The Suffering, the follow up to The Girl In The Well, continues the story of Tark and Okiku. This one amps up the creep factor. Creepy dolls, exorcisms. I liked it. The pacing is just really slow.

“Just a boy and his ghost”


This continuation of Tark and Okiku's story was suspenseful and tragic. I felt solemn and anxious during this read. The reader learns a vast amount of history about Tark's parents and the history of the curse? Again, the doll aspect really does bring out the CREEPY. I enjoyed The Suffering far more the first book. I Absolutely recommend and this duo is definitely re-readable.

End seemed to end too abruptly. I had to go back and listen twice.


Thank you to Sourcebooks Fire for the eARC

I really enjoyed reading both of these stories! I just devoured them both, making my grand total of books read on November 1st, 4 books. And I wasn't even planning on reading The Sufferings initially, but I loved The Girl from the Well so much, well, I had to read it!

I loved the way that these stories were told. The first book was from Okiku's perspective, but it was basically her watching the cousins, and it was almost like we were in Callie's head. And then in the 2nd book were in Tark's head.

These books are horror books, they have various forms of dead people. And there are a bunch of horror story moments, especially in the first book. But it's also about relationships, between Tark and Callie, Callie and Okiku, and Okiku and Tark.

I enjoyed the plots of both books, the first focused on Tark's tattoos and possession, and the 2nd focusing on finding a friend in a haunted village. I loved both stories, but the 2nd one was a bit more intriguing, because there was a mystery, as to what happened in the town's past, to the characters in the recent past, and how they're going to survive. It was excellent to read!

I really enjoyed reading both of these books, they were really fantastic, and I think now I've read all of Rin Chupeco's currently published books, and I can't wait to read more!

The book did not really work for me. I DNF'ed it. I wasn’t able to connect with any of the many characters in the book and I found myself putting down the book a lot because it was never really catching my attention.

"The Suffering" by Rin Chupeco falls under the genre of Japanese horror and is written for the young adult crowd, but, if you enjoy the paranormal, don't let the intended age range deter you. This book grabs you immediately with seventeen-year-old Tark performing the exorcism of an evil spirit in what he calls "one man hide-and-seek." The story ramps up when a friend goes missing, along with a ghost hunting television crew, in Aokigahara, the suicide forest. There is a myth surrounding this forest that involves the establishment of a hidden village in its midst. The sorcerer who founded it wished to open, and control, a gate to hell and required the sacrifices of eight girls who would need to suffer greatly. Something went wrong with the final sacrifice, and the girls now haunt the village with a vengeance. A whole new game of "hide-and-seek" is about to ensue.

There are so many good things going for this book. Not only does it feature paranormal and horror aspects done in the most fantastic atmospheric style, but it's set in an actual place known for being full of death, despair and hauntings. Readers could very well find themselves researching the forest itself after turning the final page. This reader certainly did!

While the characters were fairly well fleshed out, I did feel like there was more to be said for Tark's ghostly companion Okiku -- and with good reason. "The Suffering" is companion to Rin Chupeco's debut novel "The Girl in the Well" which introduces Okiku and tells of her devastating fate. That first book was not quite as engrossing as this one, but it was still an extremely good backstory and explains a lot of why Okiku reacts as she does.

When readers are drawn to search out other books by an author, it says a lot, and I have devoured everything Rin Chupeco has written. It's not often I add someone to my watch list in order to receive alerts, but I have done so here. The main thing you need to know before diving in is that the works of this author are dark. They call it horror for a reason, and if that's your thing, you will not be disappointed.

Apparently, the only horror novels I enjoy are the ones written by Mr. King. I can see why others loved this one, but it so wasn't for me. Nothing wrong with it! It just helped me to learn that I personally need to steer clear of the genre, unfortunately. This is the best example of an, "It's not you, it's me" situation.

(I received a free copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.)

