Publisher: Del Ray Books
Published: July 20, 2021
Source: Personal copy
Summary:
A family returns to their hometown—and to the dark past that haunts them still—in this masterpiece of literary horror by the New York Times bestselling author of Wanderers
Long ago, Nathan lived in a house in the country with his abusive father—and has never told his family what happened there.
Long ago, Maddie was a little girl making dolls in her bedroom when she saw something she shouldn’t have—and is trying to remember that lost trauma by making haunting sculptures.
Long ago, something sinister, something hungry, walked in the tunnels and the mountains and the coal mines of their hometown in rural Pennsylvania.
Now, Nate and Maddie Graves are married, and they have moved back to their hometown with their son, Oliver.
And now what happened long ago is happening again . . . and it is happening to Oliver. He meets a strange boy who becomes his best friend, a boy with secrets of his own and a taste for dark magic.
This dark magic puts them at the heart of a battle of good versus evil and a fight for the soul of the family—and perhaps for all of the world. But the Graves family has a secret weapon in this battle: their love for one another.
My thoughts:
Every once in a while, I like to take a chance and read outside my comfort zone. This book is definitely a case of that…and the chance worked out. I had seen this book around quite a bit on bookstagram and it was getting pretty good reviews and then my pal put together a buddy read so it was a given that I would read it. And I’m so glad I did – I really enjoyed it!
As I was reading this, I definitely got Imaginary Friends vibes, which is another book that was a bit outside my comfort zone that I ended up loving so as soon as I started getting those vibes, I had a feeling I was going to enjoy this one. I will say, it’s got a lot going on so it’s definitely not one to rush through and this book is thick! But once I started reading it, I was totally engaged and captivated. It has elements of horror, thriller, science fiction and supernatural which sounds like a lot but combined gives such a dark, twisted story.
There is a strong message of family woven into the story, but there are also some pretty gruesome scenes, too. There is definitely a good versus evil thing going on and I found I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. I’m so glad I picked this one up and at some point I do see myself rereading this because I’m sure I missed some things the first time through.
For my first foray into Wendig’s writing, I loved it and now I’m eager to see what else he has written. Have you read anything by him? If so, what should I read next?
