Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea

'Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea' written by April G. Tucholke, is a young adult gothic not-completely-horror novel, written in the voice of protagonist, seventeen year old girl Violet. Set in contemporary times, Tucholke has created an easy reading, yet "darkly romantic, and beautifully unsettling" (according to Marissa Marr) novel.

Violet and her twin brother, Luke are living in their family's mansion, both of their parents have gone to Europe to pursue their art. While they are gone, money is running out, so in order to afford the simple necessities, like groceries, Violet comes up with the idea of renting their guest house. And it so happens that a mysterious teenage boy, River West, turns up and moves in, and since his appearance, strange things begin happening in the town of Echo (where they live). A girl goes missing and the children say the Devil took her away. People are beginning to see monsters, and Violet begins to realise that River has something to do with it.

When I began the novel, I thought it was going to be just a mediocre read, however, I soon realised that my first impression was wrong. The first line is brilliantly spellbinding:

"You stop fearing the devil when you're holding his hand..."  

 I wasn't able to put the book down. Like Violet, I was captivated by River and the dark phenomenas that were occurring around the town. And I began to agree with Marissa Marr's comment that was on my book's cover. As the story progressed, even though I thought that character development could have been greater, the actual events that were occurring within the story, were growing darker and more terrifying and more gripping. And that was when I couldn't stop reading; my pulse rate was quickening and being so involved in the story, I didn't notice when it was 2am in the morning, until I jumped when the wind outside my bedroom window was blowing so loudly. (On the news report the next day, actually, I found out that the wind was travelling over 100km/hr, so no wonder it was loud and kept me up for the rest of the night) But while I was finishing 'Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea,' I thought it perfectly set the atmosphere of this modern day gothic novel.

My rating: 7/10