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jnwhit94's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
emeszee's review
4.0
This book was pretty good. As a visual, here is what I thought of Jack's "world" would look like:
(dirk gently's holistic detective agency gifs from this tumblr)
Explaining this book is difficult, so I would recommend reading it yourself. It's pretty interestingggg.
(dirk gently's holistic detective agency gifs from this tumblr)
Explaining this book is difficult, so I would recommend reading it yourself. It's pretty interestingggg.
ashction's review
5.0
this isn't just a book - it's a super cool work of art.
the story is devastating and raw. the kind of story i generally avoid if i know if it in advance because i hate suffering, but it's such a powerful story and a commentary on what a lot of young adults have to struggle with or do to survive.
i didn't expect the twist at the end we get - no spoilers! - but i don't feel that it cheapens the experience in the least. everything is well-written and though there's no neat knot to tie things off, ancrum leaves you extremely satisfied with how things settle.
technically, i especially enjoyed the short, choppy scenes. it does wonders for the pacing of a novel like this, one that teeters between reality and another person's perception of it. i also enjoyed how the book is designed with pages going from white to vignettes of gray and, finally, to all black, with pictures/media dispersed throughout! it made it a quicker read but also really played into ancrum's intent with the novel (if you have the time, the author's note is a great thing to read when you've finished) and does a lot of amazing things! overall, totally enjoyed this one and looking forward to reading more - especially of the peter pan retelling ancrum is releasing in 2021!
the story is devastating and raw. the kind of story i generally avoid if i know if it in advance because i hate suffering, but it's such a powerful story and a commentary on what a lot of young adults have to struggle with or do to survive.
i didn't expect the twist at the end we get - no spoilers! - but i don't feel that it cheapens the experience in the least. everything is well-written and though there's no neat knot to tie things off, ancrum leaves you extremely satisfied with how things settle.
technically, i especially enjoyed the short, choppy scenes. it does wonders for the pacing of a novel like this, one that teeters between reality and another person's perception of it. i also enjoyed how the book is designed with pages going from white to vignettes of gray and, finally, to all black, with pictures/media dispersed throughout! it made it a quicker read but also really played into ancrum's intent with the novel (if you have the time, the author's note is a great thing to read when you've finished) and does a lot of amazing things! overall, totally enjoyed this one and looking forward to reading more - especially of the peter pan retelling ancrum is releasing in 2021!
emlela's review
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Screaming, crying, throwing up
littlechef's review
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
bythunder's review
people have GOT to stop selling a book as a two-person love story when it’s poly. Like that is a different dynamic that needs to be written differently!!!
sxphia03's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
separaterooms's review
5.0
January 2023 and I’m still hoping that one day I’ll find a book like this but there are none. Absolutely none
blurrypetals's review
5.0
It is books as completely magnificent as this that make me feel lucky to be alive, to be able to read the written word, to have eyes to read those words, to have hands to lovingly trace over the pages. This is a truly special and wholly personal book and, because of that energized hunger I felt each time I opened this book, I will treasure this dear possession of mine and the words it has printed upon it for the rest of my life.
Every inch, every word of this book is achingly beautiful and completely boneshaking and I loved each and every single moment I was lucky enough to spend with it. It reminded me, in a way, of Johnny Truant's stream of consciousness footnotes in another book I adore, House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski, and that really isn't even taking into consideration the fact that, in order to experience both The Wicker King and House of Leaves, you must be holding a copy of the printed book in your hands, which is to say: the way they work is not just on the level of prose and words, but also in the way those words are laid out, what the pages look like, and how each moment must be lived in with your eyes, not your ears.
I relished in the seemingly simple yet incredibly effective way the pages slowly darken as you move on, going from crisp, clean white to a grungy grey to pitch black and every shade in between, and I love how this incredibly inspired choice reflects the mental state of not only August, our point of view character, but also of Jack, whose psyche is slowly but surely betraying him. As stated in the note to the readers at the end of the book (which, after I had caught my breath in sobbing over the end of the narrative, moved me back to tears), Jack and August are victims of circumstance, two young men abandoned entirely by their authority, and K. Ancrum did a marvelous job of steeping each word and passage with heartache, longing, and loneliness, effectively plunking me right into these poor, broken boys' sad mud-stained and river-soaked shoes.
