Review by Booklist Review
Andrew would rather spend time writing lurid, fantastical tales than anything else, save hanging out with his best friend, Thomas, who illustrates the stories with equally grotesque, vivid drawings. But upon his return to boarding school for senior year, Thomas is being evasive, leaving Andrew to the exacerbated anxious mechanisms of his mind. He spirals further as Thomas stops drawing and starts to return to their dorm late in the night covered in dirt and mysterious injuries. One night, Andrew follows Thomas to the off-limits woods that surround the and is stunned to find that Thomas has been battling his own drawings, come to life, so that they won't attack the unsuspecting people in the school. Andrew joins the cause, forgoing reason and allowing his relationship with Thomas to turn as obsessive as his habits around food. But when the evils of the forest get closer to the school and begin emerging from Andrew as well, destroying the original creator of the monsters may be their only hope. Drews paints a gruesome narrative with visceral descriptions of monsters and the violence they enact while, with equal vigor, encapsulating the trauma of loss, disordered eating, bullying, and anxiety, all of which is counterbalanced by a gentle touch addressing asexual identity. A frustrating but fantastical read; prepare for the emotional roller coaster of plot twists, unreliable narration, and a divisive conclusion. Sure to please those interested in modern horror mixed with a touch of fairy tale.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
When the monsters they imagine come to life, two boys fight for their lives--and each other. Andrew Perrault, who's from Australia, writes beautiful, macabre fairy tales. His roommate at his American boarding school, Wickwood Academy, is talented artist Thomas Rye, who brings his stories to vivid life in paint and charcoal. Andrew's twin sister, Dove, is all but ignoring him, so he has plenty of time to focus on Thomas' increasingly odd behavior. Thomas' parents disappeared just before the new school year started, and Andrew noticed blood on his roommate's sleeve on their first day back. When he follows Thomas into the forest one night, Andrew discovers him fighting one of the monsters that Thomas has drawn from these stories. The boys soon find themselves coping with vicious bullies by day and fighting monsters by night. At the same time, Andrew struggles to reconcile his feelings for Thomas with his growing awareness of his own asexuality. But when the sinister Antler King breaches Wickwood's walls, Andrew realizes that he and Thomas may not survive their own creations. This novel, written in rich, extravagant prose, features frank portrayals of disordered eating, self-harm, bullying, and mental illness. Andrew grapples realistically with his sexual identity, and the story has ample genuinely creepy moments with the monsters. Andrew, Thomas, and Dove are white. Lush, angsty, queer horror. (content warning)(Horror. 14-18) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
