Quite surreal and nightmarish. The mellow and emotionally-driven prose were enticing and to read both POVs of the kids wandering their minds through fear and anxieties giving me a haunting perspective on how disturbing a 12-year-old can be. Structured in two parts, the plot brought me into a tale of two classmates; Mia and a nameless child known as The Child with contrast lifestyles and luck following their days at school when an unexpected incident happened— someone was sinister enough to add ominous sentences to their classmates’ notebooks leaving the teacher baffled with anger. This incident has caused uneasiness to few students, especially the perpetrator who later plotted a series of events to eliminate her wrongdoing that soon resulted in a terrible and violence ending.

I love how the highlighted theme can be both absorbing and alarming. It revolved on the issue of fear and neglect and how these kids’ minds can echoed a nuance of brutal and cruelty in between their unflinching personalities and innocent characters. I find the characterization as gripping much and quite devastating too to think that their feelings and existence nearly invisible in the eyes of an adult.

Not much a fan to the plot execution and the way it was bleakly narrated esp in part 2 where the focus changed into the teacher’s perspective; raw and vivid yet the thought-provoking exploration was too dreary and fragmented that somehow it gets quite underwhelming for me to digest the character’s view— I honestly dragged my willpower to finish reading it until the end.

This would be a good catch if you’re into experimental narrative that interlaced a reality with the absurdities of one’s mind; on morality and psychological insight as well the unsettling emotional conflict that can be both twisty and tricky to grasp yet carrying an interesting antinovel elements. 3 stars to this!

Thank you Pansing Distribution for sending me a copy to review!