Most kids want a fairy godmother, an invisible friend, or to have magic that will make them the most popular kid in their school…not Tark. This blue eyed Asian has a vengeful spirit as a bestie. They hunt down some of the worst people together and lay them to rest.

School vacation takes the duo to a sinister forest, well known for its allure of suicide, where someone they they know recently wandered in and has yet to return. They meet wronged spirits and battle their way trying to find their footing back out of the terrible haunt. The picture taken of the rescue group before their trek shares a sad truth for one of the members. Who won’t make it back? Who will sacrifice everything for the safety of the others?

This terrifying tale speaks more to a long close friendship and a love that refuses to be broken. Is love the ultimate weapon? I think it is. ( )

This one was better than the first. I think having the whole story narrated from Tark's POV was the best thing for this story. It flowed seamlessly, we didn't have switching POVs that lead to confusion. Since we're in Tark's head in this story, I did connect with him more than I did in the first one, however I still didn't connect with most of the other characters, except for Kendale. I really liked Kendale and I wish she could have been involved in the story more. She was the only other character in here that I connected with and liked. As for the story itself, I was really interested in the first 100 pages, but then once Tark starts on his journey to try to save Kagura, that's when I started to lose interest in the story. I don't know what it is, but I just wasn't interested in the plot. This was well written and many people love it, but I just don't think it was for me. ( )

While this book indicates a 2019 read date, I have read it for the month of Halloween a few times since.

Star and a half. When I first read this, the first ten pages came as a huge shock. The book was from Tark's POV this time, not Okiku's, and time and experience had passed to make Tark more confident and teenager-like besides. The first time I read this book, I admitted to myself I preferred Okiku's POV and experiences. This is the third time, and I'm yet again heavily reminded of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" with a sprinkling of "Law and Order: SVU." Heads up, I will be drawing parallels to Buffy a -lot- in this review, and that's -downplaying- how much this book reminded me of the TV show. When I first made the connection on first read, "It's like that but in book form and with Japanese elements!" I was delighted. Now, it's, okay fine, shrug. When I read this the second time, I had just watched a Caitlin Doughty video that dismantled myths about Akigohara but that wasn't the overall focus of the video. She made another video recently dedicated solely to it. So, my suspension of disbelief (I may be using the wrong phrase) was shattered. Knowing what I'd just learned, that the forest is a tourist destination -with bus stops, forest patrols, good cell phone service, and overall not the sinister place the book claims it to be-, it was a much harder story to get into. It came off as really poorly researched since this takes place in modern times and things are so different.

Kagura's writing of the diary seemed like a huge infodump and Tark makes fun of her for how unrelated the entries seem. Tark, you little shit, that's how those diaries -are.- I have kept ones of my own for decades. They're maybe labeled chronologically at best, but--it's not for you, it's for the writer and people who know how to utilize and search for the information. Tark repeatedly mentions his Japanese isn't great, yet he's able to read flawlessly. Kagura's English is a bit stilted, yet they communicate terrific. I call bullshit and plot contrivance, and the first book had this too. You know how to solve it? Just make Callie fluent and in the story more, or bring in the dad more, or have Tark so transformed by last book's experiences that he studies it with a renewed passion.

More on the dad briefly and some on why this reminded me so heavily of BTVS: Chupeco has engaged in the cheap characterization popular with many YA authors of parents being unable to cook so their kids are self-sufficient. Boiling pasta for 25 minutes instead of reading the package isn't funny, Chupeco, it's ridiculous. All that explanation of constant takeout and food being used to communicate feelings and intentions, I totally buy. But I didn't really get a sense of how Tark felt about his dad working so much, or if Tark cooked for himself when he got tired of takeout or something. Tark's dad being away all the time came off as convenient, but maybe I am picky. BTVS did this, too, with Joyce being an art curator and single parent who knew her kid was going out a lot, but not why. Tark's housekeeper asks after his grades. She's one of three maternal figures he had, all of whom I found annoying. This leads to what Snark Squad calls "A+ and a 1430," which were Buffy's grades and SAT score. Tark also has perfect grades and a high SAT score. In both cases, I find it so unrealistic. One teen fights the forces of darkness, the opening narration says. The other, with the assistance of his dear friend, kills sex criminals and frees dead children's souls. Both are out late at night, have to sneak around, do very physical things, and have school in the morning. They should be exhausted and have much lower grades. Buffy repeatedly mentions homework, studies with Willow, and Giles helps her study for the SATs. Great details! Enough for her to pass school and squeak into UC Sunnydale, but not enough to convincingly obtain what the show's writers hand her. I hate to note it, but Tark should be flunking out and have gotten a few suspensions for fighting. It's not fair, but it's realistic. And how has he not been questioned repeatedly by the cops yet? Buffy was, and it was a whole big thing! I'm starting to think the author hands Tark things he never mentions working for and letting him slide so she can write the book, and it's bothered me since the second time I read it.

Why does a ghost soak in a hot spring? BTVS had vampires eat food made for humans sometimes, and they are similar in that I wonder why. Onward. I was not thrilled with Tark's dismissive but romantic view of suicide or the forest. And the search being called off because it's too dark, seriously? Have flashlights. And have them mysteriously lose power. Way more realistic and creepy. During the first and second read, there were parts of the story that made me cry. Maybe it's because I knew what would happen, but during the third read, I found myself increasingly bored after a hundred twenty pages. I was glad when it ended.

I recommend this for fans of stories of getting lost in the woods, and of ghosts but not of haunted houses. This can also be read as a standalone and probably should, considering how different it was than the original novel. ( )

This review is also featured on Behind the Pages: The Suffering

Bound together, Tark and Okiku each have their own brand of hunting. Tark uses rituals to exorcise the dead, while Okiku avenges murdered children. When Okiku targets a boy from Tark’s school for murderous intentions, Tark begins to doubt they are any better than those they kill. When they receive word that Kagura has gone missing in Japan’s suicide forest, Aokigahara, the two must come to terms with how they feel and set their sights on the darkness within the forest.

In The Suffering, Rin Chupeco once again brings Japanese folklore to life. The horror that awaits in the forest is only the beginning for Tark and Okiku. As they began to search Aokigahara the casual ease bodies are found is disturbing, yet not entirely beyond the truth. Even before they reach the deeper mythology and spirits, the tone is set and it only gets darker as the story progresses.

As Tark and Okiku search for Kagura, the settings come to life in chilling clarity. You can hear the spirits as they claw across the ground on finger bones and gnash their teeth in attempts to kill Tark. And the horror as Tark begins to uncover what is hidden within the forest and what has been done to innocents makes your skin crawl.

Paranormal horror at its finest, I could continuously read books about Tark and Okiku fighting off the dead. Tark fends off the fear as best he can with sarcastic comebacks but doesn’t hesitate to admit when he is beyond scared. Tark uses all he can at his disposal to trap and exorcise the spirits. And through it all you see Okiku fighting by his side, beginning to realize that she’s more than just a vengeful spirit. The chemistry between the two is addicting. I highly recommend The Suffering to fans of horror.

3.5* I could have done without the love aspect of this second book in the duology and kind of missed hearing the story told from the ghost's perspective like we had in the first book. ( )