Cuckoo

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for an advance listener’s copy of Cuckoo! It’s 1995 and a handful of queer kids were just dropped at a conversion camp to get their lives…straightened out. These kids aren’t just dealing with feeling betrayed by their parents or abused by their counselors, they’re also realizing there’s something more sinister at play. After surviving, they’re brought back together when whatever tormented them is back again and it’s up to them to stop it for good. It’s hard to give a deeper synopsis, but really I think it’s best this way. If IT, But I’m a Cheerleader, and Invasion of the Body Snatchers had a baby, Cuckoo is close to what you’d get. There’s good old fashioned summer camp horror, body horror, and cosmic horror all rolled into one. The prologue to this sucked me right in, I simply HAD to know more. The story stayed engaging and I wanted to know what happened throughout the entirety, but the character count was tough to keep up with (even with a full cast audio). At less than 350 pages, any more than 3 or 4 characters or storylines is just a lot to keep straight. The horror was visceral & uncomfortable - can’t ask for much more than that. As for the audio - even though I did have trouble keeping everyone straight, the full cast was great. Everyone performed well and I totally recommend going the audio route if you’re into that. Unfortunately for me, this felt a lot like Grady Hendrix’s books - the premise is amazing, the execution is lacking. I have Manhunt on my TBR, haven’t read it yet. Even though I felt a little letdown by this one, I’m still going to check Manhunt out and likely whatever else Gretchen comes up with.

SO GOOD OMG. The *horror* was exquisite. The otherworldliness, the slow dawning realizations, the desperate fights against monsters both recognizable and strange. I couldn't get enough, even as I was so freaked out I was pausing every 15 minutes and switching to something else to listen to. And if you enjoy audio, the audiobook for this was fantastic!! The different narrators all felt perfectly cast, and their tempo was so good I didn't even speed up the playback. I highly recommend, I can't say enough good things about this book.

Thanks to MacMillan Audio for the complimentary audiobook! I just couldn't really get into this book. I think it has too many things going on. If you are a fan of body horror this is a book for you but I couldn't stretch my imagination enough for the main plot.