penpal book review

Was there someone there who killed her or was she just in her final moments of life and her Alzheimer’s was creating hallucinations? jess_reads_books Book Reviews July 31, 2018. Remember the crawlspace. “We know that the stalker tried to make Josh seem like the narrator by dyeing his hair and turning his attention to him when the narrator became unavailable”. Change ), You are commenting using your Twitter account. Mybesthorrorbooks.com review. The stories were adapted for The NoSleep Podcast's debut season in 2011 and narrated by Sammy Raynor. Both give reasons for the stalker to kill her. Penpal was recommended to me by Amazon. The fact that the last chapter is a muddled mess that seeks to “solve” the mystery did not end things on a high note for me. Could there be anything else in those bags? Penpal is a chilling tale with an ending that is both satisfying and unexpected. Still, why would she hesitate to let the narrator into her house to meet him? Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. I’ve read the book and checked out MCP’s reading of it. I assumed that he killed Veronica to hurt both Josh (because he was in the passenger seat) and the narrator (because he cared for her). Just read the novel. But then why is some of the information hidden behind those thick black lines. This infuriated the stalker, whom proceeded to murder her by chopping her up into pieces. Reading the comments on it, I’m glad I wasn’t the only one who didn’t immediately “get it”. As characters enter the story and leave, it’s important to note how they “interrupt” or “block” the narrators’ encounters with the PenPal (PP). Let's see, I published my first novella Hushed, a prequel to the Hushed Horror Thriller series, and my second novel, Whispering. I’m sure a stranger in the house would have alerted the cat and lead to some growling/hissing fits (the narrator himself states that Boxes is a “talker”). And while individually the chapters are creepy and unsettling, the novel as a whole falls a little flat. Can you imagine the stress of Dathan’s mother knowing what she knew and keeping it secret in order to keep her son safe? Ranking Every Stephen King Novel, From Worst to First! But maybe she thought her son was her husband because of the age (due to her Alzheimer’s). how what happened to Ms. Maggie’s mind may have been like what happened to Veronica and Josh’s mother. it’s definitely a winner, and I can’t even accurately pin point every element that REALLY succeeds. Change ). If not, maybe he was trying to be so clever the book would be discussed endlessly, and in that he was right that it would be analyzed more. Penpal by Dathan Auerbach – Book Review. August 1, 2016 August 1, 2016 / asylumfarm. 5 Horror Authors You Have to Read and Follow in 2016! Book Review: Penpal. No, there’s a far more sinister plan being birthed for our story’s young target (who, unless I somehow missed it goes unnamed throughout the tale), and lifelong longevity definitely doesn’t fit into the equation. I feel in order to make it seem more realistic the holes have been left unfilled but that just makes the story feel like its incomplete. Abhorrent Admirer: The stalker towards Dathan.While we never see him in face to judge him as unattractive until the end at least his obsessive personality surely makes him monstrous. Also consider John Wayne Gacy (Gacey?). He takes ordinary things, such as receiving letters from a penpal, and manages to make them exceedingly disturbing. I do however like your idea of the night the narrator wanted to go in. Most have their own lives and find it hard to visit their elderly parents. What is the book about? It’s not a short story, but it’s not really a long one, either. ( Log Out /  After all, he had plenty of practice with animals. It seems like he ran out of answers himself and decided that, yeah, we’d have to write the end ourselves, for real. Constantly seeking adventure, always teetering on the brink of defiance, but undeniably kind and attentive, it’s easy to attach yourself to the exploits of this character – that possesses traits that actually remind me a bit of myself as a boy – both as an innocent kindergartener as well as maturing teenager. The text message that reads “I love you” in which the narrator (thinking he is responding to Veronica) replies “I love you too” is significant. But with any kind of dementia or psychosis, she might be fooled into thinking it was “Tom” who was home. If she sometimes mistakes him for Chris or John, why wouldn’t she want either of them to visit him? Josh was there when he got the “For Stamps” Dollar back, when they got their pictures taken in the woods, when he released the balloon and what he wrote on the dollar, etc.”