I Crawl Through It

Respect to AS King for trying surreal & experimental, but easily the worst of her books. Would be interested to see teen reactions, because there are very few I could think of liking this. Finished to see if it got better, but I don't think it did. Mostly just found it annoyingly bad.

This book was weird as hell and I loved every minute of it. The characters are so interesting and unreliable, and I was fascinated by the way their stories unraveled. This was riveting and bizarre and absolutely fantastic.

It's extremely hard for me to review a book I perceive as perfect as I am aware that what is perfect to me, may not be perfect to others. I will try to express my love for this book by discussing the way it made me feel. From the get-go I Crawl Through It is filled with desperation and cries for attention. I was hooked from the first page. Every character is just filled with frustration,and they are expressing it in the most interesting ways: through dissection, through building an invisible to some helicopter, through pathological lying, and through turning one's self inside out. This book is amazeballs. It requires thought, and empathy on the part of the reader. It is not an easy or a clear cut read, but I have to say, to readers who are thinking of throwing in the towel: KEEP GOING, there are answers, some explanations (enough explanations) and take the time to think about what this book is REALLY saying. Who does not feel like this? Who does not feel invisible? While reading it, I only looked up long enough to tell people who I thought would get it, to stop what they were doing and read along with me. I know it's not for everyone. I felt like it was for me.

This is so unlike anything I have ever read before. It was amazing to watch it unfold itself. Note that I am comparing it to all of the adult, young adult and children's fiction I have EVER READ. I can't even compare it to anything else. The closest I can get is to Bone Gap and that is more in the dreaminess, awe inspiring way it made me feel than in plot or character comparison. If you loved Bone Gap, pick this one up.

If you love Kelly Link, Judy Budnitz, and Patrick Ness pick this one up. If you love Margo Lanagan, pick this one up.

Side note: I don't give 5 stars lightly and I seem to have a 5 star/meh relationship with King's books. I only get through every other one of her books. Ask The Passengers? Loved it. Vera Dietz? Can't do it. Tried 3 times. Reality Boy? Adored it, etc etc etc. This is by far, my favorite of all of her novels I have read (and I have read exactly half).