"'Welcome to Night Vale'--A Book Review" by Natalie A

     For my seventeenth birthday I asked for, but did not expect to receive, a certain book.
However, my parents surprised me and as I eagerly unwrapped my gift I was extremely happy to
see the novel Welcome to Night Vale looking back at me. I read it quickly and loved it, but found
there weren’t many people to talk about it with. The novel is based on the podcast of the same
name. It has over 100 episodes (of which i’m still not caught up) and was made by Joseph Fink
and Jeffrey Cranor, both of whom co wrote the book together. The book was published by
Harper Perennial. While the whole podcast is told through a radio show, the novel only
occasionally has excerpts from one. Additionally, the main characters from the podcast, Cecil,
Carlos, John Peters the farmer, The Faceless old woman who secretly lives in your home, etc.,
are background characters, as the novel is in the point of view of two citizens of Night Vale,
Jackie Fierro, who runs a pawn shop and has been 19 for several years, and Diane Crayton, who
is the mother of a teenager who can shapeshift into anything he wants. The novel has a humorous
and strange tone, as true to the nature of the podcast. There is always something new you are
going to learn about the town they live in.
     The setting of the novel is in, of course, the town of Night Vale, and readers can finally
get a sense of what it is really like to live in the town. Immediately you see the traditions used at
Jackie’s pawnshop, as well as what it is like to actually have a seemingly normal job, like
Diane’s. Diane, as mentioned, has a son, Josh, who can shapeshift into anything, so she really
has no idea what he would really look like. Josh’s father, Troy, abandoned them, and Diane had
not seen him since, until suddenly he appeared to be everywhere. Meanwhile, a recurring
character in the podcasts, The Man in the Tan Jacket, appears to Jackie, and sticks a piece of
paper to her hand, which she cannot get off, which simply says, “King City.” Jackie, who hasn’t
aged in years, longs to figure out her past. Diane wants to keep her son away from Josh. An
important theme of the book is fear of the unknown, as Jackie fears “King City,” her past, and
The Man in the Tan Jacket. Diane fears what Troy’s reappearances means for her and Josh.
The podcasts are very strange, so the narration of the novel is strange as well. As in both
the book and podcast, many occurrences that may be weird or even disturbing to us are seen as
normal to the characters. This gives the book an odd sense of humor. Because of the bizarre
characters, many may not find it to be a believable story, but the oddness is what makes it to
charming, what makes it stand out. This is why I find it to be a good book, in terms of literary
value, and why it holds the reader’s interest. It is different than any other book I have read. It is
not a predictable story. It made me laugh, it made me confused, and it made me think.