After growing up in the housing projects of Detroit, Annie's life is finally looking up: she's been accepted into college in San Fransisco, and has landed a job as a live-in nanny for the wealthy Cohens to help pay for it. But the more time Annie spends with young, glamorous Mrs. Cohen, the more things start to seem off. But Annie can't tell if things are really as strange as they seem, or if the problem lies with her.
I started out with high hopes for this book: one review I read said it was a retelling of The Yellow Wallpaper, one of my favorite horror stories of all time. And Collomore does a great job of capturing the surreal qualities of that book--Annie narrates, and as the book goes on, it's clear that reality is starting to blur and her own mind can't be trusted. It's a chilling, suspenseful read that made the first 4/5s of this book riveting. The last 50 pages, though, were kind of a let-down. I won't spoil the ending, except to say that Collomore wraps things up much more neatly than Charlotte Perkins Gilmore, and it all feels a little too perfect (so much so that I was waiting for one last twist, right up until the last sentence--but it never came). I still recommend this--as I said it's a terrifying horror story--but be prepared for a rushed, too-happy the ending.
My only other complaint is about the cover. The swimming pool at the house plays a pretty important role in the story, and I love the symbolism of Annie slowing sinking under, but the model they used seems to be another case of whitewashing in YA book covers. The one and only description we get of Annie describes her as having "olive skin and dark hair," so it seems like they could have chosen a better model.
Recommended for anyone looking for good psychological horror, or who loved The Yellow Wallpaper as much as I did.
You should try The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer. It has the same "is this real or is she just crazy" feel, but it seems like it does it better than this one. It is, of course, part of a trilogy, and the third book doesn't come out until October, so keep that in mind...
ReplyDelete