Play Nice | BY Rachel Harrison
Book Review | Horror
My thoughts
Narrative and Plot
Rachel Harrison does it again. In her usual style, she creates chaos and brings out a meaningful message in the end. Play Nice is about fighting your demons, though what kind of demon, you’ll have to figure out as you read the story.
The pacing was even, and the story was crafted with ease, combining elements of grief, mental health, dysfunctional families, and chaos, all wrapped in a messy package. And that’s just what life is for most people, which is why this felt real and relatable.
Characters and Conflict
We follow Clio, the youngest of the Barnes children. She is an influencer and a stylist. On the surface, her life looks wholesome and perfect. However, Clio comes across as rude, bratty, and manipulative right from the beginning. It’s hard to root for an unlikeable protagonist. Even though the story later delves into why she is the way she is, I found it difficult to warm up to her character.
Still, I was invested in the story and wanted to know Clio’s fate and the fate of the people she cared about. The story portrays a dysfunctional family as authentically as it gets. Describing Clio’s relationship with her father and sisters as “complicated” would be an understatement.
And then there’s the demon. Whether the demon is real or not, isn’t the question. The real question is what kind of demon Clio is fighting. The self-sabotage, alienation, and isolation of someone with a traumatic past feel as real as it gets, no matter what form the demon takes.
That is the strongest point of the story, and I was all in for it. The only reason this isn’t a five-star read for me is because Clio wasn’t someone I could root for during most of the book.
Conclusion
Overall, I enjoyed reading Play Nice. It’s a great spin on the haunted house trope — chaotic, sinister, mysterious, and ugly, just like a good demon story should be.