. ‎In an attempt to make sense of his own mysterious and unsettling childhood memories, a man begins to reconstruct his past. In fact, throughout the stories, at times that the narrator would have been the sole person interacting with the PP, Josh is always around, keeping the narrator from being alone with the PP. The narrator’s name is never given. Josh is (of course) the most significant character in the whole of these stories. That's it. An old lady inviting kids into her house for ‘snacks’? The two are one in the same. Prose is bland and first-person intensive. There is never any indication that the PP’s possession of Josh lessens his obsession with the narrator, but Josh seems to die in the narrator’s “place”. When Josh attends the narrators birthday party, he seems only vaguely aware of what has been happening to him. When the narrator confronts him for being a “bad friend” (something that is even more painful when it’s revealed what happens to Josh later) Josh responds quietly “You left” – implying that the PP has sense refocused his attention onto Josh. Just my two cents. Another theory suggests that the stalker was angry at Mrs Maggie for coming out and interrupting his kidnapping attempt. The cat, I think, plays a much more important role in diverting the PP then we’re lead to believe. Penpal a book report by Jannis Köhler The publication Table of content -self funding the publication created a "Kickstarter-project" raised 15.946$ -publication of the book in July 2012 Personal evaluation Chronological order Novel Personal 1 Footsteps Balloons 2 Balloons June 28, 2017 July 5, 2017 In My Humble Opinion: Book Reviews With Syd. You’re in, you’re scared, you’re out. I also buy that they managed to lead the PP to Josh’s house at the end of ‘Boxes’ and therefore re-focus him on Josh, assuming he no longer knew where the narrator lived. After I finished the book at about 12:30am I was up for at least another hour thinking of it — a little freaked out but mostly trying to figure out all of the things I still had questions on. Fear of going through with his obsession was possibly a motivator (also, he probably didn’t have such a strong conviction to kidnap by this point. Really late response lol, but the “Penpal” killed Miss Maggie. Change ), You are commenting using your Facebook account. Any insight another reader may have would be greatly appreciated. These were my exact thoughts. After all, it was made clear that the narrator could not enter that lady’s house. The stalker used Josh’s walkie-talkie to relay the fact that he had Boxes. Because the book is first person narrated, I think it’s best to interact with the key characters the narrator relates to us, their significance to him, and their subsequent demises. As an avid horror reader, I am well-acquainted with short-form scary stories on websites such as creepypasta. The initial chapter became incredibly popular, and author Dathan Auerbach expanded his narrative to include additional chapters, eventually gathering enough… The theory that I came up with is that the stalker had noticed how Ms. Maggie always invited the narrator and Josh into her house for some snacks; that the boys would dock near her house and would have to return to that house in order to get home. Given the short nature of the story (252 pages) and the multitudes of praise (123 reviews at the moment and a five-star rating) I … Chapter one may focus on a six year old boy’s life, while chapter two takes followers years into the future, before the third chapter pulls the wrinkles of time back once more, to a time somewhere in between chapter one and three. Adding onto the Ms. Maggie is a sexual predator theory, maybe she kept those boys trapped in her house. Read the latest Penpal Books reviews from Kogan.com customers. However, when viewed as a whole it becomes limited in its ability to scare. In general, the faults of Penpal are minimal. The work was first published in paperback on July 11, 2012 through 1000Vultures and is based on a series of popular creepypasta stories that Auerbach posted to Reddit. So the fact that a six-year old boy is more puzzled than terrified by the events of Penpal is believable. The two are inseparable throughout the bulk of the book. PENPAL got pretty good ratings on Amazon (4.5 stars) and did slightly less well on Goodreads (3.88 stars). It wasn’t until I reached the third story that I realized it was a similar setting! If he mutilated them enough, the police wouldn’t bother sorting them out from any animal corpses that may have been in the house. Change ), You are commenting using your Google account. Penpal began as a series of short and interconnected stories posted on an online horror forum. Change ), You are commenting using your Google account. As for the police report