The Stray Reader

Author:	Duyu Wander
Genre(s):	➡️ Horror
Series? Series Title: Series Order:	✅ Yes Rinyv Book 1
Goodreads Rating:	⭐ 4.31 (71 ratings; 48 reviews)
Personal Rating:	⭐ 2 / 5 Overall

---

🛑 Spoiler Warning 🛑

I might be recounting events, characters, and themes so THIS MIGHT BE FULL OF SPOILERS.

If you’d like to read a review with the spoilers hidden, kindly scroll to the bottom to read my spoiler-free summary in the ‘Final Thoughts’ section or head to my Goodreads post for a more detailed version with spoilers removed. You don’t need an account to read it.😊

🗒️ BLURB 🗒️

Fear hinders one’s potential.

A sinister presence delights in Rinyv’s torment, relentlessly pursuing and killing her the moment she turns fifteen. Now, having encountered death four times already, the girl is living her fifth life hoping to alter her fate and put an end to this endless cycle of suffering.

As the terrifying age of fifteen approaches and chaotic events lead people down the path of despair, Rinyv can’t help but do everything in her power to overcome her trauma and grow stronger.

The looming strides of death draw near, and Rinyv appears to hold the key to saving not only herself but all of mankind. Fortunately, armed with the knowledge of her past lives, continuous training, and a giant pair of scissors found on holy ground, she is no longer a powerless, naive young girl.

Source: Goodreads

🌟Review (2/5) 🌟

There’s a vision here, but I’m afraid I’m not the right viewer.

If, like me, you’ve had a phase around the 2010’s gothic horror anime scene watching shows like ‘Another’ and ‘Angels of Death’ and watched multiple gameplays of ‘Misao,’ ‘Mad Father,’ ‘Ib,’ and ‘The Witch’s House,’ (or played them yourself if you’re braver than I’ll ever be), then you’ll understand what theme this book is going for. I love that genre and it’s one of the reasons I was able to bear finishing this book. Unfortunately, even with that background, this book was still a struggle to finish.

Every character was a stereotype depending on the scene. The school bullies, the best friend with parents that suddenly loves the main character when the plot calls for it, the maniac ‘villains,’ the double crossers, the useless authority figures… they’re quite one-dimensional. The main character, Rinyv, feels confusing. She’d have inner monologues like an adult talking about her ‘training’ and won’t flinch in moments of gore violence, then speak like a prim lady towards her ‘uncle,’ then act like an edgy teenager lusting after her own body and teasing her very clearly teenage best friend to the point of showing him the color of her underwear. I cannot figure out how mentally old she’s supposed to be. Even wildcard characters in anime like the Grim Reaper in Kuroshitsuji has some semblance of logic in their manic ways.

Most aspects of the story are so cartoonish that I think, with the serious violence and sexual undernotes removed, it might be a good introduction to this genre for a much younger audience. I think the blurb and the introductory chapters just didn’t set the proper expectations of what the book is supposed to be. It sounded like we’re going on a dark, serious journey with a badass heroine but then you get a supernatural costume change and real-life game dialogues. It’s disconcerting. The weapon choice and the covers are pretty dope though.

Final Thoughts

There’s a vision here but I’m afraid I’m either not the right viewer or the vision just wasn’t executed very well. It would need a lot better sequels for me to get into it, I’m just not sure I’m willing to go through another round of this narration style. But that’s just one random reader’s opinion.

I want to say I’d recommend this to readers in their early teenage years who like anime with dark and eerie themes but some of the more serious parts of this are probably not appropriate for that age group so ask your parents! To the adults who would like to try something different, you can grab a copy of the first book of the Rinyv series from Amazon.