In the quiet Ohio suburb of Adena, a strange force lurks on the fringes of the lives of local teenagers. These teens are alienated souls, for the most part failed by bad parenting and the lack of a strong moral core. The force flits from teen to teen, looking to be a catalyst for malevolence or at least guilt, taking advantage of mental illness to sink its hooks more insidiously into the vulnerable and alone. Its voice speaks out in words of insight, even as its motives for influencing its victims remain opaque:

QUOTE
We didn’t change you, so much as extrapolate the way a series of [...] decisions could change you, could shape an entirely new course: the decisions that, taken one after another after another after another, cause a person, over time, to bend, to warp–like the way the backs of your hands become inured to cold through exposure, like the way skin grows back tough and ridged over a deep wound, like when you learn to hold your breath for longer and longer[.]

Not everyone had it in them, the ability to look at these choices and see their architecture, the brutal structure behind them, as dense and complex and orderly as a blood spray. But some of them did[.]
END QUOTE

The “them” in this book are a loose network of kids who attend Adena High School. The closest thing we have to a heroine is empathetic, popular Sarah, the most level-headed of the bunch but also, perhaps, the most naive. She just broke up with David, whose efforts to get her back are rooted less in love than in revenge. David’s efforts are somewhat hampered by Sarah’s growing closeness to her best friend’s older brother Greg. Beth, her best friend, would likely feel alienated by this rapport if she weren’t herself busy faking sick from school in order to hide the real illness gnawing away at her insides.

Meanwhile, neglected, dissociative Tyler has snuck into David’s basement and is quietly living there, unbeknownst to David or to David’s absentee mom. Their friend Collin is grieving the suicide of his sister, and finds himself drawn to a mysterious group of people meeting in a VFW hall out in the middle of nowhere. As these kids search for meaning, often hiding behind a smokescreen of weed or a hard shell of (often pretend) violence and sex, the force begins to work on them, seeking to exploit their weaknesses in order to bring actual violence and harm into the world, culminating in one apocalyptic night that will change their lives forever.

In many ways, the force described within these pages reads like a metaphor for the irrational impulses of adolescence, guided by emotion and drama instead of reflection and vulnerability. As an entity, it’s never really explained in the novel, which does however dive deeply into the psyche of midwestern America’s disaffected youth, as here with Claire, a wealthy teenager from a neighboring suburb who’s desperately searching for her authentic self:

QUOTE
She felt she lived her life in different modes: the school one, the outside-school one, the punk one, the online one, the alone one, the parents one, the rich one. They existed separately, these modes, but often several layered atop each other, like layers of a transparency, while others could never overlap. She thought others must have them, too.
END QUOTE

Fuelled by a punk rock aesthetic that aims for humor but in the process exposes its own wounded heart, String Follow is a book that endeavors to externalize the chaos of adolescence and perhaps bring meaning to the epidemic of violence that’s racked American high schools these last few decades. There’s a 1980s sensibility to the splatterpunk goings-on that’s tempered by a more 21st century empathy, making for a modern horror novel that will appeal to anyone who vividly remembers still the scars of adolescence and the almost cultish search for meaning that can linger long into adulthood.

And for all the book’s blood and carnage, a spark of hope does remain in its final pages. Not all of the teenagers described here will survive once the force is through with them, but perhaps enough of them will be able to find their ways back to friendship and kindness, eschewing nihilism for a brighter path, in a tentatively optimistic reflection of today’s actual youth.

One of my infatuations is learning as much as I can about the history of the massive tornado that afflicted real-life Xenia, Ohio, in early April 1974. I’m not sure what fuels this infatuation — it could be that it is a disaster that happened on the cusp of my birth (I was born a year later) and thus brings some sense of an event that’s peppered with the nostalgia of how things used to be for me. It could be the scope of the event: my understanding is that about two-thirds of the city was levelled by the twister. Whatever the case, I’m not the only one who was fascinated by what happened on that April day in 1974. Filmmaker Harmony Korine released a film in 1997 called Gummo, whose loose narrative follows several children and teenagers who are coping with the aftermath of the Xenia tornado (though the film was not shot in Xenia). Gummo is a poorly made film, but it can be entertaining. (The scene where a young man wrestles with and destroys a metal chair sticks out for me.)

