Malorie

Starred review from April 27, 2020
Malerman returns to the world of 2014’s Bird Box for another taut, breathless supernatural thriller. Little is known about the horrifying creatures that have infested Earth, as every human who’s seen one has become homicidally mad. Malorie Walsh keeps her children, Tom and Olympia, safe by scrupulously insisting they wear blindfolds at all times, even within their safe haven of the Jane Tucker School for the blind. But their stay at the school abruptly ends when one of the blind women there is affected by the creatures, which can apparently drive humans to insanity through touch as well as sight. The Walshes flee and take up a new residency in an abandoned Michigan campsite where Malorie implements additional protective measures, despite her children’s growing rebellious impulses. After a decade of this life, a man claiming to be a census taker visits them. Though the suspicious Malorie refuses to speak with him, he leaves a report indicating that Malorie’s parents may still be alive, forcing her to choose between maintaining the stable, isolated status quo and making a perilous journey in hopes of a reunion. Malerman masterfully evokes apocalyptic horrors via understatement and suggestion while facilitating suspension of disbelief through nuanced characterization and thoughtful worldbuilding. This is a bang-up sequel. Agent: Kristin Nelson, Nelson Literary.

May 15, 2020
In this sequel to the post-apocalyptic Bird Box (2014), perpetually blindfolded, scared-hopeless mom Malorie must contend with her now-teenage son's perilous desire for freedom. Nearly 20 years ago, Malorie's hometown in Michigan's Upper Peninsula was visited by creatures that made people who merely glanced at them go mad--and in many cases kill themselves. Ever since, Malorie has been on the run, her eyes tightly covered, somehow surviving any and all obstacles. Since becoming a mother, she has holed up with her son, Tom, and daughter, Olympia, in an abandoned library and one-time summer camp, living on the edge of her fear that one or both of her kids will take off their "fold" and meet a grisly fate. Their lives change when a stranger claiming to be a census taker leaves them with a list of survivors that, to Malorie's astonishment, includes her parents. The stranger also tells them of a working train, "right here in Michigan," that will take them to the U.P. On the "Blind Train," whose windows are painted black, Malorie is unhappy to find herself among casually unblindfolded people who say it's perfectly safe to look at and even live among the creatures. That's music to Tom's ears; chafing under his mother's strict rules, he will do anything to break free of her and her acceptance of "a life in which the only aim is to keep living." Coming from an author as wildly imaginative as Malerman, whose original Bird Box was way more eerie and chilling than the lousy Netflix adaptation with Sandra Bullock, this follow-up is surprisingly humdrum. A one-note character, Malorie becomes as much a drag for the reader as for her son. It's a measure of the book's pinched storytelling that no attempt is made to describe what the creatures look like, what form they take, or even what the heck they want. A disappointing creature feature.

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Starred review from June 1, 2020
Malerman's horror sensation Bird Box (2014) introduced a world suddenly filled with bizarre creatures, freakish enough to drive those who see them violently insane. It follows the harrowing, blindfolded journey of Malorie, along with two small children, to the sanctuary of an institution filled with the blind. This sequel picks up by upending the relative tranquility of the institution when one resident inexplicably becomes mad. Malorie must again flee, along with the two now-teenaged youths, and it's no longer certain that avoiding the sight of the creatures is enough to keep them safe and sane. Then an unexpected visitor tempts the paranoid Malorie to risk security for a chance at reconnecting with her past. One of the original novel's greatest strengths was its exploration of the fear of the unknown, so there may be skepticism about a sequel in which this world and its creatures are familiar. But Malerman's narrative matches the twists and tension of the first novel, and readers are likely to leave this book sufficiently shaken. The popularity of Bird Box and the ubiquity of the 2018 Netflix adaptation all but guarantee high demand for this outstanding second foray into monsters and madness.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)

June 1, 2020

This anticipated sequel is set 12 years after the terrifying and disorienting events in Bird Box, a world in which sight can mean certain death. Malorie's ironclad rule for her children to "live by the blindfold" has not changed. But now that they are teens, they begin to question Malorie's worldview and her authority. When a visitor offers seemingly impossible news about the survival of loved ones and of places where a much freer life is possible, even Malorie is willing to risk another blind journey. Though her children do not remember the old world, they might know more about how to survive than Malorie dares to imagine. Told from all three characters' points of view, the narrative is filled with dread and taut action. Malerman also explores questions about how to process hope for a better life when survival itself still feels so tenuous. VERDICT Having read Bird Box will help, but essential worldbuilding is seamlessly interwoven in a narrative paired with enlightening flashbacks into Malorie's childhood, making this a solid stand-alone. Malerman will no doubt add to his legions of fans with this title ripe for readers of any genre seeking an intensely thrilling ride.

Copyright 2020 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 1, 2020

We're having a Malerman moment. His debut, Bird Box, served as the basis of a mega-hit on Netflix, 2018's Unbury Carol is up for a Bram Stoker Award, and as coleader of the hot indie band the High Strung, he was recently featured in Rolling Stone. True, prepub reviews of his current Inspection were torn between stars and huffs, but there's buzz for this Bird Box sequel, which takes place eight years later.

Copyright 2019 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.