Off the Books discussion

Hi guys!

I hope people enjoyed this book!

I was actually really surprised - when I first started it, I wondered what all the fuss was about. Why were all these people gushing in their reviews and giving it five stars? I thought it was alright but not INCREDIBLE the way some people did.

Now that I've finished it, though, I find myself at a loss. I always think a book is good if it generates some sort of emotional response from me, and this book left me feeling absolutely wrung out. My nail beds are a mess from me anxiously biting at the skin. When Jack started having his hallucinations, I started to panic - at first, I was panicking, thinking WHY ON EARTH AREN'T THESE BOYS TELLING ANYONE WHO CAN HELP THEM?? But my god, it really drew me in. Psychological thriller indeed (I'm not someone who reads thrillers a lot, so maybe this affected me more than it may affect others?).

Seeing how the relationship between the boys ebbed and flowed and evolved over the book was also really interesting. They're incredibly co-dependent, something which helps neither of them, but is understandable under their circumstances. Their relationship was intoxicating, moving, and devastating, and when (spoiler alert?) they were separated near the end of the book, I felt like throwing my kindle against the wall in anger on their behalf (end spoiler!).

I found The Wicker King to be a very engaging novel, and I look forward to K. Ancrum's next book due out in March '19, which has August and Jack as adults and background characters for a new set of 17 year olds. I thought it was great that she put in a note at the end to all her young readers about mental health.

I loved this book a lot - I don't think I'll read it again soon because I found it quite draining, but I enjoyed the style and the characters and think the story is a very engaging one. I also read the follow-up, The Legend of the Golden Raven: A Novella of The Wicker King, and found it to be a good accompaniment to an already quite excellent novel.