with Joshua as the name, that is his friend Josh’s full given birth name. Overall, this book was definitely creepy and I really enjoyed it even though there were some leftover questions that could’ve been answered. In general, the faults of Penpal are minimal. You can find Penpal here on Amazon or here on BookDepository. My favorite sections were “Footprints”, “Balloons,” and “Boxes”. Throughout the story the message is clear: the boys are always safe when they are together (notice that neither experiences sleeping problems when they spend the night together). What’s in all those foul-smelling garbage bags that the police in haz-mat suits carry out of her house after she dies? For Maggie to follow the narrator down the lawn fits her character’s actions throughout the stories. Let me start by saying that I am a huge fan of the horror/thriller genre. The PP, who is likely enraged by a foiled attempt to engage with the narrator, and probably not wanting any witnesses, kills Maggie and leaves her body in the house to be discovered by the stench. Joshua and his friend Josh? Josh- I’m not sure I can fully get on board with the theory of Miss Maggie being a killer also back in the day but find your theory interesting. Most adult children move away from their hometown. Absolutely loved it! And she often sits on the porch while the boys are in the lake (something I thought was a very watchful and maternal gesture, possibly something she did with her own children). The main characters of this horror, fiction story are , . Jonathan Maberry, Ramsey Campbell and 16 Other Amazing Horror Authors Tell Us What Books Terrify Them! This makes Maggie’s loneliness and memory issues more realistic (I thought). Overall, your enjoyment of Penpal will be closely linked to your enjoyment of short-form horror. I don’t think it burns the skin the way chloroform does, but maybe with long or repeat exposure…? Blog at WordPress.com. The fact that the narrator is only around six years old for the majority of the novel is compelling. This video is unavailable. . (I’m a ditz, sue me.). Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. Unfortunately, this becomes the main problem with Penpal. Change ), The 100 Scariest Horror Novels of All Time. Book Review for iHunt: Killing Monsters in the Gig Economy by David A. Hill Jr. Book Review for The Demon of Decay by Alex C. Gates, Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window), Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window), Dathan Auerbach’s ‘Penpal’ Will See Cinematic Adaptation! And i thought it really happened to narrator’s bestfriend!!! There are major discrepancies between some of the different chapters. Penpal often comes off as disjointed. hey guys, asked Dathan about this specific detail, and here’s what he told me: “think that might spoil some of the fun, man! Our mysterious antagonist is quiet, nearly invisible to suspecting eyes, completely discreet and surprisingly savvy. Five Reasons Drunks Will Always Survive Horror Stories. The story, which entangles readers and seizes complete attention early, functions on a multifarious level and is assembled in unorthodox but well calculated fashion. Yeah, OK.. Have you looked into the interview I conducted with him? Loved the book though and I think I’ll be playing it over in my head for a while now. Auerbach does an excellent job of setting his reader ill at ease using a minimum of words. (Honestly it made me soo depressed, i loved Josh! Here is a thought: Do we think the PP is Alex? December 30, 2015 in Featured Articles //, December 28, 2015 in Featured Articles //, Fear the Future: 10 Great Post-Apocalyptic Horror Novels, Read Kevin Wetmore’s ‘Halloween Returns’ Contest Winning Story “Ben Tramer’s Not Going to Homecoming!”. I think I’ll reach back out to Dathan and see if he wants to talk about this point specifically. I know I’m coming late to the party, but this past summer was the first chance I’ve had to read PenPal before Grad school started back into full swing. The stalker had a car, his cat, and yet he preferred Josh. I can only imagine he is also present when the PP receives the narrator’s response. I have a question about this book. Up until then I had assumed they grew apart because the events in the narrator’s old house were super f-ed up and he just wanted to not think about it. His intentions aren’t clearly outlined until the latter portions of Auerbach’s story, but I’ll give you this much to chew on: this guy isn’t some simple pervert with mere sexual gratification on his mind; so forget about giving Chris Hansen a call, this is one perpetrator that isn’t showing up with booze and rubbers to meet an under-aged girl. The first edition of the novel was published in June 2012, and was written by Dathan Auerbach. Josh then sees the PP (a death sentence throughout the stories) and is photographed by him. It was then picked up and recorded in audio form by the award-winning Nosleep podcast. 