I picked this book up from NetGalley a LONG time ago and then I forgot about it. Recently, I found the audio book at the library and figured it was the universe’s way of telling me to check this one off my lengthy “to be reviewed” list.

Suffer the Children is a horror story that focuses on a few families in a what seems to be a smallish town. It starts out right before all of the prepubescent children of the world die. It moved over the globe in shifts but all of the children in this town dropped at the same time. And then they came back a few days later. That’s when the story really begins.

I thought the book was a lot of fun to read. It’s mostly told from the POVs of various adults – parents or medical professionals – and, a few times, from kids. The kids’ POVs I found a bit problematic simply because many times there were words and phrases or other things put forward that didn’t fit for a kid to say or notice or know and it broke that illusion for me. The adult POVs, though, I loved. They showed some great evolution in thought and justification.

There were some things that either weren’t explained very well – like why some industries were expected to not be present anymore because the kids died or why there was a shortage of food and supplies in the grocery store – and others were tough to swallow and went beyond my ability to suspend disbelief.

Ultimately, I had a great time reading this book. It was a lot of fun. It was sort of like a good, cheesy, horror movie. There was some humor, a lot of blood, some engaging characters, controversy, and evil kids. I definitely recommend it for fans of the horror genre who are looking for a lighter read.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy. The audio book narrator did a good job of bringing it to life so I can definitely recommend the audio version if you prefer reading that way, like I do.

You can download a sample or purchase Suffer the Children by clicking here.