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orpheusapologist 's review for:
The Dark We Know
by Wen-yi Lee
Wen-yi Lee said her inspirations for this book were her love for the Deaf West production of Spring Awakening and the Taylor Swift lyric "are there still beautiful things?" And having now read this book, yeah. Those were her inspirations.
I have to be honest--I don't really care for Spring Awakening, but I do like that Taylor Swift lyric, and I loved this book. It is exactly the kind of horror I love--queer, more emotional than scary, the haunting is real but also a metaphor--and exactly the kind of retelling I have the best luck with--queer, inspired by something I have enough familiarity with to recognize the references but not so much love for that I get frustrated when the author's interpretation of something is different than mine. (Yes, this isn't technically a retelling, but like. It's definitely fanfiction, and I mean that as a compliment, or at least a neutral statement. I am a fanfiction defender until the day I die)
First of all, I loved the writing. There were so many quotes I wanted to underline because they hit me so hard, and so many others that were just beautiful. The ending was just passages upon passages I wanted seared into my soul.
The characters were just as lovely. Isa, the protagonist, is exactly the kind of YA protagonist I want to see more of--angry queer teenage girl who is doing her best and doesn't always manage it, but who keeps trying. I say again--the ending.
While I keep making references to it, I don't want to go in depth about the ending. However, what I will say is I loved how this book managed to balance the desire to extend sympathy and forgiveness while also making it clear that sympathy is not always enough to actually earn forgiveness. That was present throughout the book, but particularly by the end.
This book was so, so beautiful, and I'm glad I read it.
I have to be honest--I don't really care for Spring Awakening, but I do like that Taylor Swift lyric, and I loved this book. It is exactly the kind of horror I love--queer, more emotional than scary, the haunting is real but also a metaphor--and exactly the kind of retelling I have the best luck with--queer, inspired by something I have enough familiarity with to recognize the references but not so much love for that I get frustrated when the author's interpretation of something is different than mine. (Yes, this isn't technically a retelling, but like. It's definitely fanfiction, and I mean that as a compliment, or at least a neutral statement. I am a fanfiction defender until the day I die)
First of all, I loved the writing. There were so many quotes I wanted to underline because they hit me so hard, and so many others that were just beautiful. The ending was just passages upon passages I wanted seared into my soul.
The characters were just as lovely. Isa, the protagonist, is exactly the kind of YA protagonist I want to see more of--angry queer teenage girl who is doing her best and doesn't always manage it, but who keeps trying. I say again--the ending.
While I keep making references to it, I don't want to go in depth about the ending. However, what I will say is I loved how this book managed to balance the desire to extend sympathy and forgiveness while also making it clear that sympathy is not always enough to actually earn forgiveness. That was present throughout the book, but particularly by the end.
This book was so, so beautiful, and I'm glad I read it.