Malorie got her kids to safety, The School for the Blind. Or so she thought…
Rating: 4/5
This ends in a similar manner to Bird Box, in what appears as a peaceful ending. However, we assumed that the ending of the first book was maybe not a happy one but was peaceful. Malorie got her kids to safety. Or so she thought…
In this sequel, we see the school no longer the safe haven then ten years later, Malorie has made a new safe haven for her and her kids. Then one day, a man comes by saying he’s with the census and has news of a blind train that they got working to go back and forth across the country.
I can’t help but be a little disappointed by this book. I went into this hoping for more information about these creatures. To learn more about them, why they are there, what they look like, what’s their plan. Really I just wanted to learn something new about them. This didn’t occur, and I’m a little bummed.
I went into this hoping for more information about these creatures. To learn more about them, why they are there, what they look like, what’s their plan.
That’s not to say this wasn’t a great read. I truly enjoyed diving back into this apocalyptic world. Even after over a year of having read Bird Box, it’s so easy to slip back into this world. It was nice to see what happened to Malorie and her kids after arriving at the school for the blind even if it didn’t quite end as happily ever after.
I also liked being able to see different points of view in this one. Whereas in Bird Box we were solely following Malorie. We got to see more than just Malorie’s point of view and how others saw this new world.
I will say not all of the characters I got to learn and meet did I find likable. Especially Malorie’s son, Tom. I had a love/hate relationship with Tom. I understand Malorie is strict in her ways but I found Tom’s actions a bit uncalled for in some cases. I felt things could have been handled so much better. But then again, if things hadn’t gone the way they did, we’d have a much different story or well no story at all.
I will say, I thought this sequel was definitely needed. Though it didn’t answer the questions I personally had. It did answer others. It answered them in such a unique and creative way. I feel that with this ending it’s much more content than it was in Bird Box. Even though it’s still not a fully happy one. It’s as happy as one could hope.
I will say, I thought this sequel was definitely needed. Though it didn’t answer the questions I personally had. It did answer others.
Malorie flows really well, though I wouldn’t say it flows as well as Bird Box did. I was able to read Bird Box within 3 days if I remember right. It took me about a week to finish Malorie. This one still is a page-turner. This concept of losing your sight without actually losing it is extremely unique. Living in a world that is now full of creatures that drive you mad with the smallest glance. I love watching the characters grow between these two books. I couldn’t be more content with the ending. I hope Malorie doesn’t live in fear anymore.
Overall, this was probably my most anticipated read of 2020, waiting over a year after preordering this beauty for this to be released. I’m happy to say I enjoyed this. Though it didn’t earn a spot on my favorites, it was a joy to read. And now I want to read more of Josh Malerman’s books. Anyone who enjoyed the movie or book, Bird Box or loves thrillers, horror, and apocalyptic stories, you’ll enjoy this one!
Keep reading for more of my thoughts on Malorie!
Warning! Spoilers :)
This book was such a joy to read, it truly took me on a rollercoaster. Especially Malorie’s paranoia of forever being stalked by Gary. This gets justified in this sequel and I found it very shocking these turn of events. I honestly thought it was just fear and paranoia, that Gary wasn’t still stalking them. In fact, I found it very disturbing. I felt violated and I was just reading the book. I wasn’t actually living it, but I still felt unnerved by this information. I literally screamed at the book when I got to Gary’s point of view and saw just how much he saw of Malorie’s life and how he never truly left her alone.
One thing that truly bothered me was how simple Gary’s death was. There was no plea or apology, nothing! Nothing was said between Malorie or Gary. She just shot him while he was sleeping. I was disappointed there wasn’t more to it. I would’ve liked it more. It felt very anti-climatic based on all the pain Gary caused.
I am curious how they might take this sequel to the screen. There were changes made for the movie that was different in the original book. Especially the connection between Olympia and her mother. Olympia’s mother was still connected with her as a baby when she went mad, which explains why Olympia was able to see the monsters without going mad. So I’m not sure if the connection would still be strong enough for the movie to say that’s why Olympia can see the creatures without going mad. As well as during this scene in the movie, Tom killed Gary so there was no constant paranoia of Gary stalking them. With Gary dead, Malorie’s constant fear from the book wouldn’t translate. I bet there will be a second movie, I’m just curious how these changes will affect the sequel.
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