1,920 reviews. Book Review: PenPal. 1 review, Alessandro Manzetti, Shanti: The Sadist Heaven review, Keith Deininger, Violent Hearts: A Haunted Journey review, Richard Farren Barber, The Living and The Lost review. He had arrived to his room and dropped/thrown his various items to the floor and crawled into bed. I thought it was significant that the narrators notes that his mom brought home boxes before he started kindergarten. Seems kind of like the “I have free candy!” phrase doesn’t it? If you can piece together the significance of the events, you’ll know that the PP starts stalking the narrator after the balloon project which happens sometime in the narrators kindergarten year. Dathan’s mom says to Dathan that if someone did move in with the old lady, that she was delusional enough to think that it is her dead husband; Tom. . The loose strings are for the most part tied by the final pages, save for one detail that still has me scratching my head a bit: what is the relevance of Veronica’s (Josh’s sister) position (which isn’t bestowed any focus until the story has just about wrapped) and fate in context of the grand tale, and what’s the story behind the enigmatic automobile? All of this is pretty solvable by book’s end, though we’re not given much satisfaction of certainty about many of the answers, and a few–not just 2, actually, as I mistakenly said above–but form answers about the roles of Alex, Chris and hos family, Claire, and Samantha (who, actually, was a THIRD nurse). Anyways, despite her illness, Maggie seems to protect and care for the boys the best she can in her condition. 9 reviews for penpalsnow, 2.1 stars: 'This site is wall-to-wall fakes and con merchants, with the owners accepting uncritically ANY poison levelled at decent users while the fakes and weirdos get royal treatment. I guess it is just one of those special books! Posted on August 30, 2012 in Authors A-L // 35 Comments. This is an eerie tale that pits pure evil against genuine innocence. Additionally, I don’t really get the “You Left” comment by Josh. When the narrator playfully alters the snow-cones signs in “Balloons” Maggie chuckles and scolds him before buying a snow-cone. Because of their close friendship, Josh’s life and story are interwoven with that of the narrator. Because of how close the narrator and Josh are, we can assume that the PP knows Josh just as well as he does the narrator. HA Just, to me, choosing to be buried alive with Josh for no apparent reason seems… pointless. I think that Boxes is a character in his own right. In “Boxes” when the boys go to the narrator’s old home, it is Josh who safely secures the narrator under the house while he goes inside the abandoned home. The details are at times a tad vague, which admittedly leads to some quizzical conjecture (why is our antagonist so obsessed with photography, especially when he’s taken up residence in such close proximity of his desired target? As the games and adventures of his youth become engulfed by a larger story, he finds that it forms a tapestry of unbelievable horror … )This theory could also explain how the stalker got the idea to keep Josh contained for a very long period of time. However, I think part of it was to get rid of the sister because the narrator didn’t have a sister. Kinda like when Ridley Scott stepped up and said that Deckard was a replicant. I am pretty sure it said something to the effect of more than one body bag being removed from her home. The book was published in multiple languages including English, consists of 252 pages and is available in Paperback format. I still don’t know how the Mrs Maggie stuff fits in to the larger picture (maybe her sons were killed by the same guy) but I was thinking Josh and the fat kid Alex (who had a crush on Veronica) would have had motive to at least run her over and destroy that relationship. The PP, nervous about being caught, would have likely allowed this to deter him for a time. But I’m guessing it doesn’t make his books more popular. I will try to help you guys out a bit. We Want Your Votes for Best Horror Novel of 2016! Also, about the two sons; the twisted part of me thinks that maybe Ms. Maggie’s sons never really ‘disappeared’. The book has been awarded with , and many others. I kind of had that feeling that Dathan wanted to leave it open to interpretation. There seems to be some form of symbolism at work here that I personally missed, and that does admittedly crawl under my skin. Possible the land clearing had some effect on wherever he was hiding Josh? Some have speculated that it