Star Shapes
Ivy Grimes
Spooky House Press, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-959946-15-1 (eBook)
112 ppg.
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“Bad things aren’t supposed to happen when you’re doing a good deed,” the protagonist, Charlotte, tells someone in this novel (on page 87). But, unfortunately, they do. And that is her fate in the new novel Star Shapes by Ivy Grimes.
They say no good deed goes unpunished, and that’s exactly what happens to one woman on a day she is starting a new job. She plans to get there early – you know, to show initiative – but instead, she decides to help a boy who is crying and saying he can’t find his mother. It ends up being a trap and our character is soon whisked away to The House That Time Forgot, where she must decide on whether to tear off some arms and scratch some eyes out in order to escape or … cooperate with these weirdos and hope she can get out of this thing alive. And back home!
That’s the premise of this story. Since I fell in love with the cover, I was thrilled by the opportunity to review this book. And what a story it turned out to be!
On one hand, I totally get Charlotte trying to go along with this crazy, nonsense idea the family has about her just so she can get the heck out of there in one piece. But on the other, I kept wondering how she could even manage it! Her reason for being there at all is just silly and, yes, she knows this. She understands this. But at the same time, she tries to keep her resolve just so she can stay alive and unharmed.
I did like the mystery surrounding the book called “Star Shapes” that she was expected to somehow magically comprehend and recognize. I had to laugh every time she pretended to recognize things and everybody was all like, “You remember!” Her feeling that the family is part of some kind of cult is not so far-fetched!
Her anger at the kid who tricked her into getting kidnapped is understandable. But at the same time, she realizes, he’s just a kid. He was only doing what he was ordered to do. I totally admired her restraint to snap his neck because I would be angry at him too. But not only this, she has to actually participate in something with him! The one who got her into that mess!
Reading this book had me going from curiosity to anger to surprise. Especially towards the end! I got so emotional and I was literally screaming at the character to stop.
But after that emotional scene came the closure. The resolution. It was Charlotte pondering “what now?” and “who am I?” while readjusting. It was a very satisfying ending that didn’t leave any lingering questions, though it definitely might spark some questions for the reader about reincarnation and what we ourselves would do in such situations.
The ending left me feeling thoughtful, and very appreciative of the life that I am living right now.
Star Shapes is an interesting new take on the controversy and beliefs associated with reincarnation. There is the notion that we come from the stars, and while some people may take this idea literally, albeit too seriously, they also might twist the idea around to interpret it to mean we have some kind of symbolic connection to the stars. At its heart, this novel explores the idea of how we choose to live, the impact we leave behind, and how others will remember us after we are gone. This novel was entertaining but it also sparked some new ideas, while possibly tearing down some old ones.
Five stars.
Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
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