The Girl from the Well by Rin Chupeco | Book Review #3

‘You may think me biased, being murdered myself. But my state of being has nothing to do with the curiosity toward my own species, if we can be called such. We do not go gentle, as your poet encourages, into that good night. 

A dead girl walks the streets. 

She hunts murderers. Child killers, much like the man who threw her body down a well three hundred years ago.

And when a strange boy bearing stranger tattoos moves into the neighbourhood so, she discovers, does something else. And soon both will be drawn into the world of eerie doell rituals and dark Shinto exorcisms taht will take them from America suburbia to the remote valleys and shrines of Aomori, Japan.

Because the boy has a terrifying secret – one that would just kill to get out.’

The Girl from the Well is is a story that I didn’t think I would ever read.

When I first heard about The Girl from the Well, I heard about it in passing. I did not know what to make of it. I mean the cover is certainly pretty.. So I looked it up, and lo and behold, its supposed to be a creepy story.

Now, I have trouble finding books that actually scare me. Like, scare the living bejesus out of me. The Girl from the Well didn’t manage to do that, but there were some really creepy moments. — I didn’t think I would end up liking this book; this story, as much as I do. I was actually happy for the main character, Okiku. Who, by the way, is a 300 year old ghost. I love that.

I really like this take on Okiku’s story. And yes, Okiku was a living person. There are legends about her. You know that Horror movie, The Ring? Yep, that’s based on Okiku! And while the previews for that movie scared me, I really liked reading a book told in her POV. Reading this story didn’t make her [Okiku] out to be as scary as she is normally told.

I really like Chupeco’s take on Okiku’s story. There was a lot of character building. With that I saw why she did what Okiku did while she was doing her revenge thing as it was. I mean, Okiku explains it, albeit, vaguely. And while that was happening, I feel like Okiku is way more than she let on to be. You really get the sense of her as a ghost, and a sense of her while she was alive.

I remember smiling, of all things, while reading this story. You would think because of the ominous synopsis that, of all things, one wouldn’t smile while reading this book. But I did. Maybe I’m just weird like that. A major component of this story that made me inexplicably happy, is that the bad men always got what they deserved. And in more case than one, Okiku was saving the souls of those who were wrongfully harmed (another thing that amazed me by this story).

To be honest, I didn’t think I would end up liking this book; this story, as much as I do. I was actually really happy for, Okiku. Who by the way; if you haven’t already figured out, is totally badass.

If you haven’t searched up Okiku’s story, I would suggest Googling “himeji castle + okiku”. — I am honestly really looking forward to the next book, The Suffering. I have no idea what’s in store, but I do believe that I have a fair chance at liking that book as well.

Have you read The Girl from the Well? What are your thoughts on this book?

Here you can find The Girl from the Well on Goodreads.

Thank you for reading. I’ll see you next time!
Adele