The Boy Who Could See Death

Now, you all know by now that I love a good novel with dark secrets. This book really wet that appetite well - it is a phenomenal novel with great characters, themes and a storyline that is both chilling and evocative. If you read any secretive novel this year - make sure it's this one. 

I found this book whilst browsing on the net for good books to read. There's a funny story behind this one because I just kept seeing it everywhere. In January, I saw it on a reading list and simply noted it down to read after my university reading was finished - in June I saw it again with an attached Amazon link. In September I saw it on GoodReads and yesterday morning, I found it on my kindle. What an eerie following. It won't be the first time that's happened and I'm pretty sure it probably isn't the last either. 

Characters:

My favourite character was Eli. You can probably guess what his secret is from the title - but it's important that to Eli, this is a secret, a gift, a curse - kind of like a sixth sense thing going on. Eli's character is strange and manipulative to curious and child-like to social and happy to his hope being depressed. These ranges of emotions not only make Eli a great character to read about - but also make him terrifyingly human a la Capote. 

Themes:

My favourite theme in a book of secrecy will always be secrets. I love how secrets are kept and the logistics of who you should and shouldn't tell - how people find out and uncover the secrets like a Dan Brown novel. This is about how Eli values his own secret - seeing as he is a child, he must value it more than most adults do. It is interesting exactly how seriously Eli takes his secret. 

Storyline:

I love it when it goes into the stories of other people. My favourite being that woman who seems to be a kleptomaniac and keeps that secret hidden. It only adds to how Eli should keep his own secret and how human he actually is - everyone has a secret worth keeping in this novel. 

Verdict:

I give this book 9. 

100% for characters: Eli is a brilliant character - and so are all the others. This was so well executed that I can only sit there and want to re-read it sometime soon. 

100% for themes: Secrecy and relation are both excellent themes for their precision and intricacy within each other. Stories are not mutually exclusive - but they are interlinked and this is the best thing about them.

100% for storyline: As I was saying, the stories are all interlinked, this makes for a great collision of characters.