Scan barcode
A review by motherhorror
The Turtle Boy by Kealan Patrick Burke
5.0
I've mentioned it countless times but coming of age horror is a personal favorite. I believe I'll always be one to show special favor to authors who can do them well. I've read several of Burke's books now but had yet to experience a story from a young protagonist's perspective.
In Turtle Boy, Timmy Quinn is eleven years old. He has a best friend. School just got out and Burke does an amazing job capturing the feeling of those long summer days where the possibilities for adventure are wide open.
The dialog scenes between Timmy and his buddy, Pete were some of my favorite moments.
But as these tender stories go in the land of horror fiction, our season of innocence and childhood imagining are cut short by an unexpected visitor.
And what a treat!
The Turtle Boy is some of Kealan's best work in terms of descriptive language. I felt transported to the muddy banks of an abandoned pond where Timmy and Pete first run across the unusual child.
From there, I could feel the long shadows of mystery begin to creep over the sunny landscape of the story and my eyes were flying over the text, manically turning pages so I could find out where Mr. Burke's dark tale would finally end up. The consequence of loving coming of age horror is that there is always that point in which the young characters we have fallen in love with, are faced with unspeakable tragedy or overwhelming, perilous odds, seemingly NOT in their favor...of course I would never spoil a reader's discovery here so I'll only say that this story checked all the right horror boxes--emotional, gripping, haunting and satisfying. I hope Kealan graces us with another coming of age story--this one certainly proves he's quite adept at it.
In Turtle Boy, Timmy Quinn is eleven years old. He has a best friend. School just got out and Burke does an amazing job capturing the feeling of those long summer days where the possibilities for adventure are wide open.
The dialog scenes between Timmy and his buddy, Pete were some of my favorite moments.
But as these tender stories go in the land of horror fiction, our season of innocence and childhood imagining are cut short by an unexpected visitor.
And what a treat!
The Turtle Boy is some of Kealan's best work in terms of descriptive language. I felt transported to the muddy banks of an abandoned pond where Timmy and Pete first run across the unusual child.
From there, I could feel the long shadows of mystery begin to creep over the sunny landscape of the story and my eyes were flying over the text, manically turning pages so I could find out where Mr. Burke's dark tale would finally end up. The consequence of loving coming of age horror is that there is always that point in which the young characters we have fallen in love with, are faced with unspeakable tragedy or overwhelming, perilous odds, seemingly NOT in their favor...of course I would never spoil a reader's discovery here so I'll only say that this story checked all the right horror boxes--emotional, gripping, haunting and satisfying. I hope Kealan graces us with another coming of age story--this one certainly proves he's quite adept at it.