Thus far I have read two of Jamieson’s other novels and they have just been OK! Day Boy on the other hand has actually been quite shocking, because I found the book to be quite interesting.
We have Mark who is a Day Boy, he has the arduous job of keeping his master Dain safe during the daylight hours of his vulnerability. Day Boy’s go and mark the doors of the houses who have been bled the night before, this way they are allowed to rest. (Bleeding them causes exhaustion, so they need to rest) they tend to the chores around the town, they virtually protect their master at all costs during the daylight hours.
The masters used to be humans, however they are now virtually immortal and rule the world, by the people bending at their every will and whim. All the while feeding on the human population, of people who once where their neighbors and friends. They are invincible by night, but totally defenseless by day and each one has their own Day Boy.
Mark has been lucky; he has grown up with Dain and Dain has treated him fairly. Dain cares for Mark in a Master/Servant role, or more of a Monster/Human role. Meaning he cares for Mark as best as he knows how to, better than some of the other masters do.
Mark’s 18th birthday is approaching, and he is told that he is to leave his town of Midfield which he has known all his life and head for the City of Teeth, where he will meet the council. There he will decide his fate, does he choose to be a man and be a farmer or be a master and choose to become a monster?
Mark is offered a position locally in midfield east of the Shadow Mountains, which is fine by him. Just as long as he can be with the beautiful Anne.
However, there is turmoil arising everywhere. Turmoil between the masters and the townsfolk that could disturb the peace. Lest not mention the hunters that are a continuous and ever-present danger to them. (Which almost ended in near disaster to Mark on his first trip to the city.)
As odd as it may seem to add the word “Beautiful” to such a story, this is the word that you contrive when think of Jamieson’s imagery. He takes you right to this dystopian, post-apocalyptic Australian city and you can see it clearly. His words are beautifully written and lyrical poetry throughout.
Jamieson has made this one memorable BITE out of literature.
Here is actually hoping he has a book 2.
Great Job on this book.
Thank you NetGalley for providing me with a free copy of this eARC in exchange for my honest opinion. My review is of my own volition

2.5 stars

Something about this story just didn't click with me. There was so much going on yet nothing at all? I couldn't figure out time period because there was technology but it also seemed like it was historical. The plot holes also just kept me from enjoying the story.

I was provided an ARC copy of this book by NetGalley.

5 main categories each of five points for each star— if a category has more than 3 out of five points, I give them the star:

1. World and Atmosphere ✓ (3/5)
2. Characters ✓ (3/5)
3. Plot ✖ (2/5)
4. Writing style/originality ✓ (3/5)
5. Enjoyment ✖ (2.5/5)

In total: 3 stars

1. World and Atmosphere:

This book certainly had an atmosphere, the first person narrative through a boys perspective and his surrounding was painted with great skill. The way the author integrated the bizarre norms for this boy that would not be a normal in our society through his character was done amazingly.

The world, I felt needed a lot more work, with this new atmosphere it needed more layering. There were gaps that were left for the reader to fill, and whilst that I suppose is not bad writing, It is still a gap the author could have used to pen down this new world in much better and needed detail.

There were plot holes about the system like the actual purpose of ‘day boys’ and the monsters ‘rule’. I suppose given that our narrator is a boy, he wouldn’t really pick up on all that in the detailed manner readers would want, but then he is a boy in a new world with new normal standards and next year his life will take a huge turn that is dependent on it — so you would think it is really relevant for him to know all this.

2. Characters:

I think for a normal boy, the writing through Mark’s narration was brilliant. Moments where something dangerous was happening, his narration would get detached as one would need to be in such situations — while other times he would be fully present, and I think intentional or not that was fantastic. All characters told of a history within this world that was super skilled, and most of the times I found Mark to be like a camera running over all these other characters that were most of the times more interesting than Mark himself.

The thinking of a boy, and time flow and his daily manner of looking at life was brilliant, but pretty mundane since it wasn’t the only thing to focus on for a book with such a premise.

I just think stories start with characters at one point of perceiving life and end with that notion has been dismantled. Mark felt like the same person at the beginning and end of the story, which wasn’t really fun to see. I kept needing more from the characters but not getting it.

3. Plot:

We follow Mark through the last year of his time as a day boy. He starts out as someone who gets into trouble, knowing he needs to straighten his act to survive. I would have liked seeing a change in him as the events of the book play out, and I also thought it repetitive and at times flat for such a grand atmosphere and world.

Again, I feel more focus on the world building would have helped the plot out a lot more, we know big events are coming but there is no urgency and no climatic building for it. The events keep playing out as though normal, which for the world it is, and I cannot fault it in that aspect, but for storytelling purposes it is still a very important aspect and it needed work.

