Official Review: The Typewriter by Wesley Cris

[CataclysmicKnight]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Typewriter" by Wesley Cris.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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Melisa (with one "l") is an aspiring author and wants to become just as big of an author as her grandfather Peter. Unfortunately, he's a grumpy, reclusive man who doesn't really understand the idea of socializing. When she's forced to stay with him for a week while her parents go off to a conference she asks to use his computer to write on. He tells her in no uncertain terms that he's using it, but goes to the attic to retrieve an old typewriter for her.

From the moment she arrives at his home she hears an odd, malicious voice in her head but it's when she uses the typewriter that she learns the voice is the typewriter itself! After grandpa rips up her best work from her first day there, calling it garbage, the voice asks if she'll let it help her write. She accepts, and from then until 7am the next morning she's held captive, forced to write what ends up being a plot to kill her grandfather!

The Typewriter by Wesley Cris reminded me of the Goosebumps books I read as a teenager, and I was excited to see what an evil typewriter would do to an aspiring writer. Amazon states that the book's intended audience is 11-17 years old, and I totally agree - the vocabulary used is easy for teens and pre-teens to follow and it doesn't get gory or gross. There was also a fair bit of humor concerning the old, hard-to-use typewriter. For example, the first time Melisa discovers that the voice is coming from the typewriter it's because the typewriter tells her to stop being mad at it for not having a backspace key.

Weighing in at only 37 pages, I really wish the book was longer. A dozen or two added pages really would've added to the tension and given the book a lot more horror. As it is, the plot moves very fast and things resolve themselves almost as quickly as I could process them. I didn't find a single grammatical error, but a little more polish in the pacing would've made this an exceptional short story.

As it is, The Typewriter is a creative short story. I'd give it 2.5 stars if I could, but my official rating is 3 out of 4 stars. It's a little on the short side, but if you like unique, light-horror books with a twist you should check it out!

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The Typewriter
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[kittymamamau]

Sounds super interesting! Too bad it's so short. I think I'll recommend it to the kids in my life anyway. Short stories can be just long enough to hold their short little attention spans!

[Azeline Arcenal]

I may read this book since it seems like a quick read. Great job on the review!