Seventeen-year-old Tark knows what it is to be powerless. But Okiku changed that. A restless spirit who ended life as a victim and started death as an avenger, she's groomed Tark to destroy the wicked. But when darkness pulls them deep into Aokigahara, known as Japan's suicide forest, Okiku's justice becomes blurred, and Tark is the one who will pay the price...

This is the second book in the Girl from the Well series - and it is a far better product than the first book.

So, what did this book do differently to the first one? Plenty:

It starts out with a bang - an exorcism is a pretty good start to a horror novel. Grabbed me from the start and that is exactly what I want.
The visit to the Suicide Forest was dark and creepy and worked on so many levels for me. That is what it takes to creep me out - take real locations and incorporate them into your story in a believable way. This nailed that aspect.
The Japanese culture that came through in this book added a LOT of depth to the story and that was highly appreciated.
The characters seemed to be fleshed out better - especially Tark. In the first book, he was a bit of a whiny teenager. There is still an element of that in this book but he has grown somewhat, bringing some depth and color to his character.

All of these things make this book a far more enjoyable read for me.


Paul
ARH

4 Stars

Review on Goodreads

Another excellent read from this YA author. I really considered this one a YA meets Medium/Ghost Whisperer. It had moments it was a bit hard to follow, but it easily veered back into a great read when it did. This is a series that I recommend regularly, even to those of us out the target audience.

Reviewed for publisher via Netgalley.

The Suffering picks up the story two years after the events of The Girl from the Well – and this time around it is in Tark’s POV. While The Girl from the Well was often dark and grisly, because Okiku was the one narrating it, The Suffering has a bit of levity due to Tark. He is very sassy, and it reflects in how the book is written. He is nearly 18 now, and is a budding exorcist with his ghostly sidekick, Okiku by his side. Their tag team of exorcist-vigilante-serial-killer is bound to each other such that she can’t leave his side for long periods of time without ghosts attacking him, and so she is his protector. Sacrificing her freedom of movement at the end of the last book, she is now tied down by her possession to him.

The plot this time around is heavily on a little haunted village in Aokigahara, where they may be a Hell gate. Tark has to go there when a friend (view spoiler) goes missing there. So it’s mostly them figuring out the curse on the village and the unholy rituals that were being carried out. Good thing he had practice chasing and banishing ghosts all over his city in the US, because he did need a lot of that experience for this village. Once again, it is tied to sacrifices, and Okiku once again puts him before herself. Though weakened by the place, she still perseveres in trying to protect him there. Their relationship definitely changes from what it was in The Girl from the Well. There, he was a kid she felt strongly protective about because protecting the souls of children is what she did, and he was struck by her beauty at the times she was human. Now after two years, they have become good friends, if you can call a possession that – but they make the best of it. He loves her, but doesn’t realize this until quite further on. And while it’s not really romantic love, they are quite fond of each other. (Which was good, because the thought of her first considering him a kid, and then falling in love with him, would have been a bit weird). The story also goes back to the original Okiku tale, in glimpses, so we can see how she changed from a creature of malice to vengeance.

The ending, well, was a bit anti-climactic considering the action-filled book. I particularly had guessed what would happen about Okiku, when I first came across the possibility earlier in the book. It was quite enjoyable, trying to find clues and put pieces of the puzzle together. The last scene, though – I feel it was pretty convenient [that he is no longer in danger of possession (hide spoiler)]. There were also a few things which weren’t explained, and since it doesn’t look like this story will have a sequel, I find that not satisfying. The thing with the distorted photo was not really explained. And the timeline of the events in Aitou and Tomeo’s age at present (or even 10 years ago) don’t match up. Nevertheless, it is quite entertaining, but surely not as spooky as The Girl from the Well, thanks to Tark.

I'm sure an audience would like this book but it wasn't for me. It was well written, however I stopped reading after about 25%. There was a lot going on in this, maybe a bit too much for me, but I think younger audiences would find it a good intro to the horror genre.

a really great, spooky read. i would recommend to anyone who enjoys this kind of story, also, such a great halloween read.