The Suffering by Rin Chupeco // Repeats Aren't Fun

The Suffering (The Girl From the Well #2), by Rin Chupeco
Publication: September 8, 2015, by Sourcebooks
Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Paranormal, Fantasy
Pages: 272
Format: ARC
Source: BEA/Publisher
Rating: 

Seventeen-year-old Tark knows what it is to be powerless. But Okiku changed that. A restless spirit who ended life as a victim and started death as an avenger, she’s groomed Tark to destroy the wicked. But when darkness pulls them deep into Aokigahara, known as Japan’s suicide forest, Okiku’s justice becomes blurred, and Tark is the one who will pay the price…

My Thoughts:

Here we go again. Rin Chupeco's The Suffering was a repeat of her first book in this series, The Girl From the Well. I would rather not complain or anything, but this was a serious hit and run for me. It was confusing, slow and ugly. Three-star books are the worst thing to eve give out, and when they hit me, I just get frustrated and want to run around the world, searching for another perfect horror-thriller story. This was not it. Instead, it was just another slow-paced book, some parts set in America, but some parts also in Japan, just like another vacation disaster as the first one turned out to be. Not for me.

Tark and his cool cousin, Callie (I had to go back and look her name up) are back again to fight... ghosts? I am still not sure what this series is going to eventually become or anything. There is no point that is flying up in front of my face. You know how every book has its own message.... right? And you know how every book is pretty great when it comes to world-building? There is no sight of Japan in this. The texture and setting of the story seemed to be in some weird forest in Virginia or something. There is no cultural relation whatsoever between the setting, and what it is actually like in Japan. I see nothing special this time, just like the first. 

It's been... a week? since I read this and I honestly do not remember a thing. Sure, the beginning and commencing part of the book was fabulous, with Tark in America and Okiku sitting around, acting like a doll and not saying anything. But then I suddenly remembered that she is a doll. WHAT? She is creepy but not in a horror-like way but in an eerie way that does not make sense... do you know what I mean? She barely ever says anything and acts completely monotone throughout the story. How does Tark even see anything in her to actually enjoy, you ask me. My flat answer is: Go see for yourself. Because in my perspective, there is nothing creepy or nice about this chick.

"She taught me to face my inner demons, that their presence did not mean I was broken. She loved my darkness, and I loved her light." (303)

This novel essentially comprises of everything I would have liked to enjoy or could have enjoyed in Young Adult horror, fantasy fiction. The characters were there, the somewhat-interesting romance was there, and so was the folklore. But a sequel or second book in this sense is not essential, in fact. It is just the same as the first, inserted with the same complexity and same plot as the time before. I gave it the same rating, too, anyways. 

Tark was my favourite part of this novel. I adore his quirky, nerdy and shy personality, but when he wants something, he has game and passion to get what he would like. I never really paid attention to the fighting or action or whatnot that was here... because that does not interest me. And I promise you, I would have never picked this one up if it was not for BEA's generosity. I had an ARC, borrowed the first one from the library, did not fall in love with it as I expected to, and then decided to binge read this one. Both were equal and dissatisfying, except for the beginnings and Tark's character. This shows that if Rin Chupeco wrote contemporary, I might have really enjoyed it. Hmm... I'll wait and see for future, upcoming novels from her.

The Suffering was not everything I expected it to be and wanted. Second book syndrome has struck, and it will probably stay with me if Rin ever decides to add more books to this series. I had high hopes, there were stunning reviews out there that recommended this to all, even if you do not enjoy folklore tales, and I fell in the ditch. Read this if you are lurking for a strong protagonist who will make your inner book-nerd fangirl sides churn. Other than that, this is just a weak "horror" story that could never make it to the movies. It was okay, ugh.

*A review copy was provided by the publisher via BookExpo America. Thank you so much!*

Are you cool with giving books second chances, or series, for instance? Do you enjoy folklore tales? What are some other good ones?

