Review of Sydney Lee's Have We Been Here Before?

 Have We Been Here Before? by Sydney Lee

Title: Have We Been Here Before?

Author: Sydney Lee

Number of Pages: 90

Publisher: self-published

Publication Date: 21 April 2023

Genre: Horror, Paranormal

Age Recommendation: 13 and up

My Rating: ★★★★★

    Hello, everyone! I am back with another book. This book is unsettling and spooky (which I am so here for!), so grab your popcorn, hug your pillows and pets close, and let's dive straight in.

Blurb

    Sydney Lee's Have We Been Here Before? experiments with the many boundaries of surrealist fiction through eight imaginative stories. Each narrative offers a new perspective of the inexplicable and the absurd, from childlike uncertainty to mundane acceptance. By coupling senses of dread, excitement, and uncontained curiosity, these carefully crafted stories prompt thorough exploration of every line.

My Opinion (no spoilers)

    I've recently been plunging deeper into the more spooky, scary books and stories, and this book was recommended to me by a friend, so I decided to give it a try, and I loved it! This book was full of creepy, chilling stories that make you wonder what really happened. There were a variety of different perspectives, ranging from a grocery store worker to a young girl, which, in turn, produced a myriad of intriguing stories. In each story, the plot was developed well, but it was impossible to predict what twist the story would take. All in all, a wonderful book! Great for long-time fans of paranormal occurrences, or those wishing to dip their toe into the water.

My Opinion (spoilers!)

           Warning: Major spoilers abound! Please proceed at your own risk!

    So, I have a lot to cover in this review. I adored every page of this book. Each story was crafted so perfectly, dropping us right into the character's world and introducing the peculiar aspects right when we thought all was well. For example, in the first story, two men are walking through a dangerous cave. One of them is hurt, but once they rest for a brief period, the hurt man feels better out of nowhere-- as if he’s never been injured. In another instance, a young girl notices her house is on fire, but when the authorities are called, there's no fire. All of these stories and more made me shiver with fear, and I relished it.

Character Development

    Each character was created with the story in mind. I really enjoyed each one as each individual added something new to the story. The introductions for each character and their conflicts were perfectly executed, and I thought the different personalities given showed us how each side of the story matters. For example, in the story about the man who found the bottle by the beach, we also see the perspective of the girl who wrote it, which answered many, many questions that came up. Seeing the little girl's side of the story helped us understand that we truly shouldn't judge a book by its cover, even if said book seems extremely bizarre at first glance.

Plot

    The plot was well-paced. Nothing dragged too much, but nothing was too quick for me to process, and the suspense wasn't overdone. The confusion the reader feels at the end of each story adds to the mystery of it, as if the emotion of the reader matters. The story relies heavily on small details-- such as subtle clues that one person’s drastically different reaction to the same situation implies something isn’t right. The stories were short but held a lot of content in them.

Description/Explanation/Worldbuilding

All of the description was placed in a good spot to provide context or detail, but there wasn’t anything that felt overly explanatory. The worlds and situations the characters found themselves in were built up quite well and swiftly developed. Because all of the stories take place in the real world, there isn’t too much exposition required which moves the story a little faster and yet makes it even more intriguing when the reader realizes what’s happening shouldn’t be able to happen in our world.

Conclusion

At the end of the day, this story was a fantastic read that I definitely enjoyed and would read again. It’s marvelous and well-crafted. I loved it!