Review by Booklist Review
Skye believed moving would change everything, but it has only made her sister, Deirdre, more isolated as Skye tries to put her past behind her. When they were younger, the sisters were extremely close, often playing fantasy make-believe games Deirdre would create. Skye was the Queen of Swords, Deirdre's protector, a role she almost took too far one day. In their new home, Deirdre continues to withdraw into her fantasy world, spending hours playing in the wooded swamps in their backyard, until the night she disappears. Torn between grief and jealousy at wanting to live her own life, Skye is determined to bring Deirdre home. Unfortunately for her, Deirdre's new fantastical world blurs the lines of reality and may have awoken real monsters living in the woods monsters that want to play a game and demand sacrifices to advance. Bérubé has written a horror story that is part demented Bridge to Terabithia and part folktale the Pear Drum. Readers will never see the end coming. Give to teens who want brutally honest stories without fairy tale happy endings.--Lindsey Tomsu Copyright 2019 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In this sharp-edged, dark fantasy, a young woman's attempt at normalcy crumbles after her younger sister disappears into the sprawling woods near their new home. Skye, 16, used to play the Queen of Swords in her sister's elaborate fantasy scenarios and protect her from bullies. But since their family's move, Skye has pulled away from 13-year-old Deirdre, choosing to reinvent herself and find new friends. Then Deirdre mysteriously vanishes. To rescue her sister, Skye must undergo several grueling tasks on behalf of Deirdre's gruesome, inhuman creations, which have inexplicably come to life. The challenges require Skye to reveal her deepest secrets and hurt those she cares for the most. Bérubé (The Dark Beneath the Ice) adeptly chronicles Skye's self-destructive quest, infusing her story with a sense of claustrophobia, foreboding, and hopelessness. She succeeds a little too well, however: Skye is abrasive, self-absorbed, and keen to alienate others, and her descent into desperation proves painful as she sacrifices everything for a sister she seems to resent. Paired with the atmospheric setting, the dual exploration of liminal spaces and questionable family makes for a truly weird, creepy tale--one that may prove bleak for most readers. Ages 14--up. Agent: Lana Popovic, Chalberg & Sussman. (Aug.)
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
A creepy, insidious tale that shows how treacherous a sister's attachment can be.After a move, two teenage sisters find themselves in a new home on the edge of the woods, where Skye branches out while introspective Deirdre finds solace playing games her sister no longer has patience for. When Deirdre vanishes, Skye is forced to reexamine the past choices she made to protect her sister and must decide if she will face the grim, irreversible consequences of saving Deirdre again. These memories form a haunting exposition that Brub (The Dark Beneath the Ice, 2018) uses in conjunction with the plot to covertly insert suspense. They are so seamlessly executed that readers can forget whether they are in Skye's past or present world. This does conjure up some confusion but also creates an immersive, nuanced world and characters who can't be labeled as merely "good" or "bad." Three section breaks named after different characters have lush illustrations of flora and fauna and lines quoting poet Gwendolyn McEwen that act as an aesthetic backdrop to the actual story; each is narrated from Skye's first-person perspective. All characters default to white.For those who are not faint of heart, morally or otherwise, and who wish to sink into an intricate, subtle, and deeply unsettling read. (Horror. 14-18) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