The Girl From the Well by Rin Chupeco // Not As Scary As Expected

The Girl From the Well (The Girl From the Well #1), by Rin Chupeco
Publication: May 1, 2015, by Sourcebooks Fire
Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Horror, Fantasy
Pages: 304
Format: Paperback
Source: Borrowed
Rating: 

A dead girl walks the streets.
She hunts murderers. Child killers, much like the man who threw her body down a well three hundred years ago.
And when a strange boy bearing stranger tattoos moves into the neighborhood so, she discovers, does something else. And soon both will be drawn into the world of eerie doll rituals and dark Shinto exorcisms that will take them from American suburbia to the remote valleys and shrines of Aomori, Japan.
Because the boy has a terrifying secret - one that would just killto get out.

My Thoughts:

The only thought that comes to mind when I look at the cover is an endless amount of sighs. Horror/thrillers are my favourite genre of YA, because so many authors could just slam books and make them so intense that one could not sleep at night. The Girl From the Well unfortunately was not intense or scary. Instead, it was pretty mythological, with Japanese ghost tales incorporated into a somewhat modern tale of exorcisms (but not the scary kind), poor descriptions and a lack of heroic characters to save the day. This was so much more fantasy than real or like some kind of thriller. I expected more, let's just say that. 

I immediately jumped into this book when I received the sequel for review. I requested it from the library, and was aching to read it ever since. (Let's just remember that my library pile was forty books wide.) I have been meaning to read this for a long time, since five star reviews have been all over the place and I just could not wait any longer for a tale that will leave me staring at my ceiling at night. "A dead girl walks the streets." Woo, I am so scared. What did this story offer, you ask? Ultimate boredom for a teenager. Unless you are a huge fan of Japanese mythology and ghost stories, you could have large issues with this storyline.

The Girl From the Well seemed to be extremely confusing. I felt like the perspectives were constantly switching, or at least, it seemed like they were and everything was mixed up. There was an effort put for the book to feature Japanese culture, including the language, but it seemed like Google Translate was the best fit. The characters spoke English, they switched back and forth between a few words here and there, and there was so much boredom between the pages. The main idea and themes of the novel are still dissipated and I still do not know the answer. 

"I am where dead children go. But not even I know where they go when I am done, whether to a higher plane or to a new life. I only know this: like the chochin of my youth, where they go, I cannot follow." 

Just take a look at the "deep" phrases. This book featured a "scary" protagonist who went around with her dark locks (picture The Ring) but that is it. There were exorcisms, but nothing was descriptive. A kid could honestly read this book and they would be fine. There is nothing traumatizing or any of that. 

There are many characters who are all so different and stuck in different situations that you simply do not know what they are supposed to be doing throughout the novel. Tark is the teenage guy (whose perspective the sequel is in) and he's stuck in Japan with his older cousin, Callie. And then there's the chick who watches everyone and is "where dead children go." Ugh. This novel honestly could have been so much more but it turned out to be slow, and full of nonsense. You should see the way the story is formatted. Now that is a laugh for sure. 

The problem with Rin Chupeco's story is that it did not hand readers the ultimate horror experience. We picked up this book because of the pile of high ratings and promises that it is scary. In fact, I prepared myself for a similar story to Danielle Vega's The Merciless, which is a modern take on exorcisms and psychological thrillers. In this case, I do not know how to exactly classify this book and where. The only things that were enjoyable were Callie, Tark and the setting. Japan is crazily awesome, but I cannot even recall if this was taken place in a modern setting or not. It's that confusing and eerie.

The Girl From the Well was supposed to be my new favourite novel that I will recommend for ages to every YA reader. Instead, it is something that should just be classified under the category of mythology and fantasy, two subjects that do not mix too well together for me. I like them separately, but together, it is just too fake. My reading experience of this took me a great load of time because I knew I had to finish it; I have the sequel. Rin Chupeco does not take you on a vacation trip to Japan where readers will experience its culture and language. Instead, this is wholly Americanized and contemporary for me to even blink. It could have been even worse, I ensure myself.

Have you ever read a horror story that was based on mythology? What would you expect from a Japanese mythology story?