as punishment, in padded rooms, for 3 weeks until they get to come back and the padded walls are to keep them from self-deleting. And we have Steve flashback to how he felt that way in Thailand. So, this whole situation and not wanting to be sentenced to Doodletown is more than just punishment, it’s psychological and torturous. I like to think of myself as a kind soul, so, the thought of punishing someone to the point of them wanting to end things is absolutely abhorrent.
Tyler really wants to get the world involved in breaking the witch’s curse. Steve is internally panicking and so am I, honestly, because he knows what would happen if the world came in to try and help. It’s happened before, and disaster followed. Honestly, I feel for the youth stuck there. That age group feels invincible and so very smart. That they’ve found a new solution that hasn’t been thought of before. I’ve been that age. And no, we’re not invincible or crazy clever. Ugh! I sound so much like a mom now, but good! Keep the kids safe! Also, I bet something terrible like what Tyler’s proposing is exactly what’s going to happen…
Ooooh, okay, Tyler’s up in arms mainly because he wants to tell his out of town girlfriend…all that bravado deflated.
Having Tyler as Steve, ‘What are you so afraid of?’ hits a primal pit in my chest. A huge hit to the ol’ anxiety engine. Yikes. I didn’t want to be political today, but with the threat of war in Iran (thanks book for also mentioning Iran in this chapter), real threats are terrifying, even when they seem far away.
Ending the heavy chapter on such a hopeless note with the vibe of can’t do nothin’ about any of this and ending with, ‘Welcome to Black Springs’ hits so hard. I feel bad for everyone in that town and grateful that this is just a book.
•Rubbing Alcohol
•Air
•Nnnnnope!
•I Put Down My Edamame For This
•Crickets
•Author Is A Menace
•Arby’s Reverse Fries
•Swiss Cheese
•Bruise
•Caramel Apple Crumble Á La Mode
•Raw Cacao Nibs
•Red Cooked Lobster
Phew…something lighter tomorrow, thank goodness…
*Checks next book*
ACOTAR…
SnS 🌹💀📜🥤
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