NOS4A2 by Joe Hill → Start Date: April 5, 2017

[Katriann]

Join Trisha and me in reading NOS4A2. :)

[Vicki]

If I can get this book, I'll join.

Do we have a reading schedule?

[Katriann]

Hopefully you'll be able to join! We haven't talked about making a reading schedule, but I'm up for it if you two feel like it's a good idea. :)

[Vicki]

A reading schedule seems to have helped with longer books, but it's not a necessity. I just thought it might help us.

[Trisha, lives on coffee]

YES! Reading schedule!!

Looks like it's broken out in Sections:

Day 1) Prologue: Season's Greetings, Shorter Way & Spicy Menace (page 74)
Day 2) The Librarian & Disappearances (page 143)
Day 3) Sleigh House & Interlude: The Spirit of Ecstasy (page 251)
Day 4) Bad Mother (page 368)
Day 5) Search Engine (page 495)
Day 6) Christmasland (page 669)
Day 7) Come All Ye Faithful (end)

WOW! a few of them are pretty long but I it takes us through a whole part. Does this look okay??

[Katriann]

Looks good. Thanks Trisha. I'll try to stick to the schedule. :)

[Vicki]

That's great, Trisha! Thank you. I don't have my book yet or I would've done it.

[Katriann]

Day 1 & Day 2:

Alright, I have now read the parts scheduled for days 1 and 2. I will probably not have time to read the day 3 part today, so I'm going to be a bit behind the schedule. I hope I'll be able to catch up on Saturday or Sunday.

I like (view spoiler)[ Victoria McQueen. At first I was wondering, whether her bridge was real or whether it was something she imagined every time she needed to escape reality. Now I'm starting to think there really is a bridge that takes her to places. I wonder what using the bridge is costing her. Could she go blind? Is it affecting her brain or her eyes or both? (hide spoiler)]

What is wrong with (view spoiler)[ Bing? I think there is something wrong with him. A normal adult wouldn't let some random person drive him around even if it's a job interview...or whatever it is supposed to be. Well, of course Bing is not exactly normal considering he killed his parents. But really, he found out Charlie Manx had given him something to make him sleep and he didn't even care. (hide spoiler)]

Charlie Manx (view spoiler)[ is pretty creepy. I wonder if he really believes he's a hero, who's saving all those children from their parents or if it's just something he tells other people in order to convince them to help him. I think it was said in the back cover that he is going to kidnap Vic at some point. I wonder when that's going to happen. Vic is already seventeen, so I think it should happen soon. (hide spoiler)]

[Vicki]

I haven't been able to start yet. We go do our taxes today and then tonight we are going to see Joel Olsteen, so most likely I won't start until tomorrow.

I probably won't get in 348 pages tomorrow, so I'll definitely be behind. But I'm hoping to read days 1 and 2 tomorrow and start my count from there.

[Trisha, lives on coffee]

I'm so sorry, I'm late too!! I'm starting now but will probably only get through day 1

I have an MS race tomorrow that is a few hours from my house so I'll be gone most of the day but will read tomorrow night for sure!!

[Trisha, lives on coffee]

I've gotten almost through Day 1

Day 1) Prologue: Season's Greetings, Shorter Way

WOW! I love(view spoiler)[ the chapter breaks in the middle of sentences. I read another book this way and I like the added drama. hopefully those sentences pick back up soon (hide spoiler)]

This is(view spoiler)[ very reminiscent of Stephen king. I love Joe Hill :D (hide spoiler)]

Josiah(view spoiler)[ I hope that man does not get him (hide spoiler)]

Manx(view spoiler)[ I love that he called him an old vampire
he's gross- all those awful things he did to the kids

and who is the GasMask man? and the gingerbread smoke - that can't be good (hide spoiler)]

Victoria(view spoiler)[ I don't blame her - for all her pain, it would be hard not to use the Shorter Way to find things that others wanted. So sad about the cat though (hide spoiler)]

loving this one so far!

