I loved the premise but I just wanted more
Rating: 3/5
By a lake in a small town, there lies a boarding house full of children. Most of the children have been adopted by Mortisha, the woman who runs the boarding house.
The town they live in isn't like any other town. It's ordinary enough by day, people going to work or to stores, children playing. But by night, not a soul can be found outside. Once the sun has set, shrouding the town in darkness, They come out. Those creatures that appear from nothingness and leave no survivors. Nobody knows why They attack or what They are. They only know not to let them in.
One day while Mortisha is gone, the boarding house is invaded by the They. Will the children be clever enough to make it out alive?
It stared at Artemis. Faceless. A shadow.
I was on a short story marathon and I got this book for free a while back so I decided to pick this up to see what I thought. This was my first read from Cornwell so I had no expectations. And by the time I got around to reading it, I had no idea what it was about.
The premise in a way reminds me of Bird Box but is a little less restricting. If you’re unfamiliar with Bird Box, the idea is that there are these unseen creatures outside and if you do see them, you go insane and commit suicide. So in the world of Bird Box in order to survive outside you must be blindfolded.
The premise in a way reminds me of Bird Box but is a little less restricting.
In They, it felt similar, however, the They weren’t entirely unseen, being dark shadow beings. And these beings only arrived after sunset. So being outside after dark was a death wish and indoors wasn’t as safe unless you made sure to keep your windows and doors closed and locked.
And in They, we follow a home of adopted foster children. And one night their mother leaves to visit her sister and wouldn’t be able to get home before dark. So she leaves the older children in charge for the night.
This was short and sweet, well more creepy than sweet. I loved the premise, but I felt some parts of it lacked. Such as the beginning, we’re vaguely introduced to these They beings. I would have liked to see more behind what they were or where they came from. I just would have liked more. Then, one of the children has a secret and they briefly mention having to keep it hidden. But besides the obvious, we’re not explained why they felt they needed to keep it hidden. It honestly felt a little out of place without any context. And this detail seemed to be the only reason we got the ending we did, which I just wasn’t a fan of.
I loved the premise, but I felt some parts of it lacked.
Overall, while I found the premise intriguing, I just wanted more. It lacked in details for me, leaving open questions. That being said, I can see others enjoying this one! Especially if you enjoyed Bird Box then you might enjoy this one too!
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