[LOX]≡ PDF Rabbits in the Garden Jessica McHugh Post Mortem Press 9780615444130 Books

Rabbits in the Garden Jessica McHugh Post Mortem Press 9780615444130 Books

Download As PDF : Rabbits in the Garden Jessica McHugh Post Mortem Press 9780615444130 Books

Rabbits in the Garden Jessica McHugh Post Mortem Press 9780615444130 Books

I have a shelf in my library called the "GOAT" shelf (Greatest Of All Time). These are my favorite books that I have read. They are books that I have read multiple times or plan to read multiple times. These are books that helped define my taste. They are books that made me feel something, various emotions, sadness, fear, and disgust. They have also made me feel humor and provoked thought. I am saying all of this because Rabbits In The Garden by Jessica McHugh has made my GOAT shelf. This is my second time reading it and I did listen to the audiobook the second time. I read a hard copy of Rabbits a few years ago before I was writing any reviews on Amazon or anything like that. After the second reading, I loved it even more than the first time and felt compelled to write a review.

Avery Norton is a 12-year old girl living a relatively normal life in Martha's Vineyard. Avery's mother, Faye, seems a little uptight but Avery is really too young to notice Faye's psychosis. Avery is in love with a neighborhood boy named Paul. During a visit from Avery's sister Natalie, who is in town from boarding school, encourages Avery to follow her feelings, leading to her first kiss with Paul. All the butterflies are there and McHugh does a great job with describing the confusing yet obsessive feelings of young love. Once Faye realizes what is going on she flips her lid and punishes Avery. She forces Avery to tend their garden which has been the site of her mother's puritan lessons and is a metaphor for how Faye views the world. In anger Avery lashes out in at the rabbits in the garden, killing a few of them. Avery feels terrible about doing this and while trying to hide the bunny corpses stumbles across her mother's slaughterhouse. When Avery comes too she realizes not only her mother is psychotic but she has set Avery up as punishment for her relationship with Paul. Avery is locked away in a psych facility named Taunton and this is when the book picks up and becomes one of the most compelling psychological thrillers I have ever read.

Faye is one of the evilest characters I have ever experienced in my readings. If you love villainous matriarchs, like Adeline Parr from Michael Rowe's Enter Night, you will absolutely love Faye Norton. Everything Faye does to Avery is so vicious, but in her mind she is righteous and it makes everything so infuriating. In all of McHugh's books I have read, there is some kind of complicated family dynamic. The author always handles it with such superb depth. Love is what prevails through all of the horrors. Not corny love, but such a strong bond between people that it can cross dimensions and withstand supernatural intervention. While in Taunton, Avery is fighting for her freedom and sanity but she is also coming of age. The majority of the book is set during her time in Taunton from age 12-18. I wanted so badly for Avery to get out and have a normal life but I don't think it is a spoiler to say she doesn't get that. She is hardened and tortured both physically and mentally by an inept mental health system in the 1950's. One of the most heart-wrenching scenes in the book for me is when Avery escapes from Taunton and makes her way to Paul. They immediately drop everything to get married and start a life together. They have been wanting this normalcy so long they don't consider she has just escaped a mental institution and there is no way this will work out. It reminds me of the scene from the movie Fury where Brad Pitt and another young soldier take two pretty German women hostage and play house with them for a few hours. It is not real, but they want it to be real so bad they are willing to pretend to have this normal life outside of war with two hostages. The ending is perfect, in true Mchugh fashion the suspense crescendos to a revenge scene that would make Lady Vengeance proud.

I have both read Rabbits In The Garden and listened to the audiobook and suggest either form. Kristin Allison, the narrator of the audiobook, definitely does the story justice and brings the characters to life just how I imagined them in my head the first time I read it. Another thing I notice about all of McHugh's books, but this one, in particular, is how air tight the plots are. As soon as I would think I found a plot hole McHugh would immediately cover it. After Avery was thrown in Taunton I thought to myself, where the hell is her sister? Bam, the next chapter is Natalie's perspective. It is written in a more linear narrative than the other books I have read by McHugh but none the less it is an upward trajectory of suspense, horror, and turmoil until the very end. You have everything in this book: a serial killer, torture, and ghosts but in the true Mchugh fashion you have raw emotion, love, and even a few jokes here and there. I feel like I have seen Ms. Mchugh mention on social media a possible sequel to this book and I sincerely do hope that is true. Regardless, I want to welcome Rabbits In The Garden to my GOAT shelf.


Tags : Rabbits in the Garden [Jessica McHugh, Post Mortem Press] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. SPECIAL ANNIVERSARY EDITION Contains new material as well as a bonus short story, “Crazed in Christmas City” AND an excerpt of HARES IN THE HEDGEROW,Jessica McHugh, Post Mortem Press,Rabbits in the Garden,Post Mortem Press,061544413X,Children's BooksAll Ages,Horror,Horror & ghost stories, chillers (Children's Teenage),Juvenile Fiction Horror,JUVENILE FICTION Horror & Ghost Stories

Rabbits in the Garden Jessica McHugh Post Mortem Press 9780615444130 Books Reviews

I discovered the work of Jessica through Twitter, and my curiosity got picked when I read a few of her short stories. Her writing shows a maturity that struck me hard and left me in awe, and I longed to read one of her novels to confirm whether she really was the talented author she claimed to be. She obviously delivered more than I expected.

Rabbits in the Garden is the story of Avery, a rebellious, smart, vindictive and tenacious teenager who doesn't quite understand the lessons her mother tries to teach her, but she complies nevertheless with the nonsense she's forced to endure because she wasn't raised an ungrateful daughter. Yet when she falls in love with Paul and decides to enjoy her childhood having fun and spending time with her newly found boyfriend, her mother punishes her and sends her to an insane asylum. Ensue 6 years of abominable torture while Avery tries to prove she isn't the crazy person her delirious mother says she is. Avery resists all the torment of her prison and the loveless existence she's been unjustly awarded, and despite the threats of incompetent doctors and nurses manages to survive and finally escapes the asylum at the age of 18.

