Direwood
Direwood
by Catherine Yu
The immigrants look at the idea of vampires and cultural expectation. A young girl obsessed with being better than her older sister is shocked by her sudden disappearance. The story shows the resilience of the young character as she attempts to face the vampire, to save her sister, and all her friends. The book shows the cultural difference of an Asian family in western white towns. She looks into herself to find the strength to save those abducted by the vampire.

Catherine Yu's debut, Direwood, is a very atmospheric, mesmerizing, and fairly short book which moved along at a medium pace. I was fully immersed in the story within a couple pages. The descriptions of the characters, sounds, events, and world are just beautifully written. I absolutely loved Cindy Kay's narration.

Aja was a great character, however, I could have done without her self depreciation; thankfully it was only sporadic. Aja is very angry because nobody will listen to a thing she says about her missing sister. Can she find her and bring her home?

Thank you Netgalley and Tantor Audio for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

4.5 ⭐️

This is the vampire story I didn’t know I needed.

A gothic horror story that had me staying up late at night, Direwood follows a girl named Aja whose older sister, Fiona, goes missing in the middle of the night after her birthday. A few nights after her sister’s disappearance, a vampire by the name of Padraic appears at her window. He’s hypnotic, he’s alluring, and he’s terrifying. He also might be the only person who knows what happens to Fiona, so Aja strikes a deal to follow him into the woods for one week. If she isn’t convinced to stay with him within seven days, then she is allowed to go home alive. But things in Padraic’s world are not as they seem, and Aja finds herself struggling to find her sister.

This book is truly amazing and I’m in awe with Yu’s sense of story telling. I was hooked from the very beginning of the novel and pulled a late nighter just to finish it. Though aspects of the plot were predictable, I found myself being genuinely surprised for different twists of the novel. I highly recommend Direwood to those who loved The Invitation (2022 movie) or to those who like vampire stories in general.

That being said, if I had listened to another sentence that describes a white caterpillar or a bloody butterfly, I would have gone feral.

I found audio entertaining and characters, plot story good. The vampires Kate and padraic are well developed personal favorite is padraic. Like the sisters Fiona and Aja good read would recommend

DIrewood is the story of Aja, her perfect sister Fiona, and vampires. After Fiona goes missing, in her search for her sister, Aja finds a church in the woods. Although the church is abandoned, it's not empty. A silver-tongued vampire, Padraic has made his home there, where missing children serve him, but Fiona is nowhere to be found.

If you're looking for a love story, look elsewhere. The only love here is the love Aja has for her sister, which is so strong she's willing to make a deal with a dangerous monster just for the chance to find her. One thing I never thought I'd say in a book review is I never thought I'd be horrified of caterpillars, but this book did a good job of making me supremely grossed out by them. I enjoyed the world Yu created, and I appreciate that this isn't a sappy love story. How much Aja hated on herself grated on me after a while.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ALC. Cindy Kay is and always will be one of my favorite narrators, and as expected, she delivers here too. Definitely recommend the audiobook of Direwood.

The body horror and gore in this book is absolutely spot on. The last 15% of this book really pulled me in. I will never think about caterpillars being cute little fuzzy creatures again

The first 80% though is so slow though. I found myself wanting Aja to get on with the story because so much time was focused on the realization that the vampires had such a pull on the kidnapped teens and whether or not they were good versus when everything finally goes south and they need to escape.

I probably should’ve DNFed but Cindy Kay is an incredible narrator.

This book is absolutely amazing. Set in a small town in Michigan (love a midwest setting)! Vampires, night church, gore, etc. This is the goriest book I've read so far, the way the author uses caterpillars and butterflies as companions for the vampires (and other things) was so intriguing to hear about. Towards the last few chapters of the book I couldn't get enough, it was action-packed with revenge plans. Then the plot twist (something bizarre happens) and I'm shocked, it was so unexpected. The way it was written, the author didn't hold back on details which made it all the more amazing to hear. The first chapter was so well written with details on colors of red and blood, it set the tone for the rest of the story and really grips readers/listeners to want more. A big thank you to NetGalley and Tantor audio for accepting me for an early listen. Here is a link to my review on GoodReads, which was posted on September 18, 2022. : https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4989928549

What do you get when you mix Dracula, Once Upon a Broken Heart, and The Honeys, all in a 90s gothic horror novel? This book. Vampires and other strange phenomena plague the idyllic town of Glen Hills, and then 4 teenagers go missing, including our main character Aja's sister. She too will be lured into the direwood, with a week to leave or stay with the alluring vampire forever, til death do them part.

This book is both brutal and made of the inherent softness and heart of being a teenager, all clad in a velvet gothic 90s setting. I wanted to shake Aja for falling for a vampire, albeit not necessarily in the typical boy meets girl infatuation, and yet you can understand her. There are things she doesn't understand, her brash stance of being different leading her to believe that she's alone in that. At its core, DIREWOOD feels like a story about being boxed into people's idea of you, and clawing out of that by any means possible. All with a healthy dose of bug-based body horror.

