The Girl from the Well is getting 4 / 5 Stars from me.

I want to thank Rin Chupeco, Sourcebooks, Sourcebooks Fire, and NetGalley for giving me an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

Themes, Tropes, & Warnings: Young Adult, Horror, Japanese Folklore, Graphic Violence, Gore, Murder, Rape, Assault, Child Abuse, Supernatural Entities, (Vengeful) Spirits, Serial/Child Killers, Shinto Rituals, Exorcisms, Morally Grey Character, Number Obsession, Experimental Writing Style.

Thoughts: The Girl from the Well follows Okiku, a vengeful spirit who destroys child abusers and killers, Tark, a teenager haunted by a malevolent demon, and Callie, Tark’s older cousin who needs to know the truth about the supernatural.

I found Okiku to be the most interesting character in the entire book because she was a spirit who was unable to leave the mortal plane. This was caused by her need to enact vengeance and pain on those who use, abuse, torture, and murder children/teenagers. We all know she is not doing it to help the murdered souls, as she would wait until after the killer took another life most times, and although Tark’s presence caused her to make more of an effort, she really was only doing her it for herself and her need for vengeance. At the same time, this took away from Tark and Callie whose lives are being the most affected by the malevolent spirit haunting Tark, and I wish they had both been a little more fleshed out as characters, but the novel definitely made up for it with the intense scenes, experimental writing, vivid images painted, and the feeling of horror, dread, and suspense that sat in my stomach while reading.

Reviewed under RosesandSundragons16 @ Amazon, Goodreads, Instagram, NetGalley, and StoryGraph.

I have loved Rin Chupeco since a few years ago when I discovered her series "The Bone Witch". I love her writing style and I love the ideas brought forth in this book. I like that Rin is not afraid to write about topics included in this book, and the flawless way everything is pulled together every time. Rin Chupeco is an auto-buy for me, no need to read a description.

Oh, this one was so sad.

The author does a great job of mixing j-horror with a tale of heartbreak - and from such a unique perspective!

While it did take me a minute to get into the story, once I was in, I was all in!

I really enjoyed what the author did with this and would read her again!

*ARC via Publisher

The Girl from the Well by Rin Chupeco is the first book from a series of the same name. The book follows a dead girl ghost out for revenge. I don’t want to spoil it by going into too much detail.

This book was originally published in 2014 and is being reissued in August. This is a gritty, disturbing, and creepy novel. I enjoyed the writing style. This is the perfect YA Halloween horror read.

Riveting and full of suspense, The Girl From The Well is an amazing YA horror novel by Rin Chupeco. The creepy narration style combined with incredibly well-developed characters, The Girl From The Well is quite an intriguing story, and unique in the way the story is told from the lens of a dead girl.

That's right, our main character, Okiku, has been dead for several long years now. And she is the one who tells us a horror story about a cursed young boy named Tarquin, who has demons trapped beneath his skin, and a secret family history involving eerie doll rituals and exorcisms that follow ancient Japanese rituals.

Personally, I have always been a huge fan of Rin Chupeco's works, ever since I picked up The Bone Witch. However, The Girl From The Well, although a brilliant novel, didn't quite hold the same pull as all her other books did for me.

Specifically, I hated how easy it was for all the characters to find out the information they needed. There were no challenges for the characters to uncover the mystery of Tarquin's tattoos, or the mystery of Okiku for that matter. Everything they needed to know, they came across those stories either by running into peculiar kids who apparently can not only see ghosts but learn their history too...or by having a suprisingly lucid conversation with a woman in a mental asylum...or by running into mysterious Japanese ladies who run a side business exorcising evil spirits for a living.

For me, this was a very big flaw in the novel, because if the plot makes it so convenient for the characters to find out all they need to know about the supernatural, then where is the challenge?

Aside from this, I absolutely loved the story, particularly the character of Okiku. She is without a doubt the show-stopper of this book: she is quirky in the way she speaks in her old-fashioned way and doesn't quite understand modern sarcasm; she likes to hang around upside down from the ceiling, and she is ferocious when she chooses to protect someone from harm.

