“Never come to the box alone.
Never open it after dark.
Never take back your sacrifice.”

A few simple rules, but you would be surprised how people get it wrong, and not only that, but people think that the box is all sweet and kind intentions. Hello, I could have told you from the beginning that suspicious boxes in the middle of dark forests are not to be messed with, but did anyone listen? No, no. And look what has happened. So much horror, so much blood, so much terror.

This is one of those books I have been looking forward to for some time, and then I spotted while I was in the UK for a short vacation and wanted it even more. Sadly, I couldn’t bring it with me. Yay for carry on baggage and me wanting to bring other souvenirs back as well (plus I already had 2 or 3 books with me to bring back :P). And then when we got home my boyfriend sweetly surprised me by buying this book! <3 Thanks sweetie!

This book was amazing, it was everything I hoped, and more! It was creepy, it was a big NOPE NOPE NOPE flails and hides, it had a few eye roll moments, it was fun. It was just perfect. I didn’t feel bored one moment, though I have to say that I sometimes wanted to stop reading because it was a bit gruesome at points (and that escalated as the story progressed).

Our MC is Sep, though we also have POVs of other characters. These characters may seem insignificant at first, but believe me everyone plays a role. Everyone has something to do with either Sep or the box. Sure, I didn’t always like all the characters, for instance it took me quite a bit of time to get used to Mario (he was just odd and his way of speaking was quite distracting). And some characters I could never like… Daniels, the bully.

Not only does the book have multiple POV but we also have 3 different times. First up is 1982, the summer when Sep was friends with Arkle, Lamb, Mack, Hadley and that was also the summer they did the sacrifice. Next is 1986 which is the current year, and the year everything will go wrong and it will bring these friends back together in a way they didn’t expect. Then there is 1941 when another group of kids was tricked by the box. And yes, this time is also important. Very much so even, you may not know it first, but then you see all the connections, the web that leads from 1941 to 1982 and to 1986. I definitely went: OMG, it is that girl! at a point, and then some more OMG when I saw other connections.

The box is definitely out to kill. Not only those who broke its rules, and those who didn’t get what it was capable of, but everything. Believe me, these kids, this whole island is in for one hell of a freaky ride.

I just loved how the author wrote the creepy parts, he did an amazing job on them. Believe me I was often quite terrified, as a lot of these things happened at night. Later on it also started to happen at other times. Then there was the gore, not really my favourite thing in books (or shows/movies), but it does fit perfectly with this book (and even if I want to deny it, that one scene where they had to do x to Sep to remove y was disgusting as hell and I was cringing so hard and I almost had to puke, but even that one fitted, though I could have done without it shivers). It shows that the box is clearly not afraid to show its power. It is a real killer of a box. 😛 They should have really thought before they put in the stuff they did. Then again, I can imagine these kids just thought it was harmless fun. It was something to remember the summer and their friendship.

I am still not entirely sure what to make of Sep. He seems like a great guy, and I can also imagine that he may just not trust his friends that much given that, from his POV, they dropped him as soon as school started. They haven’t tried to contact him once (well… neither did he), he is getting bullied and no one does a thing. It was interesting that he was deaf, or at least half. How that happened, well I thought it was like this from birth.. but Sep hasn’t had the easiest life. That is all I will say.

There is also a bit of romance and I have to say that it wasn’t weird or out of place, if anything I found myself rooting for the two and enjoying the moments of light-heartedness in the whole chaos that was starting to take place.

The other characters, Lamb, Hadley, Mack, Arkle? I quite liked them when we really started to get to know them. Saw their quirks, their personalities, their ways of talking. Even though I am against putting things on fire, I did like that Arkle had a knack for setting stuff on fire. Lamb? It took me a while to like her. She was just so bossy, at times rude, and I also didn’t like how she immediately went to point a finger to Sep instead of maybe thinking that it may be someone else entirely.

Who opened the box/who broke the rules? I have to say that until it was revealed I had absolutely no clue. I went through my head pass all the suspects, but I just couldn’t figure it out. Thanks author for making it not that obvious. thumbs up

The ending was even more of a rollercoaster. If you aren’t strapped in already, get ready to add a few more straps and buckles. 😛 I did think what happened with the box/Sep at the end was a bit weird and it did feel slightly rushed/incomplete, but I still liked it. I think I just didn’t want the book to end just yet.

I also adore the book takes place in 1986, such a special year for me. And it was fun to see walkmans, nintendo consoles, and all sorts of other stuff again. Plus horror just becomes creepier when you can’t contact each other as easily as one can in these years. No cellphones, no mail!

My boyfriend also had quite a laugh as I was NOPE NOPE NOPING quite a few times, and not that softly either (sorry neighbours, I know it was late evening, but I just couldn’t stop myself). 😛

Plus points to the cover!

Well, I think I have mentioned the important parts that I wanted to tell, of course I could still rave about this book a bit longer, but I don’t think people want to read a book-sized book review for a book.

So I will end with this: I would highly, VERY highly recommend this amazing book to everyone. If you are looking for a very creepy, at times a bit gore-filled, story be sure to check out this book. Plus it features some fabulous and interesting characters.