Book Review – Doe by Rebecca Barrow

 

 

 

Doe by Rebecca Barrow is about a popular teenager, Maris Larsen, whose status is threatened when a new girl joins her cheerleading squad.

Maris is the captain of the West Eaton High cheer team. Her teammates admire her, she's the coach's favorite, and being on the squad makes her feel special, powerful, and loved—something she feels is missing from the rest of her life in their small town. When she's cheering, she doesn't have to think about how her life feels like it's going nowhere, her mother's clinical depression, her father abandoning the family, or the fact that her girlfriend will likely leave town as soon as she gets the chance.

Everything changes when Genevieve Ray joins the squad. Genevieve is talented and quickly forms a close relationship with the coach. Maris is devastated as everything she has worked so hard for suddenly feels threatened, and she's terrified of losing the one thing that truly matters to her. A bitter rivalry develops between the two, and Maris becomes determined to do whatever it takes to bring Genevieve down.

Unexpectedly, the answer seems to come to Maris in her dreams. Maris is a sleepwalker and is visited by a monstrous, decaying beast in the form of a deer named Doe. Doe is an ancient and powerful creature who was bound and trapped in her current form decades ago after those who imprisoned her died. Unable to die yet unable to truly live, Doe's only hope for freedom lies with a girl descended from the bloodline of those who bound her.

Maris is connected to that bloodline, and the two form an uneasy alliance. Maris has the power to free Doe in exchange for Doe helping her defeat Genevieve. However, Doe has motives of her own, and by the end, only one of them may be left standing.

I was initially drawn to this novel because of its beautiful cover. I didn't realize it was written in verse, but I actually didn't mind that format. At times, though, I felt the writing was a little too flowery and overly descriptive without adding much to the story. I also found the plot to be fairly predictable and didn't encounter any moments that truly surprised me. I was a bit disappointed in the ending because it felt unresolved and incomplete. 

I wasn't really sure why this was marketed as a horror novel because I didn't find it scary at all. One thing I will say, though, is that I'm glad I didn't read the book's blurb beforehand because it gives away some major spoilers.