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Reviewed by Stephanie Chapman for Readers' Favorite
This Side of the Darkness by Andromeda Storm is a dark narrative that Annie relates as she navigates life while fighting monsters. Annie viewed her mother as perfect, unless her father was home. Their fighting escalated until she witnessed her father push her pregnant mother down a flight of stairs. She later moved to a house close to her grandparents when both her parents found employment. The shadows in her room frightened Annie, and she saw them as actual manifestations of something demonic. Her parents divorced, and Annie moved with her mother into Rob’s home. Her mother and her boyfriend severely neglected Annie and her baby brother Orion. When she visited her cousin, Iris, Annie learned about sex and embarked on her own life of promiscuity. Without proper supervision, Annie began a downward spiral where she had to face the monsters in her life.
Andromeda Storm raised several points that caused me to reflect. Annie’s monsters were real. They manifested in the people and living conditions she was in. Her first monster appeared while her father was home. The psychological effects of domestic abuse were easy to see. The morbid description of the neglected room filled me with horror. It surprised me that child protection services were never called in. Every page grabbed my attention with its unpredictable twists. The supporting characters added to the horror and rejection Annie felt. Annie’s acceptance of her life felt as though she was disassociating from reality. I watched her spiral downward as her mother failed to protect her children. The lesson Annie provides is to focus on the good qualities within to achieve inner peace. This Side of the Darkness is a psychological journey that proves how monsters in any form can be real.
