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dcnireads's review against another edition
dark
hopeful
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror
Moderate: Gore, Mental illness, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Child abuse, Blood, Child death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Murder, Physical abuse, Grief, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, and Violence
Minor: Alcoholism, Stalking, and Alcohol
forgedopulence's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
This was a fantastically bad experience.
Every loose thread wrapped up suddenly within the last couple chapters, and all of it ended up in a knotted mess. Nothing made any sense and we never got any context to make it make sense.
Every resolution felt like it was thrown at the reader with a "take what you get" tone. I shouldn't have more questions at the end of a standalone than I did at the beginning.
Every loose thread wrapped up suddenly within the last couple chapters, and all of it ended up in a knotted mess. Nothing made any sense and we never got any context to make it make sense.
Every resolution felt like it was thrown at the reader with a "take what you get" tone. I shouldn't have more questions at the end of a standalone than I did at the beginning.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse
Moderate: Animal death, Religious bigotry, and Death of parent
cboddie's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
3.0
HS & up
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Religious bigotry, and Murder
mel_j's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
The world-building could've been more thorough, but I loved the vibe and atmosphere! The two protagonists were everything – I felt so sorry for Elwood but loved his soft nature and really liked Wil's feistyness and strength. The ending was heartbreaking, but very fitting.
(It's very YA, but that's okay.)
(It's very YA, but that's okay.)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Religious bigotry, Blood, Child abuse, Murder, Emotional abuse, and Body horror
Moderate: Stalking and Confinement
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Pregnancy, Cursing, Sexism, Alcohol, Torture, Vomit, and Kidnapping
chris_reads's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Religious bigotry, Child abuse, and Murder
Moderate: Violence, Death of parent, Stalking, Body horror, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Confinement, Vomit, Animal death, and Alcohol
kagehime's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
<from traumatized boy to mothman to woodkid>
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Cursing, Gore, Violence, Religious bigotry, Mental illness, and Body horror
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Alcoholism, Death of parent, and Emotional abuse
theweatherwriter's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Religious bigotry, Violence, Torture, and Emotional abuse
sarah_shelf's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
“He might not love me, but maybe he’ll praise my bones after he’s burned them too” Elwood
–Skyla Arndt, Together We Rot
I absolutely loved this book and I have so many thoughts to share! To start off, the audio is phenomenal. I always get excited when dual pov novels have a narrator for each pov, but these actors were next level. Wil’s narrator has a great northeastern accent and really changes up her voice for the other speaking characters. But her voice is also so emotional and varied, with a lot of attitude. She doesn’t just read the book, she truly acts like an audio drama. The first person narrative definitely helps with the acting because we get a very clear inner dialogue and connection to the characters’ thoughts and emotions. It took me longer to warm up to Elwood’s narrator, not because he was bad in any way, but Elwood is much more earnest and calm compared to Wil’s scathing insults and boiling rage. But as the story progresses, we get a lot more dynamic acting, especially as he tackles more characters and Elwood’s situation grows more horrifying.
Aside from the phenomenal acting, I was drawn to all of the characters. Finally some authentic & complex high schoolers! Ronnie seems to have been the stereotypical, pretty popular girl, but she bonded with social outcast Wil over the serious & traumatic things in their lives (Ronnie’s breakup with Lucas & her dad’s suicide; Wil’s mother’s disappearance) We also get to see different sides of their personalities. To Wil, Elwood is a traitor who chose his murderous family over her, but he is so confused and even more in the dark than she is. We also see how Lucas is an anxious mess who really cares about Ronnie but keeps messing up (I don’t fully know the girls’ perspectives on this, but it humanizes the guys). I also really enjoyed the relationship growth between Wil and Lucas. The two keep butting heads over their best friends, but are eventually able to acknowledge their shared friendships and jealousies. Once they get past the animosity, the two actually make a great team, being more similar than they realized. Kevin is the final character to round out the Scooby Gang (and I love that Wil uses that name). He doesn't have quite as much development or time among the other relationship dynamics, but he’s a steady presence with knowledge of old books and a love for conspiracies. He really rounds out the whole group.
Speaking of relationships, Arndt was able to sell me on the romance so much better in a matter of paragraphs than most writers do in a whole novel (unlike Caraval). Elwood’s descriptions of how much he loves Wil and his dreams for their day-to-day lives are so sweet! It’s obvious how much the two care for each other, even when Wil tries to deny it. It’s incredibly refreshing after too many YA romance subplots where the characters just seem to lust after each other.
