"...—because to children, adults were not always the protectors. Adults were the ones who brought about wickedness and regret."

Children of Chicago by Cynthia Pelayo was October's book club pick and I am still thinking about it. Pelayo's writing was atmospheric, full of depth, and seeped with so much dark Chicago history. Her storytelling is superb. She made me rethink fairytales, and their influences in society. I'm definitely seeing the Pied Piper fairytale through a new lens. Chicago was brought to life and I can't wait to uncover more of the city's layers in her other works. Pelayo really set the tone for this one with the clever nods to Candyman, Nightmare on Elm Street and Bloody Mary. There were definite moments when I was scared and could feel the hairs on my arm stand up.

Pelayo explores the complexities of so many themes including:
👤 unresolved childhood trauma and anger
👤 dark side and history of fairytales
👤 the ways adults can be monsters and fail to protect children
👤 the violent, bloody foundations of major big cities
👤 effects of gentrification on inner city populations
👤 how the past can degrade the individual & collective spirit
👤 the ways in which children for the sins of adults
👤 how the genre of horror provides a mirror to society
👤 how violence steals dreams and changes future outcomes
👤 how children will sometimes go to any lengths to secure their own happiness
👤 how Catholic schools don't save you from the violence of the hood
👤 how secrets fester and resurface when not brought to the light and confronted

If you have never read horror before, then this one is a great place to start. The story is gripping with a setting that comes to life. You'll be wrapped up in the mystery and emotion. You'll love the nostalgia of the classic horror movie vibes. Last but not least, the latinx and boricua representation give it even more extra flavor. Children of Chicago will leave a lasting mark on you & leave you craving for more of Pelayo's stories. I highly recommend you pick this one up, read Pelayo's backlist and pre-order whatever Pelayo has coming next. There's a reason she's the first Puerto woman to win a Stroker award. ( )

Interesting premise that didn't quite come together for me. It's part fairy tale, part police procedural, somewhat reminiscent of Lauren Beukes, but not as well put together. It includes some interesting history about Chicago, but it's delivered by characters who sound like they're reading internet search results (seriously, I looked up rules about minors arrested for different crimes in Illinois, and then later when a character brought it up in the story, they said almost exactly what I'd just found in one of the top three internet search results). And I don't think the MC could have gotten a master's degree in lit and then joined the police and made detective by age 25. Time is weird with other aspects of the plot, too, like the MC's marriage, which lasted a year and they'd been separated for just a couple of months, but the book acts like both of those lengths of time are multiplied by 10, at least. ( )

I was hoping for more horror and less detective stuff. Granted, I didn’t finish it and it was starting to get weird when I had to return it, but I don’t think it could redeem itself to more than 3 stars. ( )

This is a thriller with a mystery to be solved. Who is killing young people and leaving messages as The Pied Piper? The ending was a bit disappointing to me. The big surprise was apparent long before the reveal. ( )

I libraried this up based on a review somewhere and was seriously disappointed. The premise—which is why I picked it up in the first place—was good and spooky, positing an evil force from the darkest of the oldest fairy tales killing teenagers in present-day Chicago, and a tormented, entangled homicide cop on its trail. But the plotting didn't ratchet up the fear factor well, the characters—even the coffee-swilling, troubled officer, who should have been a real draw—felt flat, and what happened to the copy editor at Agora Books? There were way too many grammatical and punctuation errors for a published book. And the ending was way too dissatisfying for a thriller, even though I should have taken my cue from the number in the subtitle... I'm not big on series as it is, and I really resent when the first book just serves as a giant cliffhanger. On the other hand, I finished it, mostly because I did think the idea was cool. ( )