Though the plot is linear it also strangely feels out of sorts, time becoming warped while reading it. It's a relatively simplistic plot and storyline, all coming together in what I would consider a relatively satisfying ending. Not happily ever after, but as close as reality can get.

Specifically regarding the narration, I largely enjoy any work that Cindy Kay does, providing distinct characters throughout. There were a few times that slowed down when there wasn't an active horror element, but altogether a good listening experience.

If you like horror, want to reminisce about some very specific parts of the 90s, or want a book about discovering yourself and others via vampiric ritual and at-times gruesome body horror, DIREWOOD is definitely worth checking out.

I really liked this book! It’s been a long while since I’ve read/listened to anything to do with vampires pretty much since the Twilight era but damn! This was not what I expected. Very good listen 4/5 stars!

This book will make your skin crawl. In its sister relationships and grim depictions, it reminds me of House of Hollow. It's frightening, icky, and beautiful.

I loved listening to this audiobook. The atmosphere was immersive and the creepy vibes were hard hitting. The only part about this novel that I had a hard time with was how often the main character would repeat comments she had already made. Other than that, this novel was very enjoyable to me.

Thank you to Tantor Audio and Netgalley for sending me an early copy of this book! All opinions are my own!

I was looking for something super spooky for spooky season, and I definitely found it! This was the perfect book for fall vibes, and I loved the way it sucked me into the world and gave me chills. It was so easy to get into the book and not want to come back out (but also want to because it was so creepy).

I also really loved the unique spin on vampires. It was a very different kind of book even with all the familiar things within it. The differences made it that much more creepy and added a whole new level to the book. I did feel a bit confused about why things were happening or where it had all come from, but I think that might have been the point (possible magical realism?). It was like no one was questioning anything which just felt off to me. But that also added to the creep factor.

I did and didn't relate to Aja, and sometimes she really got on my nerves. But I think that made her a great character because it made her feel so much more real.

If you're looking for a good spooky read, definitely check this one out!

The audiobook was done well. The horror vampire vibes were there., but that's all it gave me. The main character isn't very likeable. A naïve teen who thinks she can change a monster, and find her sister.

Thank you NetGalley and Tantor Audio for the audio-ARC.

YA horror is such a difficult genre to get right, but Direwood absolutely hit the beats that I hoped it would. It's gory, it's terrifying, and the vampire lore is a great mix of classic and innovative.

CW warnings: body horror, bug horror, death, violence.

A vampire story set in the 90s with a Asian main character… fucking sold. As a (part) Asian teenager in the 90s and throughly obsessed with vampires from a very young age, this ticked all the right boxes for me. This is spooky, super creepy at times and perfect for the season, complete with vampiric butterflies, blood rain, misty church yards, a missing sister (as well as other teenagers of the town), best friends who are chosen sisters and seductive vampires. What’s not love?

I really wanted to like this but it just wasn't enjoyable to me. I wanted it to go deeper with the 90s vibes that were promised (it felt like very little existed aside from a few pieces of clothing). It was incredibly repetitive with the same exact phrases, especially with the caterpillars clicking teeth and saying "the vampire" vs. the actual name, the repetition of saying the sister is perfect over and over with no other real info about her sister as a person! It all felt really disjointed as well, like you're thrown into the story, it's not fully explained or set up enough for me to care about the MC, she's immature and rude to her best friend, all her issues are put on everyone else. I also found it shocking that the author didn't note abusive relationships in the TW on goodreads since this entire story is basically an allegory for that, which I think could have been done better if recognized.
I'm giving this more stars than I normally would because I appreciated the fact that the MC didn't just have a creepy relationship with an old ancient vampire and for the diversity representation in a fantasy book, but...in my heart this is 1-2 stars.

This is a review for the audiobook version of Direwood, by Catherine Yu.
First off: STUNNING narration, the voice actress does a fantastic job; it was a tall glass of water in a sea of stale lukewarm voices. She was expressive, perfectly inhabiting Aja and getting into the voice of the secondary characters. Wonderful choice, I will be looking for more books narrated by her.

Secondly, this is a juicy, classic vampire story, the Asian-American butterfly baby of Grady Hendrix's The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires and Holly Black's The Coldest Girl in Coldtown and The Darkest Part of the Forest with the sensibilities of a horror manga. Get this glittering gothic jewel.

Specifically fans of World of Darkness will like it very, very much.

A spooky, perfectly dark gothic horror about monsters, mystic woods, and the things that hunger for more than just our blood.... DIREWOOD is one to sink your teeth into.

This story reminded me of Joe Hill's NOS4A2, but I just couldn't get into in. Vampires are still popular with teens, but I'm not sure they'll like this storyline. I found it a little difficult to follow.