J. D. Barker

A haunting tale of suspense, rendered with the masterful skill only Barker could muster. Stranger Things is for children. This is '80s throwback horror at its best.

She Has A Broken Thing Where Her Heart Should Be

Siya S

First of all, it felt like a few of Stephen King's classics, you know, all the coming-of-age epicness of a nostalgic band of children with an unknown superpower. 



With the involvement of weird, cultish people in white lab coats, it also has "Stranger Things" vibes checked out (sans D&D and the mindflayers). Throwing in a generous dash of Dickensian references, and voila you have the most promising epic thriller ever. And the title - what a name! - was just a cherry on top of it all. In conclusion, this book screams perfection.



Well, dear reader, I was disappointed. 

Jack met Stella at a cemetery every year on August 8, a day both of his parents were killed in a fatal crash, and this chance encounter became the ultimate obsession of his otherwise uneventful life. Jack was pulled into the suspenseful sphere of burnt corpses (one after another), a decade-old unsolved case, and people in white lab coats. No matter what happened, he couldn't just forget about Stella. 

To be fair, I really liked it...or at least the first 400 pages of it, because it didn't feel like I just read that many pages. The pacing was great and it kept me guessing...until I was tired of guessing. Perhaps my patience just ran thin. I mean, at around page 600ish I was exhausted. So. Many. Words. Then I was angry that it was dragging for no reason whatsoever. Unfortunately, the book predictably lost momentum somewhere in the jumble of page number 500s, which rendered the final "big reveal" absurdly flat. I saw it coming miles and miles away. 

But there's more!

The "insta" romance between Jack and Stella was forced and unconvincing I rolled my eyes whenever they decided to declare their love, especially (repetitively so) around the end. Oh perhaps I am more familiar with subtle writing, so reading hundreds of pages of "tells" just made me want to see more "shows". I know they're both lonely teenagers, driving mad with hormonal impulses, but their romance was an extreme cringefest. Like, no. 



Also, what was the point of Gerdy?

Speaking of which, I was incredibly annoyed that the author felt the need to describe an infinite of times how gorgeous Stella was. And in contrast, the big bad guy was deformed and hideous. How original... 

All this mess could have been omitted, of course. These subplots weren't entirely essential in telling this (conceptually) amazing story. Because, as I have mentioned, this book could really lose some hundreds of pages...it would have been great if it was at least150 pages shorter.

Totally Addicted to Reading

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.Narrated by David Aaron and Brian Hutchinson, She Has a Broken Thing Where Her Heart Should Be, captured my attention with its unique concept. An engrossing tale of a  young girl who appears on August 8 each year and the boy who is obsessed with her.

First the title caught my attention, followed by the cover. Then when I read the synopsis, I immediately picked it up. A lengthy book, but worth each minute spent reading/listening.

The story began with eight-year-old Jack at the cemetery visiting his parents’ graves along with his aunt Jo. While there he encounters Stella, a young mysterious girl. He is  enamored of her and cannot stop thinking about her, but he only able to see her once a year on August 8. Around this time Detective Brier investigates a strange case of homicide involving a burnt body with clothing  intact. Even stranger was the discovery one year later of another body under the same circumstances. Amidst these strange events, a little boy known only as Subject ‘D’ was kept in a lab, with no interaction with the outside world.

This was a solid mash-up of sci-fi, mystery, suspense and action. There were so many things taking place, I wondered how they all tied together. I had several questions while reading, one of which had to do with the significance of August 8. The book may have been lengthy, but I never noticed as I found myself completely immersed in the world Barker created. Twists, secrets and surprise abound in this unique tale. I couldn’t wait to learn what would happen next. 

The story spans several years and during this time we see the main characters come of age. I enjoyed getting to know Jack. Perfect by no means whatsoever, evidenced by the poor choices he made. He has been through a lot, but he persevered. I didn’t like Stella first because of her better than thou attitude towards Jack. However, as the story progressed, providing me with more details about this mysterious girl, my feelings towards her changed. 

The remaining characters proved to be an interesting bunch, especially Subject ‘D’. He was indeed the most dangerous of the lot.

 This was my first time listening to both narrators. It took me awhile to adjust to the voices. I had to change the narration speed a few times before settling on 1. 5x. They both  brought a lot to the story and handled the voices for the different characters very well. However, I was not a fan of Stella’s voice, which I found annoying. I thought their narration helped to enhance the story.

Conclusion/Recommendation

Overall, a good listen/read and one I recommend without hesitation. This review was originally posted on Totally Addicted to Reading

She Has A Broken Thing Where Her Heart Should Be

Reviews