Review by innocentdemand -- Something (Wisteria 1)

[innocentdemand]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Something (Wisteria 1)" by Shelby Lamb.]

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2 out of 4 stars

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Have you ever read a book that tries carrying enough edge to cut your teeth on? Welcome to Something, the first book in the Wisteria series by Shelby Lamb.

I had some high hopes for this book because it was touted as a horror-based young adult novel with some mature themes. Within the first few pages, I already felt those hopes sinking. Our protagonist Aubrey Golding leaves a lot to desire in a main character. An emo girl with a troubled upbringing, she is a self-harmer with suicidal thoughts. She also seems to really love the song Bring Me to Life, which feels like it jumped straight out of a teenager's cliched self-insert fan story from a decade ago.

At the start of the book, Aubrey wanders into a bookstore and finds a title called Something, which ends up wreaking havoc upon all who get a look at its pages. For many, it seems to end in death. Aubrey begins to think she's hallucinating: monstrous things following her, weird shadows on the wall, and people sporting demonic and animal-like features when she glimpses at them, among other things. Then, there's the mysterious mother-son duo who moved into a supposedly haunted house near a lake ...

The cast of characters feels like poorly rehashed tropes we are all familiar with. An easy lay of a beauty, the best friend who ends up not being a best friend at all, the young teen pregnancy, the hardworking boy next door. They have backstories, but many of the times it feels like they boil down to "lack of proper parental care." Don't expect any of them to win you over with their charm.

Modern pop culture gets scattered throughout the book. Slenderman, Snooki, "thirsty" - these are just some of what you'll find that will quickly end up dating the book to a bygone era in just a few years' worth of time. It feels more like a push to appeal to the young adult crowd than anything, and as an actual adult it felt a little cringe-worthy. I know the terms, I know the meanings behind them, but there are other ways to express the events happening that hold longevity.

Something gets a 2 out of 4 stars from me. It has an interesting premise but the characters are hollow mimics of what I feel troubled teens actually are. Coupled with some minor grammatical errors that got missed in the editing process, the book feels like potential was lost from concept to published story.

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Something (Wisteria 1)
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[Toria Mason]

I always dislike it when I'm reading a story then suddenly out pops overly modern terminologies. Even when stories do take place in modern times, I don't want that "pop culture" feel. (That much worse when it doesn't even take place in this era.) When I read a book, I don't want to be reminded of the hype of the world around me. I agree with you when you say it will be quickly outdated.

[innocentdemand]

I always dislike it when I'm reading a story then suddenly out pops overly modern terminologies. Even when stories do take place in modern times, I don't want that "pop culture" feel. (That much worse when it doesn't even take place in this era.) When I read a book, I don't want to be reminded of the hype of the world around me. I agree with you when you say it will be quickly outdated.

I agree, which I suppose is why I pointed it out. Beyond that these end up getting lost on future readers, and what author wants their book to lose interest because of that? That's not to say that classic books don't contain things within that we as modern readers might not understand, but if they do they are subtle, which is why we never really pause to consider some of them. I suppose if one does need to make references to modern terms, use them in context that would be understandable, like as a way a character talks or something of the sort.