A review by cantfindmybookmark
Boys In the Valley by Philip Fracassi

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.75

Let me tell you, this book was legitimately scary. I have a pretty high threshold for horror and I had to set this book down a few times. Thatโ€™s not to say the horror and gore are exorbitant or there just for shock value (though there is shock value). Everything in this book felt intentional and necessary for the story. 

๐“๐ก๐ž ๐’๐ž๐ญ๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐ : St. Vincentโ€™s Orphanage for Boys, rural Pennsylvania, turn of the century, winter. 

๐Ÿ“-๐’๐ž๐œ๐จ๐ง๐ ๐’๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐š๐ซ๐ฒ: The Exorcist meets Lord of the Flies (I did not come up with this, so saw it online)

๐“๐ก๐ž ๐๐ฅ๐จ๐ญ: Late at night a group of men arrive at this orphanage, which houses roughly 30 boys and is run by Catholic priests. One of the late night arrivals is badly injured, with occult symbols carved into his body and something evil carved into his soul. When he dies, that evil does not die with him but is instead released on the orphanage. Chaos and horror ensue. 

If youโ€™re into scary reads I highly recommend this one, but do check trigger warnings.
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