Lock the Doors is a bit of a hard book to categorise. It is a mix somewhere between a thriller and a drama, and it skews on the younger side of YA fiction. It tells the story of Tom, a young teenager who moves into a new home and gets creeped out when he sees the remnants of locks on the outside of the bedroom doors. When a new girl starts at his school and he realises she used to live in his house, he becomes determined to get answers from her.
I did enjoy this book a lot. I think the plot is interesting and unpredictable, and that really packs a punch in terms of the thriller aspect. The characters were likeable (if a little basic) and I was mostly engaged throughout.
There were however a few issues. Firstly, the writing was a little simplistic at times. I get that it is meant to mimic the writing of children but I felt some of the tension was lost. I also had mild problems with the pacing, with the last section in particular feeling like the book had overstayed its welcome a little bit. This definitely wasn't a huge issue but it was a bit of a shame as I feel like the ending of a book like this should be snappy and fast-paced.
Overall, this is an interesting story and I'm sure if I was the target demographic, the issues I pointed out wouldn't bother me at all. I really like that it was unpredictable and I think the direction it went in resulted in a great story. Some of the emotions are conveyed really well here. It does cover quite a lot of difficult topics so just bear that in mind.
Overall Rating:
.5
No comments:
Post a Comment