Author: Josh Malerman

Title: Bird Box

Genre: Horror

Publication Date: 2014

Number of Pages: 272

Geographical Setting: suburb of Detroit Michigan

Time Period: sometime in present day

Plot Summary:

Malorie is in her middle to late twenties and is the sole caregiver for two small children, both aged 4. Malorie has the same concerns that every mother has, is she a being a good mother, do her children have enough to eat, are they growing up too fast. Unlike mothers that have come before her, Malorie is raising her children in a world where an unknown danger lurks outside. Unlike other children, her children have never seen the outside world. Her children must learn to hear better than they see in order to survive. The world they live in is one where people wear blindfolds or risk seeing something that drives them to do harm to themselves and others.

The story flashes back to the time this unknown threat began and follows Malorie before she knew she was pregnant. We see Malorie’s life unfold as the world around her falls apart. The story also flashes back to when she leaves her house and finds other survivors. We know from the current timeline that Malorie is alone with the children and the survivors she found are no longer with her. You’re left wondering what happened to these people, knowing it can’t be anything good. The flashbacks and the present all collide, and the story builds to an ending that makes you wish the novel was longer.

Wyatt and Saricks define the horror genre as something that “plays and speaks to our worst fears” (2019, p. 237). This story plays on our fears of being hunted by something we can’t see and our fear of having to go through the world where seeing something can mean death.

Subject Headings:

• Horror fiction
• Apocalyptic literature
• Parent and child fiction

Appeal:

Here are some words from one of our readings called “The Secret Language of Books, a Guide to Appeal” that I would use to describe the appeal of this book (Novelist, 2018).

• Suspenseful
• Compelling
• Disturbing
• Descriptive

 3 terms that best describe this book:

• Sense of doom
• Slow burn
• Strong female characters

 

3 Relevant Non-Fiction Works and Authors

Author: Richard Preston

Book: The Hot Zone

This is a story about the deadliest outbreak of the Ebola virus and the efforts made to contain it. This would appeal to Bird Box readers as it taps into a deep fear of something unknown and seemingly out of our control.

 

Author: Jon Krakauer

Book: Into Thin Air

This is a story about a disastrous expedition up Mount Everest. This book would appeal to Bird Box readers as it taps into the physical and mental challenges of survival.

 

Author: Cheryl Strayed

Book: Wild From Lost to Found on the Pacific Coast Trail

This is a story about the authors 1100-mile solo trek along the Pacific Coast Trail. This book would appeal to Bird Box readers as it features a strong, independent woman, with nothing to lose, who learns what she’s capable of.

 

3 Relevant Fiction Works and Authors

Author: Josh Malerman

Book: Malorie

This is the sequel to Birdbox and is set twelve years after the first book takes place. This book would appeal to anyone who enjoyed the first book.

 

Author: David Moody

Book: Autumn

Both of these books are about a band of people who survive in a world where everything has changed. In the case of this book a world where a deadly disease turns people into unthinkable monsters.

 

Author: Kassandra Montag

Book: After the Flood

Both of these books are about strong women who fight for their survival and the survival of their children in an apocalyptic world. In the case of this book a world where Americas coastal cities and the heartland are wiped out due to rising water.