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A review by timeforgsopinion
Empty Heaven by Freddie Kölsch
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
maybe the real evil scarecrow was 9/11 the wacky gay friends we made along the way
Thanks to Union Square for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
First of all, Empty Heaven is that rare YA book that actually earns its absolute banger of a cover, so let's celebrate that. Once you're done admiring it enough to crack open the book, you'll find it's about protagonist Darian, who takes summers off from being a Gossip Girl character in NYC to visit her mom's idyllic hippie utopia hometown in New England. There she hangs out with her three best friends (all queer!) whose town is totally not a saccharinely-sinister Wicker Man-esque cult. What's a YA protag to do when her homoerotic Girl Best Friend KJ is chosen as the cult's next would-be sacrifice and/or Fucked Up Scarecrow Avatar with godlike powers? Make a Shirley Jackson reference and then go on a high-stakes fetch quest road trip about it, obviously.
There's a lot to like about this book. Even the 9/11 backdrop is worked in in a sensible way: as the catalyst for Darian being sent out of the city and into the countryside ("like in a wartime drama") during the dangerous fall season. (This was a real thing people in NYC and DC did in 2001—specifically my mother, who did it to 7-year-old me.) Mundanity frequently intrudes throughout the more fantastical parts of the story in the form of adults forcing the teen protagonists to do stuff, and it's realistically frustrating and a good source of conflict.
Ultimately Empty Heaven works because it's character-driven horror, so even when it bombards you with lore or meanders through side quests, it stays firmly grounded in its central relationships (the four main teens and their two pairings within that group) and never loses sight of its stakes. I really liked the protagonists and the dynamic of their friendship—sweetheart hippie Alex, hot girl pathological liar KJ, not-really-an-outsider Darian, and my favorite: mouthy fun-sized DiCapriocore punk Jasper.
tl;dr If you've ever uttered the phrase "be gay, do crime," then this friend group will feel familiar and worth fighting for as they be gay and do crimes.
I love reading about queer characters whose biggest problems have nothing to do with their queerness, but whose queerness is still a central part of their identity and story. In this case, their biggest problem is the eldritch being in their midst, who was worked into the story in a way that pleasantly subverted my expectations. It also allowed for a lot of room for humor asthe possessed KJ still managed to have priorities like doubling back for her weed stash mid-car chase.
Most of all, there was an authenticity to the way the characters interacted. Example: they reacted to the revelations of each other's traumas in a realistic, down-to-earth way, being sensitive to their friends' feelings without falling into that common YA trap of woobifying them or letting that trauma eclipse their identities. It felt refreshing to watch them treat each other as people and friends first rather than victims. It was giving "this ain't A Little Life and I'll gently tease my friend about her worst memories if I want to."
Empty Heaven isn't perfect, especially pacing-wise, and there's a lot going on, but I was never bored, and my attachment to the characters kept me turning pages. Plot-wise, it hits all the classic folk horror beats, does some coming-of-age stuff, and throws a little sci-fi into the mix. And of course, its other biggest selling point is being steeped in enough stark aesthetic imagery to make the Pinterest girlies chew off a leg: crumbling ruins, endless sunflower fields, sinister haunted shacks, cloaked figures, 2001 commercialized Halloween kitsch juxtaposed with rustic harvest festival gothic. What can I say except "work" and "isn't it refreshing when an image-laden book also has substance"?
Do check content warnings, which include but are not limited to: body horror, grooming/pedophilia (thoroughly discussed but never graphic), suicide, parental abuse/neglect, and fairly mild transphobia (mostly deadnaming)
Thanks to Union Square for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
First of all, Empty Heaven is that rare YA book that actually earns its absolute banger of a cover, so let's celebrate that. Once you're done admiring it enough to crack open the book, you'll find it's about protagonist Darian, who takes summers off from being a Gossip Girl character in NYC to visit her mom's idyllic hippie utopia hometown in New England. There she hangs out with her three best friends (all queer!) whose town is totally not a saccharinely-sinister Wicker Man-esque cult. What's a YA protag to do when her homoerotic Girl Best Friend KJ is chosen as the cult's next would-be sacrifice and/or Fucked Up Scarecrow Avatar with godlike powers? Make a Shirley Jackson reference and then go on a high-stakes fetch quest road trip about it, obviously.
There's a lot to like about this book. Even the 9/11 backdrop is worked in in a sensible way: as the catalyst for Darian being sent out of the city and into the countryside ("like in a wartime drama") during the dangerous fall season. (This was a real thing people in NYC and DC did in 2001—specifically my mother, who did it to 7-year-old me.) Mundanity frequently intrudes throughout the more fantastical parts of the story in the form of adults forcing the teen protagonists to do stuff, and it's realistically frustrating and a good source of conflict.
Ultimately Empty Heaven works because it's character-driven horror, so even when it bombards you with lore or meanders through side quests, it stays firmly grounded in its central relationships (the four main teens and their two pairings within that group) and never loses sight of its stakes. I really liked the protagonists and the dynamic of their friendship—sweetheart hippie Alex, hot girl pathological liar KJ, not-really-an-outsider Darian, and my favorite: mouthy fun-sized DiCapriocore punk Jasper.
tl;dr If you've ever uttered the phrase "be gay, do crime," then this friend group will feel familiar and worth fighting for as they be gay and do crimes.
I love reading about queer characters whose biggest problems have nothing to do with their queerness, but whose queerness is still a central part of their identity and story. In this case, their biggest problem is the eldritch being in their midst, who was worked into the story in a way that pleasantly subverted my expectations. It also allowed for a lot of room for humor as
Most of all, there was an authenticity to the way the characters interacted. Example: they reacted to the revelations of each other's traumas in a realistic, down-to-earth way, being sensitive to their friends' feelings without falling into that common YA trap of woobifying them or letting that trauma eclipse their identities. It felt refreshing to watch them treat each other as people and friends first rather than victims. It was giving "this ain't A Little Life and I'll gently tease my friend about her worst memories if I want to."
Empty Heaven isn't perfect, especially pacing-wise, and there's a lot going on, but I was never bored, and my attachment to the characters kept me turning pages. Plot-wise, it hits all the classic folk horror beats, does some coming-of-age stuff, and throws a little sci-fi into the mix. And of course, its other biggest selling point is being steeped in enough stark aesthetic imagery to make the Pinterest girlies chew off a leg: crumbling ruins, endless sunflower fields, sinister haunted shacks, cloaked figures, 2001 commercialized Halloween kitsch juxtaposed with rustic harvest festival gothic. What can I say except "work" and "isn't it refreshing when an image-laden book also has substance"?
Do check content warnings, which include but are not limited to: body horror, grooming/pedophilia (thoroughly discussed but never graphic), suicide, parental abuse/neglect, and fairly mild transphobia (mostly deadnaming)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Suicide, Violence, Kidnapping, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting
Moderate: Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Drug use, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Addiction, Drug abuse, Gore, Rape, Transphobia, Medical trauma, Abandonment
9/11 is discussed, including imagery of New York in the immediate aftermath. The protagonist frequently reflects on how she was groomed by a piano teacher, including a brief, non-explicit mention of rape. There is a flashback to a very detailed suicide attempt (via drug overdose and pills) resulting in one actual and one narrowly avoided suicide. There is widespread supernatural mental enslavement and brainwashing/gaslighting of the kind typically associated with cults. All but two parents are either absent or spiritually/emotionally abusive