To this end, author Simon Jacobs has entered stage left with a fictional tale set in another Ohio town that features disaffected teenagers. Though no tornado has ripped the town of Adena, Ohio, apart, it is possessed by a malevolent force that wants to infect its young inhabitants — as the story in Jacobs’ novel String Follow goes. The book is told from the point-of-view of this force and it is a loosely plotted story about a series of teenagers who largely inhabit dark desires. In the novel, it should be noted that dialogue is minimally used, and parents are barely seen or heard from. These teenagers are wrestling with internal thoughts and seem to have been abandoned by the adults in the world. These teenagers generally come from wealthy and privileged backgrounds and are almost exclusively White. A few of them are Goths or Punks and colour their hair frequently. And these teens generally do awful things. One of these teens, Tyler, takes over the sprawling basement of another young character named David’s house, then proceeds to steal David’s online identity so Tyler can post sordid things on David’s Facebook account. Nice kid, eh?

I don’t think I’ll go much farther than that in describing String Follow. Besides, there’s not much in the way of a plot that moves things forward — things happen, and then stories are told in flashbacks, and then someone does something icky to someone else and thus it goes on. There’s no linear narrative to be had here — which is not necessarily a bad thing — but parts of the novel can be confusing to read because at least one character changes names, and the novel jumps around from character to character — some of whom are relegated to “barely seen from until they are needed” status. The novel just drifts until a violent and chaotic ending, where I’m not entirely sure what happened and is by far way overlong. That said, I do want to be a nice guy and say the odd, nice thing about this book. One, Jacobs has talent. He can write sections of prose as though they are poetry, in the best tradition of current literary writers. There’s a whole swath of the book dedicated to characters seeing colours in their field of vision and what that all means. Though I was bored to tears by these descriptions, I do acknowledge the fact that these sections are well written. And, for a book that’s about teenage angst and malaise, Jacobs can perfectly capture a feeling and a sense of portending doom for some of these characters. You really feel the dark emotions that these characters are going through.

But here’s the $64,000 question: Does the world, right now, need yet another book (or film, or song, or piece of art) that is all about the anguish of the life of the modern teenager? Me, I really wish people like Jacobs would write the type of novels that would empower teenagers to change the world for the better. Why can’t we have a novel about young adults striving to start a successful small business? Or a book about kids who tackle climate change? Or solve world peace? Or generally, change the world for the better? These types of books, to me, seem to be a rarity, and all we get are books (and songs, and movies, etc.) about how the years of being a teenager — of being stuck between being a child and an adult — are horrible and confusing. You know, I consider my teen years not to be exactly great (and my 20s were probably even worse as I pursued my ego and tried to be someone famous as a journalist — which is a poor way of living one’s life), but I doubt that the narrative about teen years being a wasteland no longer really needs to be told. I get it: being a teenager totally sucks.

However, as much as this is an attitude seen through a particular lens in this novel, if the reality of the situation were really told, it might be that if you’re rich, privileged, and White, as these characters mostly are, your teen years might have its usual ups and downs. Few of these characters would, say, get carded at a traffic stop. Thus, it was hard for me to get invested in this novel — even though parts of it are darkly comedic (though the dark stuff mostly gets played as being straight) and some of it is a touch entertaining. In the end, I’m not quite sure what to think about String Follow. It’s the type of novel that nobody really needs to read with the world being currently being on metaphoric and literal fire, something that we need to do something about and not just stew in a smorgasbord of depravity and hopelessness. At the same time, there might be young people out there for whom this book may resonate — even though this is not really a book meant for young adults, per se. So, I really don’t know what my take on String Follow really is. However, my ultimate thought is along these lines: String Follows is a book about teenage trash masquerading as art. If that sounds like your bag, then dig in. It’s all yours to read, but only if you want to.

This book is written as if someone who had not been around teenagers since being one himself was studying them and writing extensive notes all while doing his best to be completely neutral. The book is funny but way over written and a little difficult to get into. It had its moments.

I would recommend this book to people for the humor alone, but it is a bit convoluted and I’m not sure it brings anything super earth shattering to the genre. However, any book that can make me chuckle out loud with no one else in the room is worth a read in my opinion.

Toxic influences on a group of teens in Ohio. This wasn't for me- I found there were too many characters and I wasn't as engaged as I should be with any of them- but I'm sure fans of horror or coming of age stories will find something in this genre crossing novel. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

I have seen this book described as "eerie" and "hypnotic" and all in all, I think I can agree with those descriptors. This book felt like reading a slow-moving nightmare - not the jump-scare kind, but the kind where you're trying to run across a great expanse of land but your feet seem to be stuck in sinking sand. I enjoyed the dark comedic elements this book offered and the fact that it was set in Ohio!

I love horror but I DNF'd this book at 33%. It was a bit too much exposition, too many character that I couldn't keep straight. I think I read in a review that it was kind of like a "horror high school hangout" book, which is spot on. I honestly think that I will pick it up again later in life when I'm craving something like that, but it was just a little too ambiguous and unstructured for me right now.

