Saturday 5 January 2019

Bird Box by Josh Malerman


Bird Box by Josh Malerman
I read Bird Box over the space of two days. Everyone was talking about the Netflix film which I was dying to see, but I absolutely had to read the book first. 

People across the world have started committing suicide in the most horrendous ways. Some presence or creature or beast or who knows what is making them do this... happy people with everything to live for, taking their own lives. 

The only way to survive is to not look, to keep your eyes closed, the blinds down and the keep your wits about you, a task that is proving difficult for Malorie because she also has boy and girl to protect. 

Malorie is taking a risk. She is taking the children on a dangerous journey to a place she hopes will provide safety. Will the three of them make it or will the urge to look become too great? 

It had been a while since I read anything that put me on edge. I'd forgotten how much I enjoy being creeped out... so long as I'm not home alone!!! It's the fear of the unknown. There were times when a character would know that something was right behind them but they couldn't see what it was and it gave me goosebumps to imagine myself in that same situation... I know I'd freak out and rip my blindfold off.. and then slit my own throat!!

The chapters alternate between the past and present, Malorie living in a house with a group of strangers, trying to stay safe and figure out how to beat this thing and Malorie and the children on their journey to what they hope will be safety. It is interesting to see how the characters in the house interact with each other under the tense circumstances. They know they need to work together if they want to survive yet they mistrust one another and sometimes with good reason.

I loved seeing Malorie's method of training the children to survive by learning to use hearing as their main sense instead of sight. They could tell so much more from a single sound than we ever could. At times her methods could be perceived as harsh or even cruel but is an alive frightened child not better than a disobedient dead child?

To begin with Malorie wasn't ready to be a mother and didn't believe she could ever be a good one. To then see her being able to stay level headed and focused, putting her own fears to one side so she could stay strong for those children, Malorie proved that she was the best mother those children could have ever had. She was one super strong woman.

This book had me glued to the page but also with one ear listening out for noises and the duvet pulled right up to my nose because I'm a great big scardy cat!! 

Thank you to Harper Collins for sending me this book.


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Bird Box by Josh Malerman

Bird Box by Josh Malerman I read Bird Box over the space of two days. Everyone was talking about the Netflix film which I was dying to ...