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mollyelyn's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
‘She thought it was one of the world’s greatest tragedies that these moments, each tiny one, were each so easy to overlook. That it took the threat of losing them to make you weigh them and realise they were made of gold.’
‘We Are All Ghosts In the Forest’ is a very introspective tale which follows Katerina, a former photojournalist turned herbalist who is haunted by her past and the death of her sister. It’s set in Estonia in the not so distant future, after the internet has crashed, leaving tangible and terrifying ghosts of the internet’s contents behind, which vary in their level of danger from a piece of map, to a recording of Oppenheimer’s ‘I am become death’ speech. Each of these ghosts can touch and affect reality in their search for their new home, with devastating consequences for the world and for the human race. These ghosts are capable of infecting humans with a new digital disease, which turns every part of them into static and code, killing them.
After the collapse, Katerina moved back to her Grandmother’s old home, a small village where she brews and creates herbal remedies for the townsfolk. On a venture south for trade, she meets a strange mute boy named Stefan in a marketplace who hands her a note from his father, in which he claims to know her, and asks her to take care of him.
The book starts off very slow, focusing on Katerina and Stefan’s daily activities in the village, their growing suspicion about a new contagious digital disease that is spreading, and the growing mystery that is Stefan’s father. I found it a little hard to get into at the start, because the world-building and mechanics of the ghosts was confusing and hard to grasp, but around 6 chapters in something clicked, and I was fully immersed. The cast of characters is rather small, allowing the author to focus on crafting the central characters carefully. Throughout the book I grew to care for Katerina and Stefan greatly, and felt everything she felt as the book progressed. The ongoing mysteries in the book were exciting and I loved watching them unravel.
This book has been labelled as reminiscent of fairytales, and it definitely is. The wolves and the forests, as well as the message and morals of the story. I loved the found-family element, and Katerina and Stefan’s relationship was absolutely precious. Overall, my only issues were the confusing world-building and very slow first act, and I was very enchanted by this book. The premise of the internet crash is fascinating and while unlikely, I would love to see more in this world or hear more about what the ramifications of the crash were on the world.
‘We Are All Ghosts In the Forest’ is a very introspective tale which follows Katerina, a former photojournalist turned herbalist who is haunted by her past and the death of her sister. It’s set in Estonia in the not so distant future, after the internet has crashed, leaving tangible and terrifying ghosts of the internet’s contents behind, which vary in their level of danger from a piece of map, to a recording of Oppenheimer’s ‘I am become death’ speech. Each of these ghosts can touch and affect reality in their search for their new home, with devastating consequences for the world and for the human race. These ghosts are capable of infecting humans with a new digital disease, which turns every part of them into static and code, killing them.
After the collapse, Katerina moved back to her Grandmother’s old home, a small village where she brews and creates herbal remedies for the townsfolk. On a venture south for trade, she meets a strange mute boy named Stefan in a marketplace who hands her a note from his father, in which he claims to know her, and asks her to take care of him.
The book starts off very slow, focusing on Katerina and Stefan’s daily activities in the village, their growing suspicion about a new contagious digital disease that is spreading, and the growing mystery that is Stefan’s father. I found it a little hard to get into at the start, because the world-building and mechanics of the ghosts was confusing and hard to grasp, but around 6 chapters in something clicked, and I was fully immersed. The cast of characters is rather small, allowing the author to focus on crafting the central characters carefully. Throughout the book I grew to care for Katerina and Stefan greatly, and felt everything she felt as the book progressed. The ongoing mysteries in the book were exciting and I loved watching them unravel.
This book has been labelled as reminiscent of fairytales, and it definitely is. The wolves and the forests, as well as the message and morals of the story. I loved the found-family element, and Katerina and Stefan’s relationship was absolutely precious. Overall, my only issues were the confusing world-building and very slow first act, and I was very enchanted by this book. The premise of the internet crash is fascinating and while unlikely, I would love to see more in this world or hear more about what the ramifications of the crash were on the world.