He’s mostly mindful, but he has so many questions! What happens after you die? Where does a person go after their body is no longer alive? To answer him according to his family’s values is a challenge for Mallory - especially since she doesn’t know herself. Thank you so so so much to my fellow bookstahoe for gifting me this book. While I didn't love it as much as you... I think we're even because you disliked my rec Find Her LOL. The first part of this book is largely figuring out what genre you're reading-- is it a horror with ghosts? or is this a regular mystery trying to spook you? --best to go into it with an open mind and make peace with both possibilities.

Having recently completed a stint in rehab, Mallory takes a job as nanny to 5-year-old Teddy. His parents, Caroline and Ted are Type A overprotective and uptight, but she and Teddy bond and they spend their days happily in each other’s company.I agree there are some very puzzling parallels between Anya’s drawings and my own personal history. This novel is an absolute hot mess. It felt a bit preachy the way an after school special does. In all situations the absolute worst scenario happened every time. Overly dramatic and un realistic.

I laughed and my eyes rolled because it was so absurd. Along the way the author threw in a kitchen sink full of social issues, and not-as-subtle-as-he-thought political and religious jabs. I wish I could give details (i.e. rant) but no spoilers here. None of us have been a big fan of Where’s Waldo because the size of the words and illustrations is SO very small. At least the books that we owned.The story unfolds in an unconventional and highly enjoyable manner. I wholeheartedly, absolutely, and without a doubt recommend it to everyone. It's a must-read that will leave you hooked from start to finish! I do question some of the choices of characters, but that treads on spoiler territory, so I digress. Some of the pop culture references were mid at best though. Overall, I really enjoyed the book and the mystery at the heart of it. This novel reminded me of books by Simone St. James. After Catherine injects Mallory with heroin to stage an OD but wait! it was baking soda (don't get me started even more lmao) and Ted Sr comes in and Mallory has the gall to ask him "why are you so afraid of catherine" miss Mallory lmfao PLZ MAAM I WANT YOU TO TRY HARDER

Mallory applies for a position as a summer nanny in the high-end suburb of Spring Brook, New Jersey. The Maxwells, Ted and Caroline, have a 5-year old son, Teddy, who will be her only charge. The job seems perfect. Now for the bad. Not all the character inconsistencies were adequately explained, in my opinion, and there were a couple times when I felt frustrated with Mallory. I quite liked aspects of her character-- I was interested in her past and sympathised with her struggles to combat her drug addiction, and her narrative voice was easy to read and compelling --but she does and says some things that were just kinda stupid. And during those scenes I was screaming at her to just open the bloody bedroom door! Not to mention how suspiciously Caroline, Teddy’s mother, reacts to Teddy’s Anya drawings. She appears very nervous and agitated, even though she insists that this imaginary friend thing is just a normal phase that kids Teddy’s age go through. (Again, the terrifying cover of the book hints otherwise.) Did I mention that Caroline is a psychologist working with addicts like Mallory? Her knowledge of psychology I think told her something was off, even though she was consciously trying to shrug it off. If you are looking for something FRESH and ORIGINAL and you don’t mind mysteries with a SUPERNATURAL vibe, then this is the book for you! It's not complicated. It's fairly linear and I was happy to just sit with Mallory and hear her tell it. It was just classic, eerie fun. This would make a great movie!!

The story begins as a bit of a slow burn, as Mallory and Teddy bond over imaginative games, and the drawings he sketches with the pencils he is never without. The Maxwells are thrilled, as Teddy’s only “playmate” before Mallory was his imaginary friend, Anya. But, as his pictures take on a more sinister tone, and start to become too detailed and complex for a 5 year old to draw, Mallory begins to worry.

I feel like only a male author would include something like a young women's boss breaking into her home and masturbating with her bras and then her forgiving him and acting like it was no big deal. This book is best consumed in the print version in my opinion because of the numerous pictures included within the book. The creepiness of how they looked like a child’s drawings with an ominous figure always lurking in them set the tone of the story. The pictures noticeably transitioned into these hauntingly beautiful scenes that alerted the reader to a tonal shift. Mallory moves into a pool house on the property and begins to develop a healthy schedule with Teddy. Teddy seems to be a budding little artist and spends at least an hour a day quietly drawing. Perfect for ages zero to three, this is a playful, oversized seek and find board book. From the bedroom to the bathroom to outside on a busy street and gas station, your littles will get to look for one or more items such as 3 trash cans, 7 green bugs, and 1 potted plant. The updated Richard Scarry picture books are wonderful choices to share with the little readers on your lap.I was expecting something different than what I got with this book, but I still really enjoyed the book. I also doubled down on these creepy drawings. Each new revelation made me laugh, but not in a good way. The author did not intend it to be funny. Then we have the fatphobia. Constant little quips about characters' body size tied to their worth as a person. Most blatantly obvious when it comes to the MCs mother, who was unable to help her daughter with her drug addiction because she was fat (????)... which, literally makes no sense and is just fatphobic for the sake of being fatphobic. She loses weight later, though, so we know she and MC will heal their relationship. Great. To his parents chagrin, Teddy is also receiving advice from an imaginary friend. When this ‘friend’ begins exerting too much influence, Mallory decides to look deeper which changes the trajectory of the plot.