This one is quite tough to review, but overall I really enjoyed it! I thought it was creatively written in an unique way, and while there were maybe too many characters I still found them to be well developed! Thought it was chilling, thrilling, and shocking! Had a couple of genuine scares within, which I LOVED! Would definitely recommend to those looking for an unique horror story, which is sure to give them some good chills!

I’m not sure how I feel about this book. There are a lot of characters so it’s hard to fully engage with any of them. The story itself is a good premise and I mostly enjoyed it as a whole. 3.5 stars from me rounding up to a 4 because I think a lot of people will enjoy it, it’s just not 100% for me.

Interesting but not really my cup of tea. Well written I just personally couldn’t get into the story. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

“String Follow” by Simon Jacobs is an unsettling, psychologically dark tale that focuses on the fascination teenagers have with the morbid and twisted things people do to themselves and each other. When some unseen force grabs a hold of that fascination and uses it for its own benefit, there is no predicting how deep into the dark these teens will wander.

This book was outright spooky! There’s something about an unseen force hijacking pent-up rage and insecurities for its own devices that comes across as extremely intriguing. What does this mysterious otherworldly being desire and why does it need to feed on the negative emotions of teenagers? A lot of this unfolds in a tightly wound tale that follows several teens in a small Ohio town where things quickly go from bad to horrifyingly chaotic.

While the novel is accurately described as a suburban gothic, it does feel like a coming-of-age story but through a distorted lens. It’s like these characters are experiencing the wicked and sinister undertones of the world and are channeling it into themselves. The deeper they delve into this darkness, the more twisted and immoral they become. It’s easy to be gripped by the psychological aspects of this story and to see these characters descend into violence and madness.

Sometimes the switch in perspectives and time jumps can be a little confusing, but readers will definitely be immersed in the supernatural/horror mash-up. There are definitely places where the details can be a little too wordy and slow the pacing of the novel but overall, this is going to be a novel fan of horror and the supernatural will enjoy diving into. It’d the perfect amount of messed up and gruesome with a side of satirical humour.

Be on the lookout for “String Follow” by Simon Jacobs when it hits shelves on its expected publication date of February 1st, 2022.

Thank you to NetGalley and Farrar, Straus, and Giroux (MCD X FSG Originals) for providing me with a free e-arc of this novel and the opportunity to share my honest opinion in this review.

Moments of creepiness and humor in this one. But, ultimately, I didn’t finish this one. Many over the top characters and plots that were hard to untangle.

This one is... complicated to judge.

A fascinating premise - "a darkly comic suburban Gothic about a malevolent force that targets a group of Ohio misfits, harnessing their angst for its sinister designs" - but a complex, frustrating execution.

It's a struggle to read. The beginning is fascinating and darkly hilarious, but the quality steadily drops off. There's a lot of characters whose names and unlikeable personalities blend into each other as the book progresses that it's hard to keep track. Multiple time/POV jumps, some within the same paragraph, that it's disorienting. There's plenty of vivid, well crafted scenes that will stick in my memory for a long time but it doesn't make up for how recklessly the narrative jumps around.

It almost became a DNF at several points because I couldn't see what the point is to this, and now that I've reached the end, still unsure. Possibly just a dark vignette of intense mental illness in suburban teens.

Simply, it's fairly well written but it's hard to follow, and at times it feels like it's not worth it. It's a decent book, it's just not for me.

⭐️⭐️⭐️/ 5

Pub date: February 1, 2022

Thank you to NetGalley and MCD x FSG Originals for providing a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was WILD! I’m not sure how to feel about this one quite yet…

Simon Jacobs creates a cacophony of teenage debauchery and deviance in this riveting urban gothic tale. When a force flows through town, the teenagers begin changing and giving in to baser, more barbaric instincts.

I feel like I don’t have the words to summarize this book. It’s just so weird! It’s dark and makes you slightly uncomfortable while reading it, but yet you cannot stop eating it up with your eyeballs.

There are so many characters in this book that I felt a bit of a disconnect that was disorienting. But ultimately, the story was so compelling that I’m left without sufficient words to express my feelings.

If you’re looking for a book about a group of teens in a small town all suddenly acting strange, nudged along by an unseen force, getting in between friendships and and altering their level of depravity, this is for you. But then again, maybe there is nothing at all that pushes these kids along in their wickedness. Maybe the bloodlust was there all along, just hiding underneath the surface.

Farrar, Straus and Giroux, I wanted to say!.
I've been dying to read String Follow by Simon ever since I seen it!
So I can't thank y'all enough for this approval 💕

I'm literally starting this now so review to come......
Just wanted to say I'm so dang excited about this one! 😘

PS... I will be back to edit this review!.