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267 pages, Hardcover
First published August 5, 2014
The Written Review
Seven of my favorite Bookish Villains in one BookTube Video!
Just because she's dead, doesn't mean she doesn't have a life.
“I am where dead children go.”
Few stories start with death. Often, it starts with grief.She was killed when the man who she loved betrayed her in the worst way possible...And for a while, she was just as bad as the movies portrayed her.
It is not in my nature to be interested in the living.Until she drifts past a mysterious boy with heavy, intricate and shifting tattoos.
But there are many things, I have found, that defy nature.
“I say it is an onryuu, yet I feel no hate from her."Shimatta! (That means shit in Japanese). God help us, this is supposed to be our terrifying heroine? Kuso yaro! Sou desu ne?! Ramen! *insert random-ass Japanese word here for authenticity* Sukiyaki! Hentai! Bukkakke! Hello Kitty!
“An onryuu with a conscience, kami help us."
I'm sure that's meant to portray her insanity. It doesn't work. It feels forced. It gives off a sense of pretension. It annoys more than it is effective.
(Four girls, five, six.)
They are blondes and redheads and brunettes. They are blue-eyed and dark-eyed and brown-eyed and green-eyed. They are pale and freckled, and dark and brown. They are six years old and eight years old and twelve years old and fifteen years old.
(Seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven.)
“I’m from Texas,” the boy lies. “Home to beloved exports like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, mad cow disease, and bullets. I collect mannequin legs and spider bites. A race of super-ferrets live inside my hair. They hate water so I shower with an umbrella. I eat bugs because I’m allergic to fruit. I wash my hands in the toilet because sinks are too mainstream. Anything else you want to know about me?”Tarquin, "Tark." I'm supposed to like this pretentious little piece of shit?
"I am where dead children go."
And all around me the air
explodes
into
little
fireflies.
So I almost tried this underwear machine out - just to, you know, see if it actually works - but my acute sense of shame finally won out. There are so many other fun ways to dishonor the family name that buying girls' underwear shouldn't be one of them.
Just the other day, I found a salon that specializes in giving girls crooked teeth. And this is considered adorable, if, uh, Japanese girls who look like vampires needing braces are supposed to turn men on. Also, there's a holistic care spa specializing in dogs. I think in my next life I'd like to come back as some rich Japanese lady's labradoodle and enjoy all these spoils. Kinda ironic that most hot spring resorts allow for dogs, but not for people with tattoos. So I guess in this current Japanese social hierarchy, we've got Japanese > pets > me.
"Remember Kagura mentioning you would make a fine onmyouji if you'd lived in ancient Japan?"
"I looked that up. I'm not so sure I'd do well with the calendar-making and the astrology part of the job, though. Can you imagine me coming up with horoscopes for the emperor? 'Today shall be your lucky day, so long as you don't behead your favorite onmyouji for no reason. Girls might like you better if you had a different face, but remember that patience is a heavenly virtue. Also, don't forget about the non-beheading thing.'"
“Even then I found the word fitting, soothing.
Fireflies.
Fire flies.
Fire, fly.”
"It is only for few seconds. But when you have resigned yourself to an eternity filled with little else but longing, a few seconds is enough."