I almost liked this book. Okiku's narrative voice (the titular girl from the well) is distinctive and persuasive, Chupeco does some weird yet effectivI almost liked this book. Okiku's narrative voice (the titular girl from the well) is distinctive and persuasive, Chupeco does some weird yet effective things with POV that I really enjoyed, and I mostly dug the plot. It's also creepy without being too scary, which I very much appreciated.
There are major problems with the other characters and with the dialogue, though, which drag the book down. Several of the non-adult characters act too young for their age while talking too old for it; dialogue is primarily used to forward the plot even as it tramples on the characterizations (the worst example is when a quiet, sullen teenager abruptly unloads several paragraphs of backstory on his new therapist); and most of the characters' voices are so similar as to be indistinguishable.
It's a quick enough read that I felt mostly able to concentrate on the good parts and ignore the rest, but even so the overall effect was mediocre at best....more
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