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A darkly hilarious contemporary realistic young adult novel about growing up and finding your place in the world, perfect for fans of Me and Earl and the Dying Girl and Running With Scissors. Dario Heyward knows one thing: He’s never going back to Moldavia Studios, the iconic castle that served as the set, studio, and home to the cast and crew of dozens of cult classic B-horror movies. It’s been three years since Dario’s even seen the place, after getting legally emancipated from his father, the infamous director of Moldavia’s creature features. But then Dario’s brother invites him home to a mysterious ceremony involving his father and a tribute to his first film—The Curse of the Mummy’s Tongue. Dario swears his homecoming will be a one-time visit. A way for him to get closure on his past—and reunite with Hayley, his first love and costar of Zombie Children of the Harvest Sun, a production fraught with real-life tragedy—and say good-bye for good. But the unthinkable happens—Dario gets sucked back into the twisted world of Moldavia and the horrors, both real and imagined, he’s left there. With only months to rescue the sinking studio and everyone who has built their lives there, Dario must confront the demons of his past—and the uncertainties of his future. But can he escape the place that’s haunted him his whole life?
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I loved this book!
First off, I want to mention that this is definitely misclassified. This is 100% contemporary, not horror.
The closest this book gets to horror is the location. It takes place at Moldavia castle - the filming location for cult-famous B horror films. And it's one of my favorite settings ever. I wish Moldavia was real because I legit want to go.
The main character Dario, got emancipated at 12 and has been living in a group home for the last 6 years. He gets a phone call from his brother and finds himself drawn back into the crazy world of Moldavia. Back at the castle Dario has to confront all the demons he's been trying to escape.
There are definitely some serious trigger warnings for this book - specifically child abuse and mental illness (schizophrenia). This book is really dark and there are some very descriptive depictions of disturbing situations. But this darkness is countered but a lot of humor too.
This book is so funny! Oren's Ciller Cauliflower script might be one of my favorite chapters of all time.
This book isn't going to be for everyone. But if you're looking to new, dark twist on the traditional coming of age story, I definitely recommend checking this out.
04 / 5 stars
i was super excited to read this book when we ordered it for our library. and then it surprised me in the strangest way.
the character development here was on point. my favorite characters were jude and oren, for sure. oren reminds me of at least five different people i know (one of those people being myself). he was surely comedic, but had a lot of character development which i enjoyed. the dialogue between dario and oren had me in stitches a lot of the time.
my only issue was towards the end, the book started to tell, not show. and that made me sad.
i can honestly say i have NEVER read anything like this before, and i don't think i will ever read anything like this again. this story was entirely original to me. it was funny, hilarious, and not at all what i expected.
give it a go if you want something weird.
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