Tali gave us a double feature this week! She read CHILDREN OF THE DARK and its sequel, which comes out April 26th!
“Children of The Dark” by Jonathan Janz
State: Indiana
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Coming of age stories are my absolute favorite. The bonds of friendship in the face of adversity always touches me,
Will Burgess had a rough life. He is raising his little sister, has an absentee father and a mother that has been checked out mentally with pharmaceutical medicine. In addition to keeping his head above water with his personal life, Will is surviving high school, handling his friendships, and dodging bullies who are always trying to beat him up.
Life is about to get more complicated for Will Burgess...
Character development was spot on in this book. Janz created real characters that the reader could empathize with throughout the story. The children in this book took me back to “The Losers Club” in the Stephen King book, lT. The story is written in Will’s point of view. Janz was able to give him a very convincing teenage voice. I, especially, liked the dialogue between Will and the adults. Will’s intense love for his family was noticeable in the story. The way Will took care of his sister, Peach, and Will’s devotion to his mother.
“Children of the Dark” is a creature feature in its essence. Oh boy, the creatures are terrifying. There were moments that I would be yelling, “RUN!” and, “Why are you just standing there?” In addition to the non-human monsters, Janz also created human monsters.
The story has a lot of moving parts. Janz was able to build it up nicely. He layers the backstory, action, gore, friendship, monsters and non-human monsters into a page turning book.
“Children of The Dark 2: The Night Flyers” by Jonathan Janz
State: Indiana
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“Children of the Dark 2: The Night Flyers” begins in a psychiatric hospital. This is, literally, one of my favorite settings. The story continues from its predecessor. No spoilers here.
Will’s story continues.
The creatures in this book are delightfully different than “Children of The Dark.” Janz builds a well layered story. The book focuses on the aftermath of “Children of The Dark” and the drama behind the government desire to hide things.
As with its predecessor, “Children of the Dark 2: The Night Flyers” has a layered story that includes both human and non-human monsters. It is filled is filled with tension and gore. Night Flyers cornering humans, slaughtering them and feasting on their flesh. There is blood gushing, tension, and glowing eyes. Janz writes an intense page turning story that will have you craving more.
“Children of the Dark 2: The Night Flyers” is action packed from the first page to the last.