4. Writing style:

I thought the author has brilliant writing skills. His style is definitely distinct and beautiful to his self, and I highlighted so much, it was amazing. The writing flows as though water in a river, knowing how to reverberate when and in what manner according to the hurdles brought about. I cannot wait to read more from the author for his writing style alone, and though I have critiqued a lot above, the writing was so captivating I kept on reading regardless when for other books I might not have.

For this genre, this writing is rare, and I appreciated it the most in this book. It made me happy and made me feel inspired, showed me why I read; for good writing. I that was exactly what the author dished out for us readers. This category alone wins over the rest because I’m definitely recommending his writing regardless of any other flaw this book might have.

5. Enjoyment:

If we divide this story into storytelling and writing style, I would say I enjoyed the writing style best, but the story in itself wasn't something I prefer. Hence a solid 2.5 out of 5 for this category. This isn’t to say the story isn’t brilliant in its own way, this point just comes down to preference, and I wouldn't lean towards this kind of story myself since I was expecting something different.

It’s still a great story with great writing and I would recommend reading it all and forming your own opinions!

Thank you, NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This is going to be a short review because there is not much to say about this book.

This book was incredibly boring. I kept waiting for the plot to start, but it never did. This book is (apparently) supposed to be read as a personal diary. That would be fine, except, nothing of interest happened. We basically follow Mark's life as a Day Boy for a year. Usually, with this kind of storyline, the character development is what makes it interesting, Unfortunately, our character was the exact same from beginning to end

The world this was set in was lacking, even frustrating in its lack of details. I still do not even understand what the purpose of a Day Boy is. He does chores? Supposedly he takes care of his Master, but a servant would have done that job just fine. There seemed to be no defining characteristics that distinguished a Day Boy from anyone else. The bare minimum was given and left a lot to be desired. We are never told the purpose of these Masters, either. They worship the Sun and drink blood. That's it. I had a hard time even knowing what time period it should be. There was talk of lawn mowers and phones, but they still heated bath water in a copper kettle and used horses for transportation. Make it make sense.

While there were events that could have been interesting, the writing made them bland. The writing style is in the first person, which in theory would give us plenty of insight into his character and emotions; however, all of his emotions, if they were even portrayed, felt incredibly shallow and surface level. The whole story was overly long, due to the fact that Mark kept getting "distracted," for lack of a better word. He would start to ramble about things that added nothing to the story, and just made it even more laborious to read.

I could not in good conscience recommend this book to anyone. I almost did not finish it myself.

it was an exciting, overwhelming and beautiful read. the cover is wonderful, the story is wonderful and all the characters are wonderful. I can't wait to let my friends read this book! highly recommended reading

Wow—what a masterpiece of a a book, and a great twist on the vampire story. I thought it had all been done, but Trent Jamieson proved me wrong. Loved this coming of age slash monster story, and I don’t want to spoil too much, but it’s an absolute must-read in my opinion. I can’t wait to re-read and visit Mark again, as he was a difficult character to leave behind.
4/5 stars.

"Day Boy" is one of those genre-defiers that fits uneasily in any given category. Is it adult? Is it YA? Is it horror? Is it post-apocalyptic? Is it coming of age? The answer is: yes. All of these things.

The balancing between genres fits uneasily in this one; "Day Boy" is good at many of them, truly great at none. Still, what it brings to the table is truly unique: the relationship between vampires and humans is as complex as the relationship between Mark and his Master, Dain. This is less an action-oriented horror/fantasy and more speculative fiction; the writing is elegant, the plot slow. I'd recommend this one for anyone who wants a unique vampire tale focused on masculinity and coming of age.

Unfortunately I am unable to review this book as I am unable to download it. Every time I try to do so, it's crashing my software. I logged a query with NetGalley and they say it works for them and are just blaming my software; however, the other books I've downloaded from NetGalley this month so far have all been fine and worked without a hitch. Since I can't get the book, it's impossible for me to review it. Apologies.

I unfortunately Dnf’d, although I did try to read a fair amount in order to not judge it too quickly.
Here are a couple things that I noticed:
- the names were very weird, it seemed as if the author purposefully tried to find creative names and ended up choosing the most random ones (and goofiest) for his book. The only “normal” ones were the main characters and his master, Dain.
- the writing felt off to me and i am unsure whether this is simply because I have never read anything like it. The author tries to write in a very flowery way from time to time but then will give his characters the most simple or unnatural, as well as a hint of silly in his lines, this is especially noticeable when the characters interact with each other. part of me felt as if the author was simply googling “synonym of “blank”” when writing.
-the story does not give you much background information as to the world, or the systematic politics of these “monsters” (which are basically vampires) so it comes off as confusing while reading. this is definitely not a book to read blindly because you will be even more confused as to whose who and where you are.