I also loved the way Rin Chupeco drew heavily from the actual Japanese myth of Okiku for this story, and the representation of Japanese culture and rituals was absolutely mesmerizing. I kept reading the book simply to learn more about the myths that shaped this story, and for Okiku, who is by far the most interesting protagonist ever to star in a horror novel.

All things considered, I would recommend this book for a rainy day, If you are looking for a YA horror that will keep you up all night turning the pages--this one ain't it; you'd be better off with Rin Chupeco's The Sacrifice instead.

Esta novela me dejó los pelos de punta en más de una ocasión! Si te asustas de la nada, no te la rompiendo porque yo si me asusté y doy bastante "dura" con éstos temas 🤭

Thank you so much, NetGalley, SOURCEBOOKS Fire, Sourcebooks Fire, for the chance to read this book in exchange of an honest review.

Okiku is a Japanese ghost, who has wandered the world for centuries, freeing the spirits of innocents and punishing their killers. Once a victim herself, now she helps the spirits of the murdered find peace, but nothing can bring her own. Her existence is desolate and lonely until she meets Tark and she sees evil lurking beneath his skin, trapped by tattoos and even though people fear him, the boy isn't a monster, but malevolence clings to him. Freeing the demon tormenting him, though, means also killing its host, Tark. Okiku embarks then into a journey, trying to understand what to do, with a boy with not choice but to trust her.

Ok, first of all, if you are easily scared, don't read this book at night, or, at least, keep the lights on. Not only the cover itself is creepy and eerie, but the story is chilling and filled with vengeance, blood and a, rightful, angry ghost. It's the perfect horror story, with a powerful female character, who was wronged and killed and now exact her vengeance on killers, by freeing their spirits. The story is scary, deeply moving and I loved everything. If you are looking for a good scare, but with a layered story, never prosaic, but original and well written, this book is perfect for you, with a deep appreciation of Japanese myths, horrors and legends, mixed in this book.
I loved it, it's perfect and scary. Who doesn't love a rightful vengeful ghost? I'm in.

Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this in exchange for an honest review. This was an amazing story. I really liked the characters, the writing, and the feel of the story. I did not find this scary in any way but it was awesome to learn about a few of the Japanese ghost stories.

Am I officially a horror girl now? After The Girl from the Well, I feel like I am. This follows Okiku, a vengeful Japanese spirit that kills people who hurt and kill children. It also follows Tark, a boy haunted by a dark spirit, and Callie, his cousin who is desperate to help him. All of these characters were layered and sympathetic. My favorite was Callie, who was logical, kind and willing to learn. But the characters aren’t the standout part of this story, instead it’s the horror story and the Japanese folklore.

I feel this book equally spooked me and taught me. I loved learning about the Japanese legend that inspired this, and several other modern horror stories we know and love, like The Ring. It was clever and fast paced, and the atmosphere was always so bleak. Still, there are these great moments of hope and empowerment that make this worth the read.

Overall, this was great. The new cover is perfect. I think this is a book I can’t recommend to all my middle schoolers because of all the triggering content, but I know there are some that will eat this up and beg for more. I can’t wait to read more Rin Chupeco.

I really wanted to love this one but it was ultimately all over the place and often very confusing. I also felt disconnected from the characters because of the lack of details and also the point of view the story was written in. Definitely had a spooky vibe going but this story could have used more details, spooks and emotion to help make the story more alive and relatable. Really cool cover!

I really enjoyed the Japanese folklore and history references, and the explorations of how stories change depending on who tells them. The horror elements were, in fact, pretty horrific, and I loved our terrifying point-of-view ghost. Whenever the American teen(s) showed up though I thought the dialogue was very stilted and awkward, with people speaking in a very confusing, old-fashioned sort of vernacular, while apparently having cell phones.

A riveting, creepy, and fascinating story. A mix of horror and fantasy with some very poetic moment.
The ghost and the boy, the story, the world building are well done and I loved this story.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Re-publication: 05 July 2022

Not sure why I waited so long to read this. It was really good and brings loads of creepy factors. I kept looking at the ceiling to see if something was watching me! I really liked the change in POV's as it gave a good look from all sides. Really liked this one and I cant wait to read the second book.

