Usually anything even bordering on fantasy or paranormal is not my thing, but after reading the blurb - a boy drowns on dry land in the woods - I had a feeling that I had to read this book, and I'm so glad I did. The 'otherworldly' element is hard to explain - it's almost like a character in itself, but is mild enough to not deter readers who normally shy away from the genre.

The writing is good, at times beautiful, and there was something about the web that Nagamatsu spun that caught me up and wouldn't let me go. Although I have to admit that at times I caught myself wondering what the theme was for this strange tale, the lyrical prose lulled me happily along to an ending that left me wondering.

I received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. ( )

There is not much I can tell you about this book. A teen boy is moving in with his dad and step mom. They live in a giant rooming house with other random people including a new girl who is about to become his new friend. This is a very gothic story, and the description says it’s a fantasy, but I didn’t see any fantasy in the first 2 hours. The only fantasy element was that a boy drowned in the middle of a forest where there was no water. I think for me this would be better as a read book than an audiobook. I was bored and found myself spacing out on the audio. I would be willing to give this book another chance, but it will be in print, not something I listen to. ( )

Introduction

One summer after the death of teen Link Miller, his friends are left coping with the loss. Coping with the loss of a close friend is hard enough when the passing comes under normal circumstances, but the details surrounding Link's are anything but normal. Link's death was ruled a strange accident, as it was discovered that he had managed to drown in a forest miles away from the nearest body of water.

His friend, Noemi, is the only one that knows the truth. Link drowned in a lake in the forest that only she can find. With this knowledge, coupled with the fact that recently, she's started to receive text messages from a number claiming to be Link, Noemi is finding moving passed her friend's death to be a difficult process.

With the help of her friends, they begin to unravel the mystery surrounding Link's death and in doing so, attempt to move forward together.

Pace

This is a very quiet, and at times, successfully eerie book. It isn't told like a typical teen mystery. There is no dramatic sleuthing. The story is told slowly, and the answer to all the books questions seem to creep up on you, mostly without any over the top dramatic reveals.

This story is told through the points of view of four characters. Three that were Link's friends prior to his death, and one labelled "unknown" I like books that are told through multiple different POVs, but because the story is told through four different ones, the chapters were very short and at times, the change of POV felt unnecessary.

Characters

I didn't particularly like or dislike any of the characters. Although, sometimes they felt flat and difficult to relate to.

Noemi was an especially difficult character for me to like. She is overbearingly controlling of her friends, and she also had a very quick-tempered attitude that was difficult to get passed. Obviously every character needs to have flaws to feel realistic, but being as controlling and as quick-tempered as she is, I had a hard time believing that she would be able to keep many friends, (Spoiler! I also had a hard time believing that, just based on her attitude alone, all three of the male characters would show romantic interest in her).

There was some good representation of different sexualities throughout the story, Noemi is asexual, and Amberlyn and Lyle share a few romantic moments together.

I thought that Lyle and Amberlyn were adorable together and I wish that that relationship had played a larger part in the book. In my opinion they were much more interesting than the central relationship in the book.

The Forest (Big spoilers!)

I enjoyed the concept of "the forest" as a character/being/entity. It was a very interesting aspect to read, although I wish it had been developed a little further. By the time the main characters get to truly speak to "the forest," I believe that there is only 30 or so more pages left. In my opinion, having the characters speak to "the forest" was the most interesting part of the whole book, so I wish that it could have somehow played a larger part. Squishing all of the true interaction to the end of the book felt a little rushed and I was a slightly disappointed.

Conclusion

This book was pretty good, there were some aspects that missed the mark for me but other parts that made the book worth reading. As a warning, there are brief sexual themes, so I would recommend this book to teens who are a little older and who are looking for a read that is a little contemporary while having some mysterious and eerie moods intertwined in it. ( )

Series Info/Source: This is a stand alone book. I got a copy of this book through Edelweiss to review.

Story (4/5): I liked this and can understand why people are comparing it to Maggie Stiefvater's books, the writing style is fairly similar. This book has some magical realism in it but really focuses on a group of teens trying to navigate a variety of tragedies, while coming of age in a mysterious, small town in Minnesota.

The story switches POV mainly between 3 characters (Noemi , Amberlyn, Jonas)...although we occasionally hear from a couple other characters as well. We follow them as they try to navigate high school, the death of their friend Link, and the strange mysterious lake that occasionally appears in the woods near town. This is interspersed with excerpts from Noemi's dream journal and portions of the texts Noemi is exchanging with an unknown contact that claims to be Link's ghost.

The story is beautifully written with excellent imagery but it is very meandering. The whole book really isn't about solving Link's death or figuring out the mysterious lake, but the journey our characters take personally. That being said, the mysteries presented are resolved nicely.

Characters (3/5): I felt like all the characters were fairly distant and didn't really engage with them all that well. There is a lot about sexuality (not sex really but more identity) discussed as well; a couple characters discover they are gay and one character explores the fact that she is asexual. Despite their distance from the reader the characters were still intriguing to read about.

Setting (4/5): Being a native Minnesotan, I love the Minnesota setting. The author does such a great job describing the winters and forest settings! The mysterious forest the character ventures in and out of is very atmospheric.

Writing Style (4/5): The writing is very beautiful and has excellent imagery; you really feel and see what the characters are going through. It is a very wandering writing style. We drift in and out of these characters' lives and the story has very little to drive it forward, this is more about accompanying these characters through their lives than solving a mystery. Those who enjoy a well structured story with a clear/linear plot will probably dislike this. It does remind me a lot of Stiefvater’s writing style but is less polished.

My Summary (4/5): Overall I ended up liking this a lot. It’s very lyrical and poetic, and was a nice departure from your standard YA paranormal read. It could have been a bit less meandering and a bit more polished, but I enjoyed the lush imagery and the quiet wandering quality to the story. I loved the magical realism elements and the way everything was resolved. ( )