Let the Right One In, by John Ajvide Lindqvist
I just wanted to say that this book was the best read I’ve ever read, and I couldn’t put it down even when I would have been better off doing so. It’s the first of the some-odd five hundred books I’ve read where I genuinely felt grief after finishing it just because of how much I loved the world it built.
For a synopsis…
The book takes place in Blackeberg, Stockholm, Sweden, in the early '80s, which is pretty much the last place you’d expect to hear a Vampire story. Our main protagonist is Oskar, a bullied 12yo boy with some seriously creepy proclivities that I shan’t spoil. He meets and befriends Eli, an incredibly intelligent and strange 13 year old girl who’s recently moved into the apartment next door with her father.
Now, after Eli moved in, a young boy was found drained of hall his blood in the next town over, murdered just before dusk. More and more disappearances and murders begin to occur, until finally the right person is killed, and the wrong person is spared. The disappearance of one man and the attempted murder of yet another boy begin a chain of events that strain and stretch Oskar and Eli’s friendship, up until her true nature is revealed to Oskar.
I just loved the rules, relationships, the realities; the depravity, vulnerability, and believability of the characters; how off putting but attention-absorbing it is… and so much more. Honestly I never thought a book could enthrall me as much as this one did, and I hope I can feel it again.
Sure, I’ve been disappointed by finishing a series, but I’ve never felt such visceral grief over a book ending before. I dare say it held me captive so long I developed Stockholm Symdrome. (I’m so sorry, I had to.)
It’s an absolutely fantastic read that I implore other Horror lovers to experience for themselves, and I wish so badly I could experience it again.