Happy Friday! Today, we're really excited to be participating in the blog tour for Rin Chupeco's debut novel, The Girl From the Well, out now from Sourcebooks Fire. As part of the tour, we have Ashley's review for you (she LOVED it!), as well as a giveaway for a hardcover copy of The Girl From the Well (US/CAN only). So make sure you enter to win via the Rafflecopter form at the end of this post!
And if you haven't seen it yet, you can see the book trailer (which is wonderfully creepy and captures the mood of this book perfectly) by following this link!
Before we get to Ashley's review and the giveaway, here's a little information about The Girl From the Well, Rin, and some advanced praise for her book!
About the Book
The Girl from The Well ● Author: Rin Chupeco
Sourcebooks Fire ● August 5, 2014 ● ISBN: 9781402292187
The Ring meets The Exorcist in this haunting and lyrical reimagining of the Japanese fable.
Okiku has wandered the world for hundreds of years, setting free the spirits of murdered children. Wherever there’s a monster hurting a child, her spirit is there to deliver punishment. Such is her existence, until the day she discovers a troubled American teenager named Tark and the dangerous demon that writhes beneath his skin, trapped by a series of intricate tattoos. Tark needs to be freed, but there is one problem—if the demon dies, so does its host.
With the vigilante spirit Okiku as his guide, Tark is drawn deep into a dark world of sinister doll rituals and Shinto exorcisms that will take him far from American suburbia to the remote valleys and shrines of Japan. Can Okiku protect him from the demon within or will her presence bring more harm? The answer lies in the depths of a long-forgotten well.
Praise for The Girl From the Well:
“[A] Stephen King–like horror story…A chilling, bloody ghost story that resonates.” –Kirkus Reviews
“Chupeco makes a powerful debut with this unsettling ghost story…told in a marvelously disjointed fashion from Okiku’s numbers-obsessed point of view, this story unfolds with creepy imagery and an intimate appreciation for Japanese horror, myth, and legend.” –Publishers Weekly, STARRED
“The Girl from the Well is part The Ring, part The Grudge and part The Exorcist…A fantastically creepy story sure to keep readers up at night… Okiku is one of the most interesting YA characters to date.” RT Book Reviews, 4 ½ STARS-TOP PICK!
“A dark novel that will appeal to horror fans, lovers of Elizabeth Scott’s ‘Living Dead Girl.’” –School Library Journal
About the Author
Despite uncanny resemblances to Japanese revenants, Rin Chupeco has always maintained her sense of humor. Raised in Manila, Philippines, she keeps four pets: a dog, two birds, and a husband. She’s been a technical writer and travel blogger, but now makes things up for a living. The Girl from the Well is her debut novel. Connect with Rin at www.rinchupeco.com.
Ashley's Review
I never watched The Ring or The Grudge because I was terrified of horror movies when they first came out. I've been interested in the stories, just never the whole someone coming out of my television set to kill me thing. I've really come to enjoy horror books though, and when I saw The Girl From the Well, I just know I had to read it. And I was not disappointed! This book was as incredible as I hoped it would be.
One of my favorite things about this book is the disjointed way that the story is told. Okiku tells the story in a mostly linear fashion, but it's broken up and interrupted by various things. For one, Okiku is obsessed with counting. As long as there aren't nine objects, the story can progress in a decent fashion. However, if Okiku counts nine things... let's just say you don't want to be around. Okiku, being a ghost, can also travel around to wherever she wants to go and the scenery changes quite often. Sometimes she'll be with Tark and then the next sentence she'll be stalking her next victim halfway around the world. I think this could be a little off-putting for some people, but I absolutely loved it and thought it fit perfectly with the story Okiku was telling.
I also really enjoyed the Japanese folk tales, mythology, and culture incorporated in The Girl From the Well. I'm not an expert on Japanese culture or anything, but the aspects that I recognized seemed pretty sound and so I assume that the rest of the things were as well. I loved the temple and the priestesses and how Rin articulated how they perform exorcisms. I felt like I was in the room with them when they were trying to remove the spirits from people and rehome them. I was terrified for everyone when things don't go as planned.
Okiku is fascinating, and reading this book made me want to learn more about her story in Japanese folklore and watch other portrayals of it. She's terrifying if you've done something she doesn't like (especially if you're on of the people she targets) or if you happen to have nine of something when she shows up. Her background is also heartbreaking, and I really came to understand her we find out more about her life and her history. I enjoyed learning things as Tark and his cousin learned things - I think it made it more interesting than just having Okiku explain her life.
Overall, I absolutely loved this book and could not put it down! There's enough horror and gore and evil spirits that I would definitely not recommend this to a younger audience, but I think the older YA crowd - especially those who enjoy horror stories - would really love this book. I can't compare it to The Ring or The Grudge, but it does have a genuine Japanese feel about it. I can also see fans of Dexter enjoying this book too, although the similarities stop at a killer killing killers. Rin's writing is gorgeous, her story-telling is superb, and I can't wait to read more of her books in the future! 5/5 for an excellent debut!
The Giveaway!
Thanks for stopping by!
--Ashley & Paul
