Review: Bird Box by Josh Malerman

“It’s better to face madness with a plan than to sit still and let it take you in pieces.”

Something is out there, something terrifying that must not be seen. One glimpse of it, and a person is driven to deadly violence. No one knows what it is or where it came from.

Five years after it began, a handful of scattered survivors remains, including Malorie and her two young children. Living in an abandoned house near the river, she has dreamed of fleeing to a place where they might be safe. Now that the boy and girl are four, it’s time to go, but the journey ahead will be terrifying: twenty miles downriver in a rowboat–blindfolded–with nothing to rely on but her wits and the children’s trained ears. One wrong choice and they will die. Something is following them all the while, but is it man, animal, or monster?

You won’t even believe how scary good Josh Malerman is at making you… well, er… scared! I devoured this book. Josh does an excellent job at keeping you wanting more. This book features chapters that alternate from the past to the present, and I am such a sucker for this style! Most of my favs feature it, and Malerman did not let me down. I mean honestly, I would read some while on my lunch break at work, and then have to come back to my office and put the blinds down on my office window. It freaked me out that much. I was a little nervous at first that the author would try so hard to write a well-worded story, that the premise as a whole would get lost, but he knocks it out of the park. When I wasn’t reading it, I would find myself looking forward to the time I would get to read and find out what happens next. I found that I enjoyed the variety of characters. You can glimpse the complexity of Malorie through her inner thoughts. And in turn, you bond with her as a character. I would LOVE IT if Josh wrote more books from different points of views set in this world. (Uh, Don anyone?!?) I really appreciate this read, because it reminds me of why I love reading thriller/horror novels! Now, on to the movie!