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A review by madlymusing
Within the Woods by Tony Urban
4.0
When I was about a third of the way through this, I almost gave up. It wasn't even the horror - it was the grim nature of the lives of a couple of these boys (especially Ray and Garrett). It was almost poverty porn and felt exploitative. But, I have to say, it did improve.
Look, this book is gross. There are SO many bodily secretions, plus it's told from the point of view of 12 year old boys, so it's like the volume is turned up on references to genitalia, the objectification of women, and descriptions of bodies and monsters. I also felt that most of the main characters were almost caricatures, which was disappointing.
But for all that, I quite enjoyed it. It was tense and visual, even if it took a while to get going. While it could have used a bit more description of the creatures themselves and fewer chapter breaks, it was a pretty good read. Would this book have existed without Stranger Things? No, I don't think so, and this book pales in comparison to that show. Still, it ended up being a solid 3.5/5 for me.
Look, this book is gross. There are SO many bodily secretions, plus it's told from the point of view of 12 year old boys, so it's like the volume is turned up on references to genitalia, the objectification of women, and descriptions of bodies and monsters. I also felt that most of the main characters were almost caricatures, which was disappointing.
But for all that, I quite enjoyed it. It was tense and visual, even if it took a while to get going. While it could have used a bit more description of the creatures themselves and fewer chapter breaks, it was a pretty good read. Would this book have existed without Stranger Things? No, I don't think so, and this book pales in comparison to that show. Still, it ended up being a solid 3.5/5 for me.