I think it is needless to say at this point that I loved this book. It resonated with me, plucking my heartstrings like a harp and playing me like a fiddle until my emotions were wrung out, raw, and aching in the best of ways. I believe it's worth mentioning that August and Jack remind me of the titular boys in The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater in a certain way, especially of Ronan and Adam, who line up easily with Jack and August, respectively, so it certainly brought up some nostalgia in that sense, while also summoning up a different nostalgia by having it set in 2003, a very strange but fitting year to set this particular story. The internet and texting were new things back then and, while they're present, it helps the suspension of disbelief when it comes to the fact that Jack and August often go gallivanting around without having to answer to much of anyone.
Just...wow. I loved this book so much. It was so captivating I spent nearly every waking moment since I began reading it thinking about it and I'm certain it's something I'll continue thinking about for many years to come, just like the other two books I've mentioned here, House of Leaves and The Raven Boys, both of which tend to sneak up on me in a sense, where I haven't thought about them in months and, all of a sudden, I'm a mess just thinking about that one part where that one thing happened or that one page where that one line was said and...well, I don't know if I could be any more excited that another book has so utterly consumed me in the same way.
This is, without a doubt, one of my new all-time favorites and, after I read The Legend of the Golden Raven, a companion novella to this, I'll be waiting anxiously to see what Ms. Ancrum will do next.
Every inch, every word of this book is achingly beautiful and completely boneshaking and I loved each and every single moment I was lucky enough to spend with it. It reminded me, in a way, of Johnny Truant's stream of consciousness footnotes in another book I adore, House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski, and that really isn't even taking into consideration the fact that, in order to experience both The Wicker King and House of Leaves, you must be holding a copy of the printed book in your hands, which is to say: the way they work is not just on the level of prose and words, but also in the way those words are laid out, what the pages look like, and how each moment must be lived in with your eyes, not your ears.
I relished in the seemingly simple yet incredibly effective way the pages slowly darken as you move on, going from crisp, clean white to a grungy grey to pitch black and every shade in between, and I love how this incredibly inspired choice reflects the mental state of not only August, our point of view character, but also of Jack, whose psyche is slowly but surely betraying him. As stated in the note to the readers at the end of the book (which, after I had caught my breath in sobbing over the end of the narrative, moved me back to tears), Jack and August are victims of circumstance, two young men abandoned entirely by their authority, and K. Ancrum did a marvelous job of steeping each word and passage with heartache, longing, and loneliness, effectively plunking me right into these poor, broken boys' sad mud-stained and river-soaked shoes.
I think it is needless to say at this point that I loved this book. It resonated with me, plucking my heartstrings like a harp and playing me like a fiddle until my emotions were wrung out, raw, and aching in the best of ways. I believe it's worth mentioning that August and Jack remind me of the titular boys in The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater in a certain way, especially of Ronan and Adam, who line up easily with Jack and August, respectively, so it certainly brought up some nostalgia in that sense, while also summoning up a different nostalgia by having it set in 2003, a very strange but fitting year to set this particular story. The internet and texting were new things back then and, while they're present, it helps the suspension of disbelief when it comes to the fact that Jack and August often go gallivanting around without having to answer to much of anyone.
Just...wow. I loved this book so much. It was so captivating I spent nearly every waking moment since I began reading it thinking about it and I'm certain it's something I'll continue thinking about for many years to come, just like the other two books I've mentioned here, House of Leaves and The Raven Boys, both of which tend to sneak up on me in a sense, where I haven't thought about them in months and, all of a sudden, I'm a mess just thinking about that one part where that one thing happened or that one page where that one line was said and...well, I don't know if I could be any more excited that another book has so utterly consumed me in the same way.
This is, without a doubt, one of my new all-time favorites and, after I read The Legend of the Golden Raven, a companion novella to this, I'll be waiting anxiously to see what Ms. Ancrum will do next.