When I decided to start this blog, I had a lot of trouble settling on what to do first. Should I start with my all-time favorite book—The Exorcist—and make things easy on myself? Or should I go with something popular that might draw more attention? Or just throw a dart at my bookshelf and let fate be my guide? None of the above? Yes? No? Maybe? Am I overthinking things? The answer to that last one, of course, is almost definitely yes.
In the end, I decided it didn't make much sense to blog about my reading journey and start with anything but the book I just finished. I'm sure I'll go back to some of my old favorites at some point in the future, but for now, how about we start with now? As it turns out, A Child Alone with Strangers is probably the perfect place to start anyway, because it's a book you might not have heard of but one you should definitely check out.
I'd never read Philip Fracassi before—or even heard of him, if we're being honest—but after a friend recommended his novella, Commodore, I did what I usually do and fell down a rabbit hole. I found a zealous online fanbase surrounding the guy. People were talking about limited editions I could no longer get and other projects that aren't yet available. But mostly, they were talking about A Child Alone with Strangers. What is this book, I wondered, and why am I just now hearing about it?
To be fair, the novel just came out in October, so it's not like I somehow overlooked it all my life, but still, it seems like the kind of thing at least one of my friends would have mentioned in one news feed or another. I mean, was it not just Halloween? Would that not have been the perfect time to tell me about a new creature feature from what appears to be one of the hottest up-and-coming authors around? Do me a favor, okay? Next year, tell me all about the hip new horror novels sooner than later.
Okay, now that that's out of the way, let's talk about this book.
On the surface, it seems to be a simple kidnapping story, which might be enticing enough on its own, depending on what kinds of books you like—I know it was for me. But there's so much more to it. First of all, we've got the supernatural aspect, an ability the young protagonist develops early in the novel. I'll forgive you if you get some strong The Shining vibes early on, but Fracassi's take on the idea is original and interesting enough to stand on its own, and the monster lurking beneath the story's surface—both figuratively and literally—takes the book from familiar but good to new and great!
The story built and built, with plenty of interesting scenes that kept me flying through the pages, but once I got to the intense denouement, I wouldn't have stopped if you'd paid me. Seriously, I read the final 200 pages or so in a single, wide-eyed sitting, and that's extremely unusual for me. I usually have to sneak in a few pages here and there between work and chores and all those other boring adult things. I might not have gotten a full eight hours the night I finished A Child Alone with Strangers, but a little sleepiness was worth it. What an ending!
I don't want to give away much more of the plot because I'm a lifelong enemy of spoilers, but if you like stories with special kids in trouble and/or unforgettable, terrifying creatures, you have to give this book a read. You won't regret it, and I'm willing to bet I'll see you soon in one of those Fracassi fan groups!
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