Little Star by John Ajvide Lindqvist

A man finds a baby in the woods, left for dead. He brings the baby home, and he and his wife raise the girl in their basement. When a shocking and catastrophic incident occurs, the couple’s son Jerry whisks the girl away to Stockholm to start a new life. There, he enters her in a nationwide singing competition. Another young girl who’s never fit in sees the performance on TV, and a spark is struck that will ignite the most terrifying duo in modern fiction.

This book is insane, in every sense of the word. Lindqvist possesses such a dark and creative mind; his works are all equally astounding. He has the ability to develop a character so fully, that you feel as though you personally can identify them as a peer.

Perhaps that is what makes books like Little Star so deliciously creepy. It so far fetched, so crazy—that it is in fact believable. This book has some seriously twisted components, and that is what makes the story work and pack such a serious punch. For my personal liking, some scenes were a bit too graphic and disturbing, but were essential to developing the story.

Little Star is somewhat hard to describe because it’s about so many things. It has a dash of supernatural, but touches on subjects found in his other stories, such as bullying, teen despondency and violence, depression, nature vs. nurture, and family dynamics.

Very reminiscent of Heavenly Creatures.  Horror buffs will love this novel! I would suggest this to horror fans, but personally it is not a book I would read again. After the truth is uncovered, and the story has reached its climax, the ooh’s and ahhhh’s are gone. There is little left to be explored by picking this book up for a re-read. Like most horror films and books, great for a one time chill!

If you are new to the work of Lindqvist, check out his previous translated-to-English books: