Jessica
So what happens when your friend accidentally unleashes supernatural forces on the whole neighborhood? You get Suburban Hell. We follow Amy and her group of friends: Melissa, Jess, and Liz. They have been the best of friends for several years, having met at the school their kids attend. They consider themselves the outsiders of the moms in their neighborhood because they are not obsessed with all the pageantry that their neighborhood subscribes to. The story starts innocuously enough. The girls are having one of their get-togethers at Liz’s house. She is excited to start work on her She Shed in the backyard. She wanted it to be the girls’ new hangout. She eagerly shows them the dig site, but when they look at the empty hole where the shed is supposed to be built, they notice a weird presence in the air and an odd smell.
They slowly dismissed everything, but then things started to change. Amy, Melissa, and Jess went to Liz’s house later and noticed she was acting strangely. Her facial expressions are off, she was dressing differently, her attitude drastically changed for the worse, and she didn’t seem to care about the house and kids anymore. Amy tried to reach out to Liz; however, Liz lured Amy outside. Liz’s face morphs into something sinister as she pushes Amy into the pit outside her house. While in the pit, Amy feels herself being sucked down by a supernatural force. She barely escaped, but she is left with a nasty wound. Amy knows that whatever she saw was not her friend, and she is determined that with the help of Melissa and Jess, they can save Liz. However, whatever is possessing Liz is not going out without a fight, and somehow Amy’s little daughter Emily seems to have a connection to the evil presence within Liz.
The books explore several main themes. Moms are expected to take on the household. They are expected to take care of the kids, have food ready, and plan activities. There is also a theme of women not being believed. I found it quite baffling that none of the husbands believed their wives about the supernatural things happening in the neighborhood, especially with the obvious changes with Liz. The husbands all assume that Liz is either having a tough time or a break in reality.
One of the things that I like in the book is that it asks the following question: How far would you go for your friend when they are in serious trouble, especially when it is beyond your comprehension? It is an interesting thing to think about. We see the women in the book struggle a lot with that question, which I found very realistic. I also like how they explore how friendships sometimes work. Sometimes, you are only with friends for a season. It may take you a while until you find your tribe.
There were a couple of things I didn’t like about the book. I didn’t like the way the husbands tried to explain away the supernatural events that were happening in the book when it was obvious something was off. I also hated Liz’s husband, Tim. I don’t understand how he could be so indifferent to the changes that were happening with his wife. Lastly, I didn’t like how the Emily situation was resolved. I thought that there would be more to it, but it just fell flat.
Overall, I did like the book. I liked how Amy was the anchor for all of them and how they worked together. The ending leaves an opening for a second possible book. I look forward to what comes next if they continue the story.
Originally posted at jdavismallory.substack.com.
So what happens when your friend accidentally unleashes supernatural forces on the whole neighborhood? You get Suburban Hell. We follow Amy and her group of friends: Melissa, Jess, and Liz. They have been the best of friends for several years, having met at the school their kids attend. They consider themselves the outsiders of the moms in their neighborhood because they are not obsessed with all the pageantry that their neighborhood subscribes to. The story starts innocuously enough. The girls are having one of their get-togethers at Liz’s house. She is excited to start work on her She Shed in the backyard. She wanted it to be the girls’ new hangout. She eagerly shows them the dig site, but when they look at the empty hole where the shed is supposed to be built, they notice a weird presence in the air and an odd smell.
They slowly dismissed everything, but then things started to change. Amy, Melissa, and Jess went to Liz’s house later and noticed she was acting strangely. Her facial expressions are off, she was dressing differently, her attitude drastically changed for the worse, and she didn’t seem to care about the house and kids anymore. Amy tried to reach out to Liz; however, Liz lured Amy outside. Liz’s face morphs into something sinister as she pushes Amy into the pit outside her house. While in the pit, Amy feels herself being sucked down by a supernatural force. She barely escaped, but she is left with a nasty wound. Amy knows that whatever she saw was not her friend, and she is determined that with the help of Melissa and Jess, they can save Liz. However, whatever is possessing Liz is not going out without a fight, and somehow Amy’s little daughter Emily seems to have a connection to the evil presence within Liz.
The books explore several main themes. Moms are expected to take on the household. They are expected to take care of the kids, have food ready, and plan activities. There is also a theme of women not being believed. I found it quite baffling that none of the husbands believed their wives about the supernatural things happening in the neighborhood, especially with the obvious changes with Liz. The husbands all assume that Liz is either having a tough time or a break in reality.
One of the things that I like in the book is that it asks the following question: How far would you go for your friend when they are in serious trouble, especially when it is beyond your comprehension? It is an interesting thing to think about. We see the women in the book struggle a lot with that question, which I found very realistic. I also like how they explore how friendships sometimes work. Sometimes, you are only with friends for a season. It may take you a while until you find your tribe.
There were a couple of things I didn’t like about the book. I didn’t like the way the husbands tried to explain away the supernatural events that were happening in the book when it was obvious something was off. I also hated Liz’s husband, Tim. I don’t understand how he could be so indifferent to the changes that were happening with his wife. Lastly, I didn’t like how the Emily situation was resolved. I thought that there would be more to it, but it just fell flat.
Overall, I did like the book. I liked how Amy was the anchor for all of them and how they worked together. The ending leaves an opening for a second possible book. I look forward to what comes next if they continue the story.
Originally posted at jdavismallory.substack.com.