Book Revie: MALORIE by Josh Malerman

MALORIE by Josh Malerman (Del Rey Books, July 21, 2020) Hardcover, 320 pages. 

Summary on the Goodreads website . . . . .

Now from the mind of a true master of suspense comes the next chapter in Bird Box. This time, Malorie is front and center, and she will confront the dangers of her world head-on.

Twelve years after Malorie and her children rowed up the river to safety, a blindfold is still the only thing that stands between sanity and madness. One glimpse of the creatures that stalk the world will drive a person to unspeakable violence. There remains no explanation. No solution.

All Malorie can do is survive.

But then comes what feels like impossible news. And with it, the first time Malorie has allowed herself to hope. Someone very dear to her, someone she believed dead, may be alive.

Malorie has a harrowing choice to make: to live by the rules of survival that have served her so well, or to venture into the darkness and reach for hope once more. 

 

My Four-Star Review on the Goodreads website . . . . .

     The story picks up right where BIRD BOX left off, with Malorie and her two young charges ending their river journey and settling in at The School For The Blind. If you enjoyed that book, you will not be disappointed by MALORIE. 

     This takes place, when after seven years, they exit the school as alien creatures enter the building and the usual madness ensues. They find a former camp and hole up there for another ten years, when a census taker visits and changes their whole world with his news.

     At this point the children, Tom and Olympia, are in their teens and developing their own ideas about survival while rejecting the very strict rules of mother Malorie. 

     I'm not going to spoil it for anyone else. The story is great, with a very satisfactory ending plus the promise of keeping the door open for more stories. (Yes, please!) Malerman employs the same style and economy of words here as he did with BIRD BOX. The added benefit of featuring three different points-of-view (Malorie, Tom and Olympia) really enhance and embellish the story. Recommended.