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ioannap_author 's review for:
My Throat an Open Grave
by Tori Bovalino
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
"My Throat An Open Grave" by Tori Bovalino is a YA horror/dark fantasy novel set in an ultra religious community, haunted by superstitions about the woods that surround them. Leah, a seventeen year old girl, falls victim to their beliefs.
The novel deals with various subjects, and, as Bovalino claimed herself in her acknowledgements, is directly linked thematically to recent political incidents. But you don't need to have any knowledge of them to read the book. It just adds an additional layer. It deals with issues of religious authorities, prejudices, family trauma, friendship, and bodily autonomy.
I was very quickly taken in by the premise of the book, and the whole wood lore and small town aesthetic was just perfect for me. I was also very quickly interested in Leah's family dynamic. Her mother’s lack of maternal affection, which Leah had lost to her new baby brother, Owen, the way Leah was continuously being displaced by said brother and their own difficult relationship.
The main plot begins when Leah loses Owen and is forced, like a combination of a sacrficial lamb and a repentant villain, to enter the forest and barter with the Lord of the Woods, Tristan, to reclaim her brother. Seemingly haunted by the past girls whose babies were taken by the Lord of the Woods - the bad ones - Leah is forced to see beneath the myth and superstition. And so is the reader. The book works on many levels with that element of uncovering the truth. Leah discovers that men and religion have taken advantage of the Lord of the Woods to escape the consequences of their actions, to continue villifying young women - espeically ones that don't follow the well set up path of the good girl they all pretend to want - and control their community. And of course, this control is reinforced because the entire town wants it to, because it is easier to feel good when you have scapegoat victims. The truth becomes irrelevant in the end.
Leah's body becomes the centrepiece for a lot of these plots. She is forced to give birth and then lie about her relationship with Owen, while her mother fulfils her dream of having another baby through Leah's body. She has to physically experience multiple women violently drowning, so the truth of their fates is revealed. She has to risk her body again to allow the ghosts to take their revenge on the pastor. Her body, her physical presence, remains a problem even after she has done all that. Only in the village where Tristan is, Leah's body is cared for. Only there, Leah is allowed to give in to her body's desire without the label of "the bad one."
All these issues around her body interplay with the other major themes. She sees her mistakes, which resulted in her pregnancy, through her body, and they cost Leah her mother and father. Her displacement within her family, literally being forced out of her room, is because of what her body did. I wish that the book delved into that more. I want to see a proper confrontation between Leah and her mother. I want to learn how her father reacted when he called, and neither his daughter nor his grandson/son was home. What did he say to his wife when she admitted that she sent their last remaining child into the forest to die? Because no girl ever returned. I hope Leah comes out of the woods and demands those answers, or maybe Owen does because he will grow up surrounded by rumours in a community that is not kind.
In contrast, her friendship with Jess shines so brightly because Leah's worth does not diminish to Jess after her pregnancy is revealed. Actually, Jess comes to save her and is able to understand Leah's cry for help, when Leah has no body for Jess to see, feel, or hear.
Finally, religion removes Leah's soul from her body in the way the Pastor treats her. She is meant to physically suffer because she strayed from the path. And even when she gains her salvation by bringing Owen back, they see her as just a body that needs to disappear. I thought a lot about this and why they wanted that for Leah. No man would be burdened if she and Owen returned. I think the most likely explanation is that they wanted to keep the prejudices vivid within their community. They gained more strength by no girl returning than by one coming back and having won her place back with the town. Then, they would have to practically exercise forgiveness. In the end, as we see, that is what most of the town seems to want as well. For Leah to vanish, instead of being a constant reminder that there is cruelty and corruption amid them. That their leaders were more corrupt than the girls they labelled evil, and so many girls and babies died for no real reason at all.
It plays beautifully against Tristan's worldview and rules. He takes only those who are given and is always willing to return the babies when the parent proves they deserve them back.
"My Throat An Open Grave" is a beautiful book filled with messages and a fascinating lore behind it. Perfect for fans of folk horror!
The novel deals with various subjects, and, as Bovalino claimed herself in her acknowledgements, is directly linked thematically to recent political incidents. But you don't need to have any knowledge of them to read the book. It just adds an additional layer. It deals with issues of religious authorities, prejudices, family trauma, friendship, and bodily autonomy.
I was very quickly taken in by the premise of the book, and the whole wood lore and small town aesthetic was just perfect for me. I was also very quickly interested in Leah's family dynamic. Her mother’s lack of maternal affection, which Leah had lost to her new baby brother, Owen, the way Leah was continuously being displaced by said brother and their own difficult relationship.
The main plot begins when Leah loses Owen and is forced, like a combination of a sacrficial lamb and a repentant villain, to enter the forest and barter with the Lord of the Woods, Tristan, to reclaim her brother. Seemingly haunted by the past girls whose babies were taken by the Lord of the Woods - the bad ones - Leah is forced to see beneath the myth and superstition. And so is the reader. The book works on many levels with that element of uncovering the truth. Leah discovers that men and religion have taken advantage of the Lord of the Woods to escape the consequences of their actions, to continue villifying young women - espeically ones that don't follow the well set up path of the good girl they all pretend to want - and control their community. And of course, this control is reinforced because the entire town wants it to, because it is easier to feel good when you have scapegoat victims. The truth becomes irrelevant in the end.
Leah's body becomes the centrepiece for a lot of these plots. She is forced to give birth and then lie about her relationship with Owen, while her mother fulfils her dream of having another baby through Leah's body. She has to physically experience multiple women violently drowning, so the truth of their fates is revealed. She has to risk her body again to allow the ghosts to take their revenge on the pastor. Her body, her physical presence, remains a problem even after she has done all that. Only in the village where Tristan is, Leah's body is cared for. Only there, Leah is allowed to give in to her body's desire without the label of "the bad one."
All these issues around her body interplay with the other major themes. She sees her mistakes, which resulted in her pregnancy, through her body, and they cost Leah her mother and father. Her displacement within her family, literally being forced out of her room, is because of what her body did. I wish that the book delved into that more. I want to see a proper confrontation between Leah and her mother. I want to learn how her father reacted when he called, and neither his daughter nor his grandson/son was home. What did he say to his wife when she admitted that she sent their last remaining child into the forest to die? Because no girl ever returned. I hope Leah comes out of the woods and demands those answers, or maybe Owen does because he will grow up surrounded by rumours in a community that is not kind.
In contrast, her friendship with Jess shines so brightly because Leah's worth does not diminish to Jess after her pregnancy is revealed. Actually, Jess comes to save her and is able to understand Leah's cry for help, when Leah has no body for Jess to see, feel, or hear.
Finally, religion removes Leah's soul from her body in the way the Pastor treats her. She is meant to physically suffer because she strayed from the path. And even when she gains her salvation by bringing Owen back, they see her as just a body that needs to disappear. I thought a lot about this and why they wanted that for Leah. No man would be burdened if she and Owen returned. I think the most likely explanation is that they wanted to keep the prejudices vivid within their community. They gained more strength by no girl returning than by one coming back and having won her place back with the town. Then, they would have to practically exercise forgiveness. In the end, as we see, that is what most of the town seems to want as well. For Leah to vanish, instead of being a constant reminder that there is cruelty and corruption amid them. That their leaders were more corrupt than the girls they labelled evil, and so many girls and babies died for no real reason at all.
It plays beautifully against Tristan's worldview and rules. He takes only those who are given and is always willing to return the babies when the parent proves they deserve them back.
"My Throat An Open Grave" is a beautiful book filled with messages and a fascinating lore behind it. Perfect for fans of folk horror!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Murder