Her insane mother never stays too far away from her however and tries to subdue her daughter into really believing she was the crazy one all along, until Avery manages to switch tables and teach her mother a lesson that'll also seal her fate.

This book was written with so much passion, sincerity, realism and beauty it left me hungry for more. A true beautiful read for anybody who loves horror and twisted characters.
I was excited to read "Rabbits in the Garden" as soon as I read the description. I have to admit that I almost stopped reading this book twice early on. I put it down for a great length of time before I decided to pick it up again. No, it wasn't lack of plot or terrible writing. My hangup came in the form of a brutal animal scene(well, two). I can take anything else, but if something furry or feathered gets as much as a scratch I cannot handle it. With that being said, it took me a while to pick Rabbits back up, but after that I plowed through the book.

Avery is an intelligent and intriguing character who won't change her stance on her innocence or give up her values to move herself forward. Her friendship with Flint and her romance with Paul are endearing relationships amid less than favorable circumstances. These relationships help counteract the evilness that is Faye Norton. If you've read any of the reviews they will tell you just how evil she is, but if you really want to experience it for yourself grab a copy today. Early on in the book I knew for sure I wouldn't be rating it more than a 4 star, but as the plot progresses the dead rabbits became nothing more than a necessary and distant memory. I thoroughly enjoyed Rabbits in the Garden and it has earned the five star rating I am giving it.
I have a shelf in my library called the "GOAT" shelf (Greatest Of All Time). These are my favorite books that I have read. They are books that I have read multiple times or plan to read multiple times. These are books that helped define my taste. They are books that made me feel something, various emotions, sadness, fear, and disgust. They have also made me feel humor and provoked thought. I am saying all of this because Rabbits In The Garden by Jessica McHugh has made my GOAT shelf. This is my second time reading it and I did listen to the audiobook the second time. I read a hard copy of Rabbits a few years ago before I was writing any reviews on or anything like that. After the second reading, I loved it even more than the first time and felt compelled to write a review.

Avery Norton is a 12-year old girl living a relatively normal life in Martha's Vineyard. Avery's mother, Faye, seems a little uptight but Avery is really too young to notice Faye's psychosis. Avery is in love with a neighborhood boy named Paul. During a visit from Avery's sister Natalie, who is in town from boarding school, encourages Avery to follow her feelings, leading to her first kiss with Paul. All the butterflies are there and McHugh does a great job with describing the confusing yet obsessive feelings of young love. Once Faye realizes what is going on she flips her lid and punishes Avery. She forces Avery to tend their garden which has been the site of her mother's puritan lessons and is a metaphor for how Faye views the world. In anger Avery lashes out in at the rabbits in the garden, killing a few of them. Avery feels terrible about doing this and while trying to hide the bunny corpses stumbles across her mother's slaughterhouse. When Avery comes too she realizes not only her mother is psychotic but she has set Avery up as punishment for her relationship with Paul. Avery is locked away in a psych facility named Taunton and this is when the book picks up and becomes one of the most compelling psychological thrillers I have ever read.

Faye is one of the evilest characters I have ever experienced in my readings. If you love villainous matriarchs, like Adeline Parr from Michael Rowe's Enter Night, you will absolutely love Faye Norton. Everything Faye does to Avery is so vicious, but in her mind she is righteous and it makes everything so infuriating. In all of McHugh's books I have read, there is some kind of complicated family dynamic. The author always handles it with such superb depth. Love is what prevails through all of the horrors. Not corny love, but such a strong bond between people that it can cross dimensions and withstand supernatural intervention. While in Taunton, Avery is fighting for her freedom and sanity but she is also coming of age. The majority of the book is set during her time in Taunton from age 12-18. I wanted so badly for Avery to get out and have a normal life but I don't think it is a spoiler to say she doesn't get that. She is hardened and tortured both physically and mentally by an inept mental health system in the 1950's. One of the most heart-wrenching scenes in the book for me is when Avery escapes from Taunton and makes her way to Paul. They immediately drop everything to get married and start a life together. They have been wanting this normalcy so long they don't consider she has just escaped a mental institution and there is no way this will work out. It reminds me of the scene from the movie Fury where Brad Pitt and another young soldier take two pretty German women hostage and play house with them for a few hours. It is not real, but they want it to be real so bad they are willing to pretend to have this normal life outside of war with two hostages. The ending is perfect, in true Mchugh fashion the suspense crescendos to a revenge scene that would make Lady Vengeance proud.

I have both read Rabbits In The Garden and listened to the audiobook and suggest either form. Kristin Allison, the narrator of the audiobook, definitely does the story justice and brings the characters to life just how I imagined them in my head the first time I read it. Another thing I notice about all of McHugh's books, but this one, in particular, is how air tight the plots are. As soon as I would think I found a plot hole McHugh would immediately cover it. After Avery was thrown in Taunton I thought to myself, where the hell is her sister? Bam, the next chapter is Natalie's perspective. It is written in a more linear narrative than the other books I have read by McHugh but none the less it is an upward trajectory of suspense, horror, and turmoil until the very end. You have everything in this book a serial killer, torture, and ghosts but in the true Mchugh fashion you have raw emotion, love, and even a few jokes here and there. I feel like I have seen Ms. Mchugh mention on social media a possible sequel to this book and I sincerely do hope that is true. Regardless, I want to welcome Rabbits In The Garden to my GOAT shelf.