[Katriann]

Day 3) Sleigh House & Interlude: The Spirit of Ecstasy (page 251)

Ugh, I really dislike (view spoiler)[ Bing. He is obviously sick. What he does to all those women is just awful and he seems to think they actually love him... It's ridiculous. Also, how can he not realize that what Charlie Manx is doing is wrong and not heroic? (hide spoiler)]

I wonder, how Victoria (view spoiler)[ is going to find Charlie Manx now when the bridge is gone. Maybe she will figure out a way to find the bridge without her bike. If I remember the synopsis right, Charlie Manx is going to take her son, so she will need to find Manx again. (hide spoiler)]

I'm happy that (view spoiler)[ Vic got out of the burning house. The kid who was with Charlie Manx was really creepy with those hooks in his mouth and all that. (hide spoiler)]

[Katriann]

Trisha, (view spoiler)[ I definitely agree that it's awful what Charlie Manx did to all those children. It's a good thing they caught him. I don't see how he could get Josiah unless he escapes the prison hospital, but you never know. I guess we have to wait and see. (hide spoiler)]

This is actually my first Joe Hill book ever and so far I like it. I was a bit skeptical because I have never liked any Stephen King books I've read. Not that I would have read many of them, but anyway...

[Trisha, lives on coffee]

Finally through Day 1:Spicy Menace

well that answered a lot of my questions! LOL (view spoiler)[ guess Bing is the gas mask man with his gingerbread gas (hide spoiler)]

Day 2: The Librarian

Vic(view spoiler)[ I wondered what was going on with her eye. poor thing, she nearly died getting answers
i wonder if her bike is really gone or if someone stole it. do you think the wraith was really already visiting her? (hide spoiler)]

Day 2: Disappearances

Vic(view spoiler)[ wow, how things have changed. her almost dying has really changed the outcome of her parent's lives
and Vic has been pretty clueless as to what is really going on with their marriage/lives

she definitely fits the profile for Nas4A2 to take her.... (hide spoiler)]

[Trisha, lives on coffee]

Day 3) Sleigh House & Interlude: The Spirit of Ecstasy

Ugh, I really dislike(view spoiler)[ Yeah...he's gross. clearly he is just twisting everything so he can justify the sick stuff he does (hide spoiler)]

I wonder, how Victoria(view spoiler)[ I was floored. I figured, when we first met her, that he was going to steal her!
I can't believe he's going to get her son but of course he is. yuck
Manx really wants her back (hide spoiler)]

I like (view spoiler)[ I like her too but this bit of her life is definitely derailed her and making her unhinged. I don't blame her husband for moving out/away. I mean, she's really trying to run from it/pretend things didn't happen. the more she does, the more she can't deal with reality (hide spoiler)]

I'm happy that(view spoiler)[ I am too. those kids make me wonder......does he feed the guy who kills all the adults...does he feed them to the kids? The kids don't eat kids - so you'd think they'd eat adults right? (hide spoiler)]

[Katriann]

Yeah, I agree (view spoiler)[ that Vic is pretty unstable now when she's an adult. It's no wonder Lou moved out. I mean, she burned down their house. I don't think it would be safe for the kid to actually live with Vic. (hide spoiler)]

Oh, that's an interesting idea Trisha! (view spoiler)[ I never came to think that Manx could be feeding the adults to the kids, but that would definitely be one way for him to get rid of the corpses. (hide spoiler)]

[Katriann]

Day 4) Bad Mother (page 368)

Okay, (view spoiler)[ so Manx and Bing got Wayne. I bet Vic is going to try to find them now when she has the motorcycle that can take her to the bridge again. (hide spoiler)]

I think Vic (view spoiler)[ was unnecessarily rude to Maggie. I understand she's trying to be a good mother and put Charlie Manx behind her, but she didn't have to pretend she doesn't know Maggie. It's great to see Vic getting her life back together, though. It would probably be good if she could get back together with Lou and they could live as a family again. (hide spoiler)]

I would like to know (view spoiler)[, how on earth Charlie Manx is alive. I mean, he was in a coma for what...eleven years and they had already declared him dead and started the autopsy on him. It seems impossible that he would just get up and function normally enough to keep kidnapping children. (hide spoiler)]

[Katriann]

Day 5) Search Engine (page 495)

I had to finish other books so I couldn't read this for a while, but now I'm trying to finish one.

