Review - I am not a serial killer by dan wells

Well hi there you! Welcome back to TO READ OR NOT TO READ. I am so happy that I'm back doing review videos and today I am going to review... I Am Not A Serial Killer by Dan Wells MUAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! So if you haven't been following my blog which I have been much more active on lately I have started doing content rating -a sort of movie style rating to let people know the kind of content that's in a book and like what general audience i would recommend it to this book i would rate at PG-16 because it does have disturbing content and images, some violence, thematic elements involving serial killers and DEATH and it has kind of a dark tone so I would definitely only recommend this for mature readers. Well, right off the bat there is one big bonus about this book. Despite the PG-16 rating there is next to no swearing. I think there was maybe one damn in the entire book and there is no ***! Plus even when it's dealing with the grisly events that are in this book it does not go into grotesque or gory detail. But yeah I'm not gonna lie. I Am Not A Serial Killer is dark. It is macabre and morbid I now know more about the embalming process than I ever knew I didn't want to know. Yeah, I'm having a closed-casket funeral, thank you very much. And as if that isn't dark enough this book also slams you front and center into the mind of a sociopath And you want to know something? It is absolutely fantastic Oh my gosh I love this book, you guys All right, now I do not do horror. I don't like slashers, I don't like scary stories. I'm telling you an Alfred Hitchcock thriller or maybe M Night Shyamalan's The Village is as high as i go on the intensity scale okay? Wells has created something here that is so unique and significant and compelling that I could not put it down. You might notice this is not a library copy I'm holding for this review. This is the copy I went out and bought after I read the library copy -and realized that I wasn't taking the library copy back... All right where do we begin? John Wayne Cleaver is a 15 year old sociopath worse than that he possesses several key predictors of a serial killer He knows that he possesses the predictors of a serial killer and he fears that fate for his future so much he has set himself a list of strict rules To ensure that he never gives in to any of those compulsions Even better this story is told from his perspective and when I say his perspective I mean right front and center in his mind we get to see everything. We see his dark side, we see his normal facade, and we see the fear he has of himself. You want to talk about character depth? We are so deep in John's head -we are so deep in his point of view- that this is not a book *about* John Wayne Cleaver. This book IS John Wayne Cleaver. Aaaaaand right about now you're probably thinking Yeah, Amanda, this doesn't really sound like the book for me. It sounds, you know, disturbing and messed up as all get-out, so i'm just -I'm just -I'm just gonna go now. Kay? ...Yeah. But that is THE THING! The skill of Dan Wells' pen is evident here because of how well he portrays John as a sympathetic character. Especially when it's being told from inside the guy's own head! There is no sugarcoating. This is all blatant and black and white and stark and realistic. John is complicated and terrifying and so vulnerable and I absolutely love him He is at once the hero and the antagonist of the story because he wants to do the right thing but in order to do the right thing he feels that he has to rely a little bit on his dark side which is a really really really bad thing. While John Wayne Cleaver definitely takes the cake in the most interesting character department for this book I have to say that the best character by far in the story is Dr. Ben Neblin He serves as John's therapist and the moral compass of the story and that is a crucial thing to have in this kind of material Neblin almost wins hands down for this quote alone: "You are always in control of your own destiny and you are always the one who makes your own choices No one else." Truer words were never spoken and when you're dealing with material as dark and heavy as this, it is important Nay- VITAL to make such a brutal and blatant distinction as to who must stand responsible for the reprehensible actions not only in this book but in the reality beyond it and that is why i love this book Just, so we're clear as much as I have been going off about character and narration, the plot is just as good I mean there are literally no downsides to this book for me this is an amazing book and Wells also manages a good balance between John's own removed emotions and the gravity and reverence with which the other characters treat those same events that he still manages to make the book as a whole respectable And, as only the truly great writers, Wells manages to use every instance of that difference as a building block for John's character depth and development, intertwined with the plot details. How many times? How many times do I have to proclaim my love of all things character?! I Am Not A Serial Killer is unique, raw, challenging, and beautifully written. Everyone should read this. If you read one book this year that I recommended you Make it this one. Make it this one! I -this book- I Am Not A Serial Killer by Dan Wells gets 5 out of 5 stars from me. I mean I have no complaints about this book, I love every single thing about it and you know what? The rest of them are pretty good too That is all from me welcome back to TO READ OR NOT TO READ and hey Thank you for being here i can't wait to share more videos with you and i will see you guys later All right, Amanda out!