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Title: Idle Grounds
Author: Krystelle Bamford
Source: DRC via NetGalley (Scribner) in exchange for an honest review
Publication Date: February 11, 2025
Synopsis: Goodreads
Purchase Link: Amazon

Why did I choose to read this book?

I haven’t read this kind of story in a while, but I’m a sucker for a thriller/horror that has a group of kids as the main characters. Watching them try to navigate a terrifying scenario with their kid logic adds a whole extra level of anxiety and frustration to the mix.

What is this book about?

Okay so I know what Goodreads and the New York Times and Amazon SAY this book is about, but I don’t think it really is what this book is about. In fact, I think that depending on your childhood and general life experience, this book may seem to be about something different than another person. But even that is going to hide what this story is about, and if you read a little too fast or if your eyes skip even one little line, you will miss it. So read carefully and go find out what this book means to YOU.

What is notable about this story?

This story is a fucking rubix cube, and I’m not even kidding. Or maybe the better analogy would be one of those magic eye pictures where if you put your nose up to it and slowly back away without focusing your eyes a shape pops out? It has hills and valleys and depending on who you are, certain parts will feel boring while others will feel tense. I could feel the plot flexing toward me and away when I hit parts that meant something to my lived experience.

This was also a rare situation where I didn’t care very much about any of the characters but the journey and the storytelling was so good that it carried me through. If you’ve read my reviews you know that this is rare for me – usually I need to be invested in the characters to care about what is happening to them. Here, that simply wasn’t necessary.

Was anything not so great?

There is a greater mystery in this book than what the kids are doing. It’s happening above their heads like a lingering fog and the story shows how they are just barely realizing what is going on and I don’t think they even connect the dots about what has happened BUT YOU WILL if you are paying attention. I almost missed it, I had to go back and re-read a chapter because I felt like I had missed something and holy crap. I mean, technically this is something good about the book and something that wasn’t so great, because I wouldn’t want anyone to miss this.

What’s the verdict?

4 stars on Goodreads, mostly because it felt like I got taken through one of those art installations where the floor and ceiling are mirrors but the walls are disco balls and you have to walk from one end to the other and experience the vibes?? This book is truly something different, definitely check it out.