Scan barcode
A review by 0hfortheloveofbooks
The Girl Who Hid in the Trees by Steve Stred
4.0
First and foremost, I want to thank the author, Steve Stred, for sending me an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. The release date is set for 2/28/19.
The Girl Who Hid in the Trees is both a horror story centered around an urban legend and also a coming of age story. Is that even possible in just over 60 pages? Yes! Yes it is. Sweet Jason experiences death, grief, loss, love, and undying friendship; making this, without a doubt, a coming of age story. Along with Jason, I felt so many emotions throughout this short book and had so many outward reactions. I laughed out loud (then quickly had to tell my husband the joke because he was looking at me strangely), I cringed multiple times, I audibly gasped at one point (thankfully my husband had left the room by then. I hate explaining myself). The gruesome imagery Stred is able to create is both horrifying yet intricate and strangely beautiful. There were scenes that had this been a movie, I would have been watching through my fingers. These grisly scenes centered around the little girl and the urban legend; she was creepy, very very creepy, but mesmerizing.
I thoroughly enjoyed all the characters in this story. Every single one of them was fleshed out and well rounded which is a feat unto itself in such a limited number of pages. At the heart of all this tragedy, Jason and his friends were still teenage kids and they acted like it. I loved the 14 year old boy humor sprinkled throughout; it made them all feel more real and also gave a nice reprieve from the building tension.
I have so much more I could talk about but I really don't want to spoil it! The Girl Who Hid in the Trees is one of those books that you need to go in blind and just let the story devour you.
The Girl Who Hid in the Trees is both a horror story centered around an urban legend and also a coming of age story. Is that even possible in just over 60 pages? Yes! Yes it is. Sweet Jason experiences death, grief, loss, love, and undying friendship; making this, without a doubt, a coming of age story. Along with Jason, I felt so many emotions throughout this short book and had so many outward reactions. I laughed out loud (then quickly had to tell my husband the joke because he was looking at me strangely), I cringed multiple times, I audibly gasped at one point (thankfully my husband had left the room by then. I hate explaining myself). The gruesome imagery Stred is able to create is both horrifying yet intricate and strangely beautiful. There were scenes that had this been a movie, I would have been watching through my fingers. These grisly scenes centered around the little girl and the urban legend; she was creepy, very very creepy, but mesmerizing.
I thoroughly enjoyed all the characters in this story. Every single one of them was fleshed out and well rounded which is a feat unto itself in such a limited number of pages. At the heart of all this tragedy, Jason and his friends were still teenage kids and they acted like it. I loved the 14 year old boy humor sprinkled throughout; it made them all feel more real and also gave a nice reprieve from the building tension.
I have so much more I could talk about but I really don't want to spoil it! The Girl Who Hid in the Trees is one of those books that you need to go in blind and just let the story devour you.