I'm not sure (view spoiler)[ running away from the police was the smartest thing for Vic to do. Now she will definitely look guilty. But on the other hand, what else could she have done? It's not like she can tell the police she needs to find Wayne because she can enter some imaginary world with her bike. (hide spoiler)]

I wonder if (view spoiler)[ Vic and Bing got seriously injured in the explosion. How is Vic going to find Wayne if she's badly hurt? (hide spoiler)]

What is Manx (view spoiler)[ going to do to Maggie Leigh? Is he going to visit her with Wayne and is he going to give Bing another chance or has he left him behind for good? (hide spoiler)]

I wonder (view spoiler)[ what's happening to Wayne. Is the Wraith affecting him somehow or is Manx doing something to him? I don't think mutilating the butterfly was a good sign. >/spoiler> (hide spoiler)]

[Trisha, lives on coffee]

Yay! I'll come back too!!
I hear ya, I had to get caught up too! even though I just got farther behind lol

[Kikijanika]

Hi, I see this buddyread is still ongoing so I hope you don't mind if I join you. I'm done with day 3 according to your schedule.

I agree with you both on your views that (view spoiler)[ Bing is not healthy in the head. And the same goes for Charlie Manx. I wonder what really goes on in Christmasland. Like if Charlie is really somehow using the children as energy source or something...but then why do the children turn into such monsters? And when it comes to feeding the adults for the children, as Trisha suggested, I think it could be true, considering the children told Vic there hasn't been anything to eat for a long time. That idea reminds me of Doctor Sleep by Stephen King where those creatures "ate" people who suffered...or rather the steam their suffering released. That was a weird book :D (hide spoiler)]

I also think that the kid (view spoiler)[ in Charlie's car was creepy...those pointed teeth and all! (hide spoiler)]

I like Vic. (view spoiler)[I especially liked reading about her childhood and teenage years. Now she's just simply losing it, fearing every phone she sees. I understand why Lou left but perhaps he should have tried to get her into proper care first. I wonder when Charlie will get Vic's son. (hide spoiler)]

And yeah...I also like how the chapters keep ending mid-sentence!

[Katriann]

Of course we don't mind. Welcome!

Yes, it would be interesting (view spoiler)[ to know what really goes on in Christmasland. Why do the children turn into monsters and do they really have permanent Christmas there?
Somehow I think we will never know. I'm not convinced the characters will actually go to Christmasland as it seem to be a place only children can enter. Also I don't think anyone has ever come back from Christmasland, so I'm not sure the main characters would come back alive if they were forced to enter. (hide spoiler)]

I was actually surprised (view spoiler)[ how long it took for Charlie Manx to take Wayne. From the synopsis I got the impression that the book would be mainly about Vic trying to get Wayne back from Manx. However, that's obviously not the case. (hide spoiler)]

[Trisha, lives on coffee]

I'm slowly plugging away on this. hopefully I'll make it to an update point tomorrow :D

[Kikijanika]

I'm done with day 4: Bad mother.