wasn’t Maggie but the PP following the narrator, but I don’t think so. Perhaps it was her two sons that “had nothing to do with her all those years”? There is next to no character arc. She could have been a sexual predator; a fact that the narrator’s mom felt was too complicated for the narrator to understand at his age. I felt like the stalker might have ended up being Mrs. Maggie’s son, but it was never cleared up. I’ve only read the online version, but it sounds like the author did a lot of cleanup and hole patching for the book version. It’s also implied that Josh had decided to finish the boys “Map” from their childhood as a gift to the narrator. It was then picked up and recorded in audio form by the award-winning Nosleep podcast. As he grew bolder such antics from the cat wouldn’t do much (the cat being declawed), he probably went ahead with kidnapping the narrator. To love the narrator is to love Josh. Anytime an author casts a child aside, thrown to the jowls of a man-eater, the fear takes on a tangible nature. When the boys get too far out in the water, she calls for them to swim back. It’s heavily implied at the end of “Boxes” that the PP followed the boys all the way to Josh’s house. Not that I’m Ridley Scott or Penpal is Blade Runner, but you get the idea haha.”, LOL aw man!! I just finished this book. My biggest remaining question is the ending. What a delight to see all the discussion here and have it be as recent as the end of 2015, I loved this story and am very happy to know people are still picking it up and reading it. A man is haunted by the events of his childhood and trying to understand a past he hasn’t been able to fully grasp until now. . Maybe if the police were getting close to discovering PP? When Boxes goes missing, Josh and the narrator BOTH reminisce over his loss. Pointing this out in case anyone feels the stalker was duped/fooled into being placated. This horrifying act leads to Josh’s murder and the destruction of his family. I’ve heard the extremely prolific Dean Koontz, author of roughly 100 works (plenty of which were number one sellers) of fiction, bashed to hell and back over the last few, View Horror Novel Reviews’s profile on Facebook, View HorrorNovelRevs’s profile on Twitter, Thrift Store Finds: Save the Last Dance for Me, When in Paris, Revisit Gaston Leroux’s Timeless Masterpiece ‘The Phantom of the Opera’, Interview: Jack Ketchum Talks Horror Roots and New Book ‘The Secret Life of Souls’, 5 Horror Novels That Deserve a Video Game Adaptation. I think it’s worth noting that the author spends a good amount of time conveying Josh’s character to the reader. Did he know himeself? Is Stephen King Really the Greatest Horror Contributor of All Time? -.- Oh and if the the Penpal was still having fun stalking the narrator with his text “See you again, Soon.” Why did he decide to die with Josh in the end? I don’t find the absence of her own two children odd at all. There’s a Quentin Tarantinoesque disjointedness exercised throughout the novel, as Dathan keeps readers leaping around a wide timeline. How many more did he take prior to his obsession with Dathan? You’ll likely guess, based upon the novel’s title alone, that this story focuses on a “penpal” who isn’t exactly… normal. When the narrator leaves the presence of Maggie’s house, it is Josh who lets him into the house (almost as if the two are “changing guard” over the narrator). PENpal Audio Recorder Pen Tap and listen to talking books, posters & voice recordable labels. I don’t know about the book, but the Reddit version was awesome. Auerbach may not yet be a household name, but if he’s got more creativity of this level tucked away in his mental corridors, genre fans have a new name to memorize. Short, but scary. However, a six-year old boy also has limitations, which Auerbach occasionally forgets. Also: This story has me installing (pet immune) motion sensors in my basement and crawlspace! She had Alzheimers so she probably didn’t remember what Tom looked like. Penpal <— THIS ONE IS TOUTED AS ONE OF THE SCARIEST BOOKS (at least per the scary-book lists online right now), and OMG look at all the awesome reviews.HOLY MOLY. Before long, it was adapted into illustrations, audio recordings, and short films; and that was before it was revised and expanded into a novel! Implied that the stalker has infiltrated the house. I buy that PP had taken Josh as a substitute for whatever reason (though one could argue that Josh was more valuable as bait, but these things are seldom rational) but I don’t understand the manner of the death. I meant to ask (dang that auto spelling correction!) Book Review: Penpal by Dathan Auerbach. Ummm, does he have any reason to chop her up? I have soo many questions that are nagging me. “Also, he should’ve explained why the stalker left the walkie-talkie (in a jacket, I believe) under the narrator’s bed.”