Dead Eleven by Jimmy JulianoMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
On a creepy island where everyone has a strange obsession with the year 1994, a newcomer arrives, hoping to learn the truth about her son's death--but finds herself pulled deeper and deeper into the bizarrely insular community and their complicated rules...
Clifford Island. When Willow Stone finds these words written on the floor of her deceased son's bedroom, she's perplexed. She's never heard of it before, but soon learns it's a tiny island off of Wisconsin's Door County peninsula, 200 miles from Willow's home. Why would her son write this on his floor? Determined to find answers, Willow sets out for the island.
After a few days on Clifford, Willow realizes: this place is not normal. Everyone seems to be stuck in a particular day in 1994: they wear outdated clothing, avoid modern technology, and, perhaps most mystifyingly, watch the OJ Simpson car chase every evening. When she asks questions, people are evasive, but she learns one thing: close your curtains at night.
High schooler Lily Becker has lived on Clifford her entire life, and she is sick of the island's twisted mythology and adhering to the rules. She's been to the mainland, and everyone is normal there, so why is Clifford so weird? Lily is determined to prove that the islanders' beliefs are a sham. But are they?
Five weeks after Willow arrives on the island, she disappears. Willow's brother Harper comes to Clifford searching for his sister, and when he learns the truth--that this island is far more sinister than anyone could have imagined--he is determined to blow the whole thing open.
If he can get out alive...
Clifford Island. When Willow Stone finds these words written on the floor of her deceased son's bedroom, she's perplexed. She's never heard of it before, but soon learns it's a tiny island off of Wisconsin's Door County peninsula, 200 miles from Willow's home. Why would her son write this on his floor? Determined to find answers, Willow sets out for the island.
After a few days on Clifford, Willow realizes: this place is not normal. Everyone seems to be stuck in a particular day in 1994: they wear outdated clothing, avoid modern technology, and, perhaps most mystifyingly, watch the OJ Simpson car chase every evening. When she asks questions, people are evasive, but she learns one thing: close your curtains at night.
High schooler Lily Becker has lived on Clifford her entire life, and she is sick of the island's twisted mythology and adhering to the rules. She's been to the mainland, and everyone is normal there, so why is Clifford so weird? Lily is determined to prove that the islanders' beliefs are a sham. But are they?
Five weeks after Willow arrives on the island, she disappears. Willow's brother Harper comes to Clifford searching for his sister, and when he learns the truth--that this island is far more sinister than anyone could have imagined--he is determined to blow the whole thing open.
If he can get out alive...
--
Oh wow, I really wish I'd written this review earlier, after I'd finished the book--and not, like, six months later. But these things happen--and I feel that I really must write something about this book. Because this is one spectacular horror novel.
The interweaving narratives and storytelling modes that work together to tell the 'bigger picture' story is simply amazing. Sometimes, combining so many narratives can cause pacing or tension problems, but not with this novel. Without all the narrators, I feel it would make a far less terrifying story.
Oh wow, I really wish I'd written this review earlier, after I'd finished the book--and not, like, six months later. But these things happen--and I feel that I really must write something about this book. Because this is one spectacular horror novel.
The interweaving narratives and storytelling modes that work together to tell the 'bigger picture' story is simply amazing. Sometimes, combining so many narratives can cause pacing or tension problems, but not with this novel. Without all the narrators, I feel it would make a far less terrifying story.
I particularly adored the setting. I mean, I love stories set on islands. I love missing-person stories. I love horrifying monsters. I love weird groups and cults. And this book has everything.
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