What an Odd but Unique Read - The Remaking Review

TITLE: The Remaking
AUTHOR: Clay McLeod Chapman
PUBLISHER: Quirk Books
PUBLISHING DATE: October 8, 2019

FROM GOODREADS:  Inspired by a true story, this supernatural thriller for fans of horror and true crime follows a tale as it evolves every twenty years—with terrifying results. 

Ella Louise has lived in the woods surrounding Pilot’s Creek, Virginia, for nearly a decade. Publicly, she and her daughter Jessica are shunned by their upper-crust family and the Pilot’s Creek residents. Privately, desperate townspeople visit her apothecary for a cure to what ails them—until Ella Louise is blamed for the death of a prominent customer. Accused of witchcraft, both mother and daughter are burned at the stake in the middle of the night. Ella Louise’s burial site is never found, but the little girl has the most famous grave in the South: a steel-reinforced coffin surrounded by a fence of interconnected white crosses. 

Their story will take the shape of an urban legend as it’s told around a campfire by a man forever marked by his boyhood encounters with Jessica. Decades later, a boy at that campfire will cast Amber Pendleton as Jessica in a ’70s horror movie inspired by the Witch Girl of Pilot’s Creek. Amber’s experiences on that set and its meta-remake in the ’90s will ripple through pop culture, ruining her life and career after she becomes the target of a witch hunt. Amber’s best chance to break the cycle of horror comes when a true-crime investigator tracks her down to interview her for his popular podcast. But will this final act of storytelling redeem her—or will it bring the story full circle, ready to be told once again? And again. And again…

MY THOUGHTS: So first things first, can someone clear up my confusion...was this really inspired by a true story and if so, please clue me in?  Or is that just adding to the mystique of the book?  Okay, moving on.  But I really hope someone has an answer.

I kind of went into The Remaking blindly and it actually worked better for me.  I knew people had been raving about it and it's horror, so of course I wanted to read it.  And boy am I glad that I did.  One of the best things about this novel is the formatting.  In fact, I could say that is what initially pulled me in.  The book is told in four parts.  The first is the old urban legend tale.  The second is a 70's movie adaptation of the urban legend.  The third is a 90's remake and then the last is a true crime podcast.  I found it all very unique and Chapman did a wonderful job of tying them all together. 

Years ago an odd little girl and her even odder mother (aka witch) were burned by a lynch mob in a small Southern town.  Thus the curse begins and horrible things befall the culprits and the town itself.  Fast forward to the 70's and an up-and-coming director wants to make a movie about the witch girl and casts Amber Pendleton to play young Jessica.  I won't tell you how that all plays out - read the book.  Years later Amber is cast once again in the remake and things only get better...and by better, I mean worse.

I feel like I'm rambling but I'm trying really hard not to spoil anything.  I will just say The Remaking is one of those books you just need to pick up.  If it interests you in even the slightest amount, then do it!  It captures some of the well-known horror tropes and pulls the reader into a world of urban legends, pop culture and fandoms.  I loved everything about this book and I hope you do too!

RATING: 5 PAWS