. Penpal is a 2012 self-published horror/thriller novel and the debut novel of the American author Dathan Auerbach. There are clues about each, loud hints, and in Samantha’s case, logical threads, but no satisfactory “aha!” moments. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. ( Log Out /  I love the fact that Auerbach keeps it nebulous. ( Log Out /  Pen Pal has examples of:. He was inside her house (or nearby), then presumably was the one following the protagonist across the lawn as he walked toward home. While Maggie may not be “all there”, her presence does seem to protect the narrator and Josh. When she runs through the home to walk along the front lawn as the narrator goes home, I think it’s a protective gesture. Josh is alone in the woods when he is kidnapped. Why is Dean Koontz Loathed in Such Heinous Fashion. Download the ‘Halloween Returns: A Fan Fiction Anthology’ Now for Free! Not me. Penpal began as a series of short and interconnected stories posted on an online horror forum. Even though it is implied that the narrator is the target of the PP, Josh is present in every interaction. It was written in such a way that one can not easily tell whether or not it happened to the narrator. Also, he should’ve explained why the stalker left the walkie-talkie (in a jacket, I believe) under the narrator’s bed. “The ending takes care of itself…” suggest that, just as in real life, many things add up only a long time later, especially regarding adult undercurrents when we were too young to notice or understand their interactions. And he’d been keeping an eye on the narrator from there, while killing others. The stalker loved the narrator, so maybe he noticed what she was up to and snapped. The walkie-talkie under the bed belonged to the narrator. It’s refreshing from the point of the lack of explicit slaughter and graphic violence that so many authors in the horror genre depend on today. PenPal came as a suggestion to me via Amazon, I didn’t know anything about it’s creepypasta origins when I purchased it. As I sit awake at 1am trying to put the pieces together! Firstly, i really don’t understand why the narrator wasn’t given a name! Also, when they find Josh’s body in clothes too tight, it is because it is the narrator’s old clothes from when the killer took up home in his old house. Being… insane caused him to kill her. Watch Queue Queue Yeah I got the feeling that the stalker was Mrs. Maggie’s son, although I don’t know who would be in the other bag unless it was her other son. LOL. I’m going to read this AGAIN! Without consciously meaning to, Josh constantly stands in the way of his best friend and the PP. It seems like it took a while for the stalker to catch up to the raft, so I’m guessing that the stalker pretended to be Ms. Maggie’s husband, he told her to invite the boys in, and then set out to scare the boys so that they would run back to their docking spot (Ms. Maggie’s house). In keeping with my comments above, Let me further ask: How does what happened to Veronica’John’s Mom resemble what happened to Ms. Maggie? He was disturbed enough by their experience in the narrator’s abandoned house that the friendship atrophied. Book: Penpal. Fans of creepypastas and urban legends will love this. ... - Dave Lews, teacher review… He proves himself time and time again to be a sacrificial and loyal friend. Read 60 reviews from the world's largest community for readers. Without the narrator present, Josh is kidnapped and held for years. He took his best friend. That was how I perceived it… kind of a “which way do YOU want to go with this” type of idea. She now knows what the PP looks like, and this is significant to what happens next. In order to sign up all we ask is your e-mail address, birthday, sex, and country. Perhaps that’s the narrator’s name? How was the narrator unavailable? And in my earlier post, I ask what was the significance of the shark float and the hole (where the spiders were) the boys saw when both got lost in the woods together? Love the story but the unanswered questions arw just tooo much to handle. ( Log Out /  This is a hauntingly rewarding novel that I’ll read again in the future. And you know me, I’m all for finding that next super-scary, sleep-with-the-lights-on book… especially right now, on … He could have taken it upon himself to end their suffering (as well as gain more experience) by chopping them up as well. When Miss Maggie said “Tom is home” and then died. This has been the best place to be honest…No where else I asked questions/looked for questions and answers has proven helpful in the least!

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