Well guys something big has happened. A new book has made it into my top ten favorite books of all time. That book would be NOS4A2 by Joe Hill, who is Stephen King’s son in case you didn’t know. I’m going to say something that may be blasphemy to some of you but I think I might actually like Joe’s writing style more than his famous dad’s. I’ll hold the rest of my thoughts until after the synopsis.

Spoilers

The Synopsis

Victoria McQueen, known as the Brat to her father and Vic to most others, is a pretty typical kid. That is until one day when she runs out of her house as her parent’s have another argument, this time over a lost bracelet of her mother’s. She fiercely rides her Raleigh Tuff Burner bike and suddenly an old covered bridge appears. She cautiously rides across and comes out at a restaurant that she had ate at with her parents earlier that day. Once there, the cook gives her her mother’s lost bracelet which must have fell off while they were there. She goes back through the tunnel, bracelet in hand and with a vicious pain in her left eye, to her parents. From then on Vic is able to summon her bridge to find lost things; but it costs her. Vic isn’t the only one with strange gifts and the ability to create an inscape, a world within the real world. One of the others is a librarian named Maggie who can find out answers to questions using Scrabble tiles. Then there is Charles Talent Manx. Manx has created his own world that he calls Christmasland. He’s filled it with the children that he believes needs to be there. In Christmasland they never feel hunger, thirst or pain. However, they also don’t feel pesky emotions like guilt or empathy. The children are just dead shells of their former selves with wicked sharp teeth and a love for bloody games. As a teenager Vic goes looking for trouble and finds Manx. She barely escapes with her life and is saved by Lou Carmody, the future father of her son. Over the next few years she moves in with Lou, raises her son and tries to stay sane but Manx hasn’t forgotten about Vic. He has plans for a new addition to Christmasland, Vic’s son. Vic hasn’t been the best mother but she’s hell bent on saving her boy and destroying Manx once and for all.

My Thoughts

That short synopsis doesn’t even begin to cover this book or really do it justice. I promise it’s far more interesting than I can make it sound. There is literally no boring parts throughout this book. I love, LOVE, these characters.  Vic is the most troubled but bravest heroine I think I’ve ever read about. The whole overall story was just great. I love the idea that our minds are our inscapes and some people have the power to make that reality if they have the right tool. This book was also one of the creepiest I’ve read and made me very uncomfortable, in a good way. I can honestly say that I’ll never listen to Christmas music in the same way again.

Obviously, I think you need to go buy and read this book right now. This is the first book I’ve read by Joe Hill and I look forward to reading more. If you’ve read this book, let me know your opinions on it! If you haven’t, let me know if it sounds interesting to you! Thank you for reading and have a great day!

*I found this artwork based on the book randomly on Google. I tried to find who did it to give them credit, because it’s amazing, but I couldn’t. If you know who made these pictures please let me know so I can give them credit.