Title: Another Little Piece Author: Kate Karyus Quinn
Published: June 11, 2013
Genre(s): Horror
Page Count: 419
Rating:
Summary from Goodreads:On a cool autumn night, Annaliese Rose Gordon stumbled out of the woods and into a high school party. She was screaming. Drenched in blood. Then she vanished.
A year later, Annaliese is found wandering down a road hundreds of miles away. She doesn't know who she is. She doesn't know how she got there. She only knows one thing: She is not the real Annaliese Rose Gordon.
Now Annaliese is haunted by strange visions and broken memories. Memories of a reckless, desperate wish . . . a bloody razor . . . and the faces of other girls who disappeared. Piece by piece, Annaliese's fractured memories come together to reveal a violent, endless cycle that she will never escape—unless she can unlock the twisted secrets of her past.
I’ve come to the conclusion that horror is not the best genre for me. We don’t work well together, simply because I do not get scared. I just don’t. I’ve heard from many sources that Another Little Piece is absolutely terrifying YA horror, best of the best…and nothing. The problem, I think is that I’m more of an intellectual reader than an emotional one. I’m always fairly distant from the narration, always reading with the thought to analyze. It’s harder to get scared if you’ve got that mindset, I guess.
That being said, even though I don’t think I’m a member of this book’s intended audience, I was still able to enjoy Another Little Piece a lot. A whole lot. I was never horrified, sure, but I enjoyed the story, the writing, and the concept quite a bit, and I fully recognize that this is a quality piece of fiction and a debut that shows a lot of promise for Kate Karyus Quinn’s career.
The story and the concept, as I said, were both inventive and thought-provoking. Quinn toyed with themes like love vs. lust, free will, and fate over the course of the text, and I thought she handled those things subtly and intelligently. The author also kept a definite mystery to some aspects of the book, leaving certain things up in the air. Most aspects of Another Little Piece are explained, but the final piece of the puzzle was left out, and I actually appreciated that a lot, because it kept the enchantment and magic alive, rather than snuffing everything out at the end.
I also, actually, liked the flashback-heavy format of the book. I didn’t find it confusing at all, and thought the sudden, seemingly random flashes of memory were a great way to unpeel Annaliese’s past layer by layer, rather than dumping it all at once (which would have ruined the entire story anyway). Quinn kept up a lot of suspense for the reader by holding on to Annaliese’s amnesia as long as possible, and even at the end withholding some non-vital information.
Obviously, Another Little Piece is a complex book—complicated enough that I’m sure I could never do the plot any justice in a review. It’s an ambitious story, this is fact. And maybe a less talented author would have flailed and floundered and made a mess of things, but Kate Karyus Quinn did not. She excelled at twisting and the unwinding this story up in a way that was intricate, but never sloppy. And on top of that, she managed to do it with very good prose. The writing in this book isn’t merely serviceable; it shines. Quinn might have failed to scare me, but I’m sure that’s more my fault than hers. Every paragraph of Another Little Piece is atmospheric and precise. Quinn makes every word work, and the end result is an excellently-written piece of fiction. I have no complaints in terms of writing.
I also can’t complain about characterization either, another important aspect of reading for me. Annaliese is not your typical character, so I’m sure it was harder to develop her personality and growth, but Quinn managed it. She is most definitely a three-dimensional personality with wants and fears and conflict. Likewise, the secondary characters were well-drawn and believable.
I mentioned that no aspect of Another Little Piece scared me, and that’s true. But one scene did disturb me a lot, and all I can say is huge mega trigger warnings for rape and pedophilia. I mean, it was well-written, and honestly only two or three paragraphs, but ouch was it painful. That scene didn’t detract from my enjoyment or estimation of the book’s quality, of course, but it’s an important part of my reading experience all the same.
I don’t have anything truly bad to say about this book. I didn’t find it very horror-y, sure, but that isn’t necessarily a failing of the author’s. Another Little Piece is a twisted, and gorgeous novel that keeps the reader guessing every step of the way. Kate Karyus Quinn has a clear talent for haunting, dark stories that aim to terrify. Altogether, this is an excellent book.
