Aisle Nine coming September 24th, 2024 from HarperCollins; 272 pages
Content Warning: Death, violence, gore and blood, discussion of parental deaths, foul language
About the Author: “Ian X. Cho lives on Australia’s sunny Gold Coast. He writes fiction for young adults and works as a freelance graphic designer. In his free time he enjoys creating 2D pixel animations” (Bio from publisher’s website).
Jasper is a checkout clerk at a discount mart in a world where demons randomly appear through portals to hell, including one in aisle nine of the mart he works at. Plagued by amnesia from an accident in the mart a few months ago, Jasper has no idea who he was or what his purpose in life is. Demons come through the portal almost every shift, and Vanguards like Kyle are the ones tasked with killing them before they hurt the public. She seems to dislike Jasper for reasons he can’t remember, but when they both start having visions of the coming apocalypse, they have to work together to discover the truth and stop it from occurring on Black Friday.
While the premise of Aisle Nine sounded intriguing, it fell flat in execution. I usually like when a book lets itself be a little ridiculous and an author leans into their humor, but I just didn’t enjoy it in this instance. This novel is labeled as young adult; however, I felt that the maturity level would be more suited to upper middle grade if it wasn’t for the use of foul language throughout. The style of humor reminded me somewhat of Rick Riordan, but the characters seemed to lack the depth and connections that those in a Riordan book have. The concept of an apocalypse on Black Friday was comical and compelling, especially when paired with the commentary Cho was making on consumerism. Unfortunately, very little of the novel took place on Black Friday, and the ending felt rushed as a result. There were a few twists at the end, but they were fairly predictable. I did like some elements of Jasper’s character, particularly the amnesia and the mental health struggles he had to overcome. Kyle, on the other hand, had the opportunity to be a great character, but for some reason she felt incomplete. Aisle Nine simply missed the mark for me.
Aisle Nine releases on September 24th, 2024.
Pine Reads Review would like to thank NetGalley, SparkPoint Studio, and HarperCollins for sending us an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Any quotes are taken from an advanced copy and may be subject to change before final publication.
Sam Yanis, Pine Reads Review Lead Writer