I'd also like to know (view spoiler)[ how Charlie can be alive! But I think there's something supernatural about him. Maybe he really is a vampire. And is it just me or does Bing get more and more retarted as the story progresses? (hide spoiler)]

It's a good thing (view spoiler)[Vic found the motorcycle so now she can go looking for Wayne. Manx probably expects her to do just that but perhaps she'll come up with a plan. Maybe looking for Wayne will bring Lou and Vic back together and Lou will get his chance to be a hero again. That is, if his heart doesn't fail him. (hide spoiler)]

I agree (view spoiler)[ that Vic was very rude to Maggie but I think it was partly because she was so desperate to feel sane. She wasn't sure herself which story was true, so she might have convinced herself Maggie was just another crazy person. But I hope she'll find Maggie now and apologize. (view spoiler)[ (hide spoiler)] (hide spoiler)]

[Katriann]

Yes, (view spoiler)[ I feel like Bing's mental state is deteriorating. Maybe being with Charlie Manx affects him somehow. (hide spoiler)]

Yes, (view spoiler)[ I think Vic was desperate to be sane and a 'normal' mother to Wayne. I guess she didn't want to lose her chance to improve her relationship with Wayne. (hide spoiler)]

[Kikijanika]

I'm done with day 5.

I'm glad Manx (view spoiler)[left Bing behind because he was starting to seriously annoy me with his whining. I doubt Manx would give him another chance even if he brought him Vic. After all, the kids are what Manx really wants. Also I think he never meant to take Bing to Christmas land. I think he was just using him. (hide spoiler)]

I wonder how (view spoiler)[Vic will make it out of the house of sleep. She must be in a dreadful state after being beaten up by Bing. I also wonder how Bing was able to lure her in there when earlier he had difficulties delivering one simple line Manx had told him to tell Wayne. Now he made up a complete plan on his own. (hide spoiler)]

I also think that (view spoiler)[ mutilating the butterfly was not a good sign. It looks like Wayne's turning into one if those creepy kids of Manx's. And I agree on that running away from the cops definitely made Vic look even more guilty than she already did. I wonder how she'll be able to explain everything in the end and actually make anyone believe her. Perhaps if the cops saw that Manx really is still alive. (hide spoiler)]

[Katriann]

I never (view spoiler)[ actually realized, how odd it was that Bing was able to come up with a plan. Maybe he was desperate and couldn't let his chance to please Manx slip by. Or maybe he is able to function better when he's not with Manx. Maybe Manx's presence or the car affects him, when he's with Manx. He was able to function alright in the beginning of the story when he had never met Manx, so maybe he's recovering now, when Manx left him behind. (hide spoiler)]

I'm making super slow progress with this book, but I think I'll finish reading the day 6 part in a couple of days. :)

[Katriann]

Finished

So, Vic (view spoiler)[ didn't make it. Somehow I saw that coming. I don't think any adult had ever made it back from Christmasland and Vic was not an exception. Well, at least she didn't die in vain as she was able to get Wayne back and destroy Christmasland. (hide spoiler)]

I wonder (view spoiler)[ how they handled the return of the disappeared children. I don't know if they could just tell the world that a bunch of disappeared kids suddenly returned and none of them had aged a day while they were gone. (hide spoiler)]

Too bad (view spoiler)[ no one realized to smash the Christmas ornaments before. The kids would have been able to come home much earlier if someone had smashed the ornaments. Or did Charlie Manx have to be dead before the children could go free? (hide spoiler)]

[Kikijanika]

I finished as well.
I think it would have been weird (view spoiler)[ if Vic had just strolled into Christmas land and out again. I think it was quite miraculous she made it out at all considering all her injuries. But at one point I actually thought Lou would be the one die. (hide spoiler)]

I wonder how (view spoiler)[ they explained the return of the children, too. And I also wonder how they explained everything to Tabitha and the other police officers. (hide spoiler)]

I don't know (view spoiler)[if the kids could have gone free while Charlie Manx was still alive. Maybe they could have. Do you think Millie and the other kids will still get their hands on Wayne again someday? (hide spoiler)]

[Katriann]

Yes, it's possible (view spoiler)[ that Millie and the others will come back for Wayne one day. The ending definitely left the door open for a sequel. (hide spoiler)]