Memorials Review

Memorials is going to be high in the running for my favorite book of the year. It was exactly what I needed right now. And honestly, it’s left me in a bit of a book hangover. Let’s talk about it.

Synopsis

1983: Three students from a small college embark on a weeklong road trip to film a documentary on roadside memorials for their American Studies class. The project starts out as a fun adventure, with long stretches of empty road and nightly campfires where they begin to open up with one another.

But as they venture deeper into the Appalachian backwoods, the atmosphere begins to darken. They notice more and more of the memorials feature a strange, unsettling symbol hinting at a sinister secret. Paranoia sets in when it appears they are being followed. Their vehicle is tampered with overnight, and some of the locals appear to be anything but welcoming. Before long, the students can’t help but wonder if these roadside deaths were really random accidents…or is something terrifying at work here?

My Thoughts on Memorials

I can’t exactly put my finger on why I loved Memorials so much, but it just worked. It starts off as a project between friends that prompts a road trip through the backwoods of Appalachia. When they hit the road, it felt exactly like a road trip story between college friends would. It was relatively light-hearted with some great camping scenes that make me miss the woods. I almost forgot that I was reading a horror story. Almost.

As they got deeper into the hills of the Appalachians the tension started to build. At first, it was just a little nagging feeling that felt like paranoia. I could tell something just wasn’t right. Don’t go into this expecting horror at a break-neck pace. This one is a slow one, but that didn’t really bother me. I was immersed in the story, and I just went right along with it.

While the build to the climax was slow all the tension that was building was amplified at the end. Just when I thought I had everything figured out, everything came to a head in a way I didn’t expect. It kept me on my toes until the end. I’m so glad I gave this a read. After a few less than thrilling reads in June, I needed a five-star read.

My Rating: 5/5