"In that moment I left my body, and I'm not sure I ever returned." 
 Recently I had the great misfortune of reading Hopeless by Colleen Hoover, and was extremely discouraged by the writing style, the atrocious characters, and the creepy romance. I am obviously in the minority: this book has an astonishing 4.4 rating on GoodReads. As of now, I don't put too much stock in ratings. If a book's premise sounds interesting to me, I'll pick it up. That simple. 
 However, (perhaps hypocritically) I was pretty surprised by the low 3.2 rating for Your House is on Fire, Your Children All Gone by Stefan Kiesbye. The brief synopsis on the back of the book sold me: "A village on the Devil's Moor: a place untouched by time and shrouded in superstition.... This is where four young friends come of age - in an atmosphere thick with fear and suspicion." 
 I was hooked from page one. The novel is told from four different perspectives, as these four children look back on their youth as adults. In this mysterious village, bizarre events happen (sorry for the vague description; I feel like you need to go into this book with the barest of knowledge.) I loved so many things about this book! The writing style was gripping, the characters were complex and bizarre, and the weird things that happen are incredibly strange and thought-provoking. I think that I loved this novel so much because I'm a huge Stephen King fan, and Your House is on Fire, Your Children All Gone reminded me a lot of how a King short story would flow (although, obviously, there are major differences in the writing style; as I was reading this one it just reminded me of King!) 
 I do recommend that you go into this book with the mindset that it kind of reads like a collection of short stories that are all related and take place in the same area (a small German village.) It does flow together somewhat, but not necessarily in the same way a traditional novel would read. 
 I can honestly see how some people would be put off by this tiny, 198-page tale, but I truly don't understand the incredibly low rating. However, I suppose my main point is this: if a book sounds interesting to you, read it. I know that sounds painfully obvious, but I feel like so many people set aside a lot of books almost solely based on what is posted on GoodReads. I used to be that way, too. Don't worry so much about negative reviews (although those are interesting to read after you finish the book for critical thinking purposes!) or low ratings on GoodReads. Read books that you want to read.