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A review by drewchebaggery
Boys In the Valley by Philip Fracassi
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Boys in the Valley is an engaging, fast-paced horror novel. It could be described as a combination of Lord of the Flies, The Exorcist, and The Stand or Swan Song. If you can stomach some heavy good versus evil themes with children in an orphanage making up the bulk of the characters, then you will enjoy this novel. Fair warning, the novel contains a lot of horror and brutality which the boys experience, so if childhood trauma is a trigger for you, then you probably want to skip this one.
Prior to reading this, I had read A Child Alone with Strangers by Fracassi. While I also enjoyed that novel, this was a much shorter read at around 300 pages and I felt like the pacing of the horror in this novel worked better. Additionally, the horror elements were more intense in my opinion because the cast of characters are predominately youth. If you’ve ever attended Catholic school, this one might also resonate with you. I’ll definitely be reading more of Fracassi’s works because this was one of my favorite horror novels I have read so far this year.
Prior to reading this, I had read A Child Alone with Strangers by Fracassi. While I also enjoyed that novel, this was a much shorter read at around 300 pages and I felt like the pacing of the horror in this novel worked better. Additionally, the horror elements were more intense in my opinion because the cast of characters are predominately youth. If you’ve ever attended Catholic school, this one might also resonate with you. I’ll definitely be reading more of Fracassi’s works because this was one of my favorite horror novels I have read so far this year.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, and Animal death