Sid is an indie horror-fantasy novel and the debut of Joey Pettine. It tells the story of Andi, a six year old girl who unwittingly opens a box holding a monster just before her new baby brother comes home from the hospital. The monster, Sid, loves nothing more than creating fear, pain, and devouring children. It hides in the shadows, but Sid is also very much the real terror that stalks children and families every day.
Andi tries to warn her family. Her parents, Andrea and Andrew, are exhausted dealing with their own worries, and her grandmother is facing a battle of her own, with cancer. The adults don’t believe in the monster even as they simultaneously face their own creeping fears in the dark.
However, Andi is not alone. She has brave and powerful friends who fight with her. Lady Slobberly (the family dog), Bobo (her stuffed monkey), and Shmoogle (her loyal imaginary friend) protect and empower Andi. Together, they challenge the monster in one battle after another to save Andi’s family.
Pettine moves smoothly through each character’s point of view. He builds tension as each battle raises the stakes and are sometimes won at great cost. The feelings are deep and real. I was frightened, I laughed, and I genuinely sobbed twice while reading this book. As a girl who used to hide under my covers, I remembered feeling Andi’s righteous anger and the protective love of her friends. As a mother, I couldn’t breathe during the passages that reflected those times you show more can’t sleep, listening for a baby’s cry in the dark and the guilt that comes with saying the wrong thing to a small child. This will be a hard read for anyone who has suffered a parental loss.
Sid combines the childhood fear of the monster in the dark with the adulthood fears of failure and loss. Readers will see connections with the deeply personal fears in Stephen King’s The Shining, It, and Pet Sematary, but I would argue it also swims in the same waters as Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark and Pan’s Labyrinth.
Highly recommended to anyone who likes horror-fantasy, but proceed with caution for themes of parental loss, child and pet endangerment, and feelings of familial trauma and grief. show less
Andi tries to warn her family. Her parents, Andrea and Andrew, are exhausted dealing with their own worries, and her grandmother is facing a battle of her own, with cancer. The adults don’t believe in the monster even as they simultaneously face their own creeping fears in the dark.
However, Andi is not alone. She has brave and powerful friends who fight with her. Lady Slobberly (the family dog), Bobo (her stuffed monkey), and Shmoogle (her loyal imaginary friend) protect and empower Andi. Together, they challenge the monster in one battle after another to save Andi’s family.
Pettine moves smoothly through each character’s point of view. He builds tension as each battle raises the stakes and are sometimes won at great cost. The feelings are deep and real. I was frightened, I laughed, and I genuinely sobbed twice while reading this book. As a girl who used to hide under my covers, I remembered feeling Andi’s righteous anger and the protective love of her friends. As a mother, I couldn’t breathe during the passages that reflected those times you show more can’t sleep, listening for a baby’s cry in the dark and the guilt that comes with saying the wrong thing to a small child. This will be a hard read for anyone who has suffered a parental loss.
Sid combines the childhood fear of the monster in the dark with the adulthood fears of failure and loss. Readers will see connections with the deeply personal fears in Stephen King’s The Shining, It, and Pet Sematary, but I would argue it also swims in the same waters as Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark and Pan’s Labyrinth.
Highly recommended to anyone who likes horror-fantasy, but proceed with caution for themes of parental loss, child and pet endangerment, and feelings of familial trauma and grief. show less