I did not like "Straw House"/"Toy Farm", but enjoyed the humor and the odd mystery of "Wood House"/"Our Lady of Villains", thought "Blow"/"Doom with a View" was appropriately funny even if the main romance seemed a little off, and loved "Brick House"/"Wish Police". The latter novella was so wonderfully detailed and had such an interesting twist and cliffhanger ending that I want there to be a regular series taking place in this world. A set of 4 novellas, each a different genre, all written on an iPhone. Sounds intriguing, right? But I quit after the first two. Perhaps that was a mistake, but since I’m reviewing these with an eye toward talking the book up to teenagers, I thought it was appropriate. Full disclosure – the written reviews of this book were favorable, so I must be missing something. The first story is a western set on a farm occupied and managed by toys. The main character is a straw man & a villain comes to the ranch. He has to defend the girl and his territory. Without reading the blurb inside the front cover, the storyline was unclear – are these people? Is this a fairy tale? The second is set in a dystopian society where all life is virtual and the evil tech company is trying to control the world. Written in a variety of styles – e-mails, narratives, IM, etc – this story too is a bit unclear. This third story is a “hard-boiled detective drama” and the fourth a story narrated by Death. I think it will take a VERY special reader to get into this book and appreciate it. I, obviously, wasn’t that very special reader. Plus, I really don’t get why it matters that he wrote the book on his iPhone.
What do You think about Straw House, Wood House, Brick House, Blow (2011)?
The first 2 of the 4 stories are my favorite. Very different and fun thoughts from this book :)
—subha
