The Suffering

July 15, 2015
The avenging spirit Okiku and her teenage pal search for a lost friend.Seventeen-year-old Tark has adjusted pretty well to life with Okiku, the vengeful spirit that accompanies him wherever he goes. Tark is able to control Okiku's blood lust, harnessing and aiming it at only those that truly deserve it. When an old friend, Kagura, goes missing, Tark and Okiku travel to the Aokigahara, a forest in Japan infamous for suicide, to search. As the location's dark past is revealed, Okiku begins to lose sight of her moral compass, and Tark begins to feel that nothing will ever be the same again. The novel's horror set pieces are the real highlight. Chupeco establishes a creepy, sinister tone early on but never veers into camp or overwrought darkness. There are bad things in this world, and the author delights in examining both its monsters and the implications of pitting them against one another. The novel's shortcomings are few but large. The opening chapters are clunky, trying hard to fill new readers in on the events of The Girl from the Well (2014) and setting up this plot at the same time. It's also hard to tell which details are vital to the story's background and which details are intended for the story's future. This chunky opening hobbles the book, which doesn't shift into high gear until 76 pages in, and from then on, it's relatively smooth sailing. A spooky, uneven ghost story. (Horror. 12-16)

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August 1, 2015

Gr 9 Up-In this companion novel to The Girl from the Well (Sourcebooks, 2014), the avenging ghost Okiku now resides with her human counterpart, 17-year-old Tarquin "Tark" Halloway, whom she rescued from demonic possession in the previous novel. Tark and Okiku quell unhappy, venomous ghosts that linger on Earth to kill humans and this is no easy task. Okiku frequently goes solo to dispose of human murderers she senses on Earth but also assists Tark when he is wrestling an especially cantankerous spirit. This is the case when fellow Pembrooke High classmates seek his aid. Tark agrees to exorcise an evil spirit that his inexperienced classmates have conjured. The descriptions of the murderous Japanese spirit of an old woman he eventually wrangles into a doll with Okiku's help are startlingly graphic. Part temptress, part demon Okiku is more aptly developed in this installment. Tark serves as narrator, lending a smooth transition to the couple's eerie courtship. Action evolves swiftly and neatly. The pair is eventually drawn to an isolated "suicide" forest in Japan to rescue a fellow exorcist and an American ghost-hunting TV crew. Teens will savor the vivid portrayal of ghost exorcism as well as the action-packed adventure, romance, and drama of this tale. While a stand-alone, this volume would be best appreciated after reading the first title. VERDICT An exciting, unforgettable drama that echoes Stephen King infused with Japanese culture.-Julie Shatterly, W. A. Bess Elementary School, Gastonia, NC

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