Thank you Netgalley and Sourcebooks Fire Publications for the opportunity to read this ARC.

A strange book , creepy and scary but beautiful too. Not scary enough to stop me sleeping but enough to make me feel very unsettled. I loved it !

This book is just amazing. My eye was immediately caught by the cover, however I knew I'd been hooked from reading the first page. The premise and idea of hearing this story from the ghost's point of view was very new to me and worked very very.
I can't wait to get my hands on a physical copy and re read it. I feel it would be best suited to a dark and rainy night, but you mightn't want to turn the lights out after!

I really enjoyed this book. I'm a huge fan of Japanese horror. The author blends in culture and folklore telling more about the people that the characters descriptions themselves. The book isn't fast-paced but there is tension throughout out. I look forward to reading more by Rin Chupeco.

Four and a half
Oo creepy, poignant and yep more than a little unsettling. If you have seen movies such as The Grudge or indeed The Ring you will get a similar vibe from this story about a young man who finds his life caught up between two deadly supernatural entities. I think what elevated this story was not just the background which reflects Japanese mythology but the simple fact that these characters resonated and I actually found myself wanting a happy outcome for them which honestly was never a given. Apparently there's a follow-up book to compliment this so if you fancy a spooky read then I'd definitely recommend this book.
This voluntary take is of a copy I requested from Netgalley and my thoughts and comments are honest and I believe fair

Rin Chupeco's writing is at once unsettling, beautiful, and strangely endearing.

This is such a brilliant and satisfying adaptation of the Japanese legend of Okiku, a vengeful spirit (who in this version avenges children who were murdered and frees their souls), and I absolutely love that Okiku herself was our narrator.

The Girl From the Well was Rin Chupeco’s debut novel. It is being rereleased this year with a spooky new cover.

In this book, we mostly follow Okiku, a centuries old spirit who spends her days exacting vengeance on people who murder children in order to free the soul of the child victim. Until one day, she stumbles upon Tark, a teenage boy with mysterious tattoos that seem to move if you look closely at them. Okiku soon realizes that the tattoos actually trap an evil demon. It can be removed, but not without killing the boy the imprisons her. With the help of Tark’s cousin, Callie, Okiku tries to help lead them to the answers they need to save Tark and banish the demon once and for all.

This is a YA horror book and I feel like it would have creeped me out if I would have read it as a teenager. The atmosphere is so creepy and the imagery is reminiscent of The Grudge/The Ring. The book actually goes into detail about how those movies were inspired by Japanese folklore. I loved all the discussion surrounding Japan and it’s culture in the book. It felt very authentic and really made me want to travel there (without a demon attached to me preferably).

At right under 300 pages, I think the pace of this book was perfect. It was able to stay creepy but also sometimes very wholesome. I really loved our three main characters and I found it super interesting who it was pretty much told from Okiku’s perspective. You are seeing the world through her eyes which meant it wasn’t always easy to know exactly what was going on because you were figuring it out with her.

I think if you are a fan of Japanese culture, in particular the different beliefs on spirits, you would love this book. As someone who was very scared by The Grudge as a child, this book brought back those memories in a fun, new way that creeped me out as an adult!

when i saw the book title the girl from the well it gave me The Ring, The Grudge vibes. if you like the vibe of those books, japanese horror folk tales you will enjoy this book. I then saw the book was by Rin Chupeco who also wrote the Bone Witch series that I own books of. blend of american and japanese folk lore, this book was creepy, spooky.

“When you have resigned yourself to an eternity filled with little else but longing, a few seconds is enough.”

“I am where dead children go.”

story of a vengeful ghost that hunts murderes, child killers, rapists. And when a strange boy bearing stranger tattoos moves into the neighborhood so, she discovers, does something else. And soon both will be drawn into the world of eerie doll rituals and dark Shinto exorcisms that will take them from American 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.