Plot-wise the first half or so is fantastic. We get really great introductions to all of the characters and their dynamics as well as our main characters’ motivations: Wil’s missing mother and Elwood’s complicated relationship with his family. Everything builds fantastically as we run through Lucas’ party, Elwood’s discovery of the church’s cult aspects, running into Wil, and investigating the library with the rest of the cast. However, I felt like the pacing for the investigation was off. The town has gone ages without the younger generation discovering the sacrifices they make to the Morgue Wood. And yet, in a matter of days, the kids discover the entire backstory, dating back to the town’s founding. The supernatural aspects were also rather vague until the climax of the story when the book goes full cryptid. I think all of this could’ve been drawn out more to really sit in the tension and creepy vibes of the town.
Aside from some of the pacing issues, I loved the rest of the novel. I got very emotional at the end, especially after the forest fight and Wil’s reconciliation with her emotionally absent father. I would’ve accepted if the novel had ended differently, but I’m really glad everyone got a happy ending. Except for Elwood’s father, the chief of police, and the entire cult. There’s always a special vindication when evil organizations are publicly exposed and taken care of.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Body horror, Religious bigotry, and Animal death
Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, and Death of parent
Minor: Vomit, Pregnancy, and Alcohol
Religious Cult Cryptid Human Sacrifice Mothskayceeisbookish's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Loved it! It is beautifully horrific, like twirling throny vines growing up a trellis. This book's vines had a CHOKEHOLD on me. I read it in one sitting. The mystery, grotesque body horror, the beauty in the main characters' development and growth, this book truly has it all.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, Alcoholism, Animal death, Gore, Animal cruelty, Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Stalking, Gaslighting, Grief, Violence, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Blood, and Religious bigotry
allapaz's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
I was immediately drawn to this book from the gorgeous cover art, the nature-horror-y vibes, and the first look boasting a headstrong, quick-witted main character. At a high level, the themes and concepts of this story are gorgeous. The story is told from a dual POV switching between Wil, the aforementioned headstrong MC who is determined to find the true reason behind her mother's disappearance, and Elwood, her ex-best friend who is the son of the local fanatical preacher, and is days away from a pivotal moment between him and his church. The Elwood chapters in particular were some of the most ethereal, gorgeous, descriptive prose I've ever read in YA, and it's those chapters in particular that make me wish I felt better about the rest of the story.
My main struggle here was that there was so much going on for such a short (sub 300 pgs) book. We have two very complex MCs who just can't be developed as much as you'd hope because the story has to move so fast to pack everything in. We cover a mysterious disappearance, small town social dynamics, familial grief, alcoholism, self-harm, some sort of nebulous mental health struggle, religious trauma, child abuse, neglect, a cult with a canonically Christian god, animal and human sacrifice, body-horror-y transformations, a sentient environment that smells like death and is also supernatural....and roughly 260 pages to story build and cover it all. This, along with some story/timeline inconsistencies, left me confused more than once because we go from one major drama to another.
The hardest part of reading this book for me was how much I wanted to like it, and how much I feel like I could have liked it if the author either spent more time developing our characters and world-building this strange town, or simplified the plot altogether. Arndt is clearly a beyond talented artist and author, and her style and prose are remarkably haunting and truly place you into the spooky environment she's crafting. I just wish all aspects of this novel measured up to that standard.
Thank you to PenguinTeen/BookishFirst for the ARC. Opinions are my own.
My main struggle here was that there was so much going on for such a short (sub 300 pgs) book. We have two very complex MCs who just can't be developed as much as you'd hope because the story has to move so fast to pack everything in. We cover a mysterious disappearance, small town social dynamics, familial grief, alcoholism, self-harm, some sort of nebulous mental health struggle, religious trauma, child abuse, neglect, a cult with a canonically Christian god, animal and human sacrifice, body-horror-y transformations, a sentient environment that smells like death and is also supernatural....and roughly 260 pages to story build and cover it all. This, along with some story/timeline inconsistencies, left me confused more than once because we go from one major drama to another.
The hardest part of reading this book for me was how much I wanted to like it, and how much I feel like I could have liked it if the author either spent more time developing our characters and world-building this strange town, or simplified the plot altogether. Arndt is clearly a beyond talented artist and author, and her style and prose are remarkably haunting and truly place you into the spooky environment she's crafting. I just wish all aspects of this novel measured up to that standard.
Thank you to PenguinTeen/BookishFirst for the ARC. Opinions are my own.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Gore, Murder, Child abuse, Religious bigotry, Blood, and Body horror