Heart-Shaped Box

A clever premise and interesting opening, but the tone of the writing feels very removed, which dilutes any sense of suspense or dread.

almost DNFed this in the middle because i got bored, but things picked back up again. just a couple weeks later, i'd pretty much put this completely out of my mind. it was fine, but definitely one of my least favorite of Hill's.

1.5, and that's generous. I didn't enjoy this book at all. This is the 3rd I've read from Hill after The Fireman and NOS4A2 which I enjoyed more than this one. Luckily this book was half the size of the others or I wouldn't have finished it. The beginning was OK, the middle sucked, the climax sucked, the ending sucked. Even the acknowledgments were cheesy. The dialogue was hit and miss, the rock and roll references sounded poseur-ish, the story went off on tangents and little to none of the ghost stuff ever made sense. All I can say is that I'm glad I didn't read this first as it would have turned me off of Hill and also it's clear he's on an upward trajectory. So, that's good at least.

Huh... Huh. This is a weird one. For one I immediately hated the main characters, in fsct almost all the characters. I think maybe Jude is meant to be awful, can't tell. So for me, I didn't really care if they survived. It was a moot point.

And without spoilers, trigger warnings for sexual abuse, child abuse, suicidal themes, etc.

To be fair, there was a fair share of unique concepts. And it mostly moved quickly. A unique version of a haunting story.

There's a lot of things that I think could have been cut out that would have improved the whole thing. Especially in the first few chapters. And by the back half I was kinda checked out, the only twists were inevitable. I only finished because a lot of people rave about the ending.

For me it was a bit too neat. I saw a lot coming from early chapters as a bit of a clichéd theme was emerging that had to be wrapped up. “Don't put a gun in the first act unless it goes off by the third” vibe. And the whole thing is toxic as far as relationships go.

That said is like to maybe give him another shot at some point because I loved the movie Horns and this was his first big novel.

But if his other characters are built solely of their childhood trauma or assault I'm out. That is really feeling over done and an lazy excuse for character development /background.

This is pretty boring to be marketed as a “horror” book.

So much better than Horns! (I know I shouldn't make comparisons.)

Hill gets the personality of the South right. My grandmother is from Louisiana and it felt so familiar.
It could only have gotten ‘more correct' if he worked in ‘warsh' (wash said with an ‘r' in it) somehow.
For a moment I cringed at the incest stereotype, but then thought that it wasn't necessarily a southern stereotype so much as what the horror genre covers and it takes place in the south.Loved Bami, wasn't surprised at her name but that's ok, and the part with her sister.The Ouija Board by Milton Bradley was a nice touch as I had had one in my childhood.

Not just a story about ghosts but a story about abuse and the lengths people will go to cover it up. This was my second Joe Hill book, I enjoyed it but not as much as The Fireman.

Not my favourite Joe Hill book. I probably took too long to read it though (almost 2 months!!) and I'm sure that didn't help the pacing and my emotional investment in the characters (ie there wasn't one).

I love me a good, creepy ghost story!

Finished it, but was less creepy than I was expecting.

Can't decide if I should give it 3 or 4 stars.

It was pretty entertaining, honestly. Sure, it read more like a thriller than horror to me? I mean, I found absolutely nothing scary about this book. But it was fun to follow their struggle. Well, it was fun after a few chapters. The beginning was kind of hard to swallow.

Jude, the main character, pissed the hell out of me. I was almost rooting for the ghost to get him.

Also, dogs suffering. That's a huge, MASSIVE NO for me.

So yes, entertaining but with a lot of buts. I'll leave it at 3 stars.

I really enjoyed this book. I thought it had good pacing, likeable characters and a wonderful eerie feeling.
The plot felt a little obvious, but I enjoyed it all the same.
A great first novel and I look forward to reading more of Hills works.

In NOS4A2 Joe Hill really settles into his own voice and tells a kick ass story that completely blew me away and I highly recommend it. Heart Shaped Box is an earlier work and he clearly shows his influences. If you're going to emulate a style you could do worse than Stephen King, especially if he happens to be your father.

It's the next generation of King. The musical influences that littered King's earlier work are updated for a new generation. Instead of Baby, Can you Dig Your Man our protagonist singer is an aging goth rocker with albums like Happy Little Lynch Mob. Classic muscle cars, monster trucks and long American highways also feature prominently. And the writing is at that same languorous pace of human interaction and slowly building characters.

Some deft touches and flourishes here that I really enjoyed but halfway through the penny dropped and I realized what sort of book I was reading, and exactly how it was going to end. Still a well told story that hasn't diminished my enthusiasm for Joe Hill and I will read his Horns I'm sure.

okay so I started this book as a paperback at the airport years ago. a friend of mine asked me a few days ago what to read and I recommended this to her. I decided to give it a shot. finished it in 3 days. cant say its My favorite book but it was different I enjoyed it

Great read!

Jow Hill's Heart-Shaped Box is the kind of story you don't see often enough these days - a classic ghost story. Not a ghoul-fest, just a classic, straight up haunting and exorcism of a sorts. This is a solid three star book, not quite up to par with Horns, but still a decent read. As another reviewer said, I think my biggest problem was that the level of peril never seemed to be quite imminent. Hauntings run a thin line, and I think Hill was trying to avoid crossing over it, but the final result was a book that didn't quite drag me along in the middle. Plus, living in Fredericksburg, I kept getting distracted for that part of that book :)

This was really good. Kept me on the edge of my seat the whole way.

I loved this book. It just grabbed me by the throat and held on right to the end. Joe Hill may be Stephen King's son but his writing is in a league of it's own. I shall be adding the rest of his books to the collection.

I don't understand all the hatred towards this book I've read here and on Amazon. I think perhaps people aren't enjoying it because they expect it to be just like King, or at least similar. I'm not a fan of King's work myself, and thoroughly enjoyed this book. It had suspense, drama, and an interesting plot. Thought the characterization was a bit lacking and some characters were pointless, overall it was a fun book to read and I could hardly put it down.

This book is messed up - but I will admit that, at times, it scared the bejesus out of me. Sitting at my desk at work, in the middle of the afternoon, eating lunch...I had to put the book down and walk away.