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todor 's review for:
Boys In the Valley
by Philip Fracassi
This one was a struggle to finish. The narrative constantly shifts between first and third person POV, and the main character thinks and acts way too mature for a sixteen-year-old boy, to the point of being unrealistic, while all other characters are one-note. There is much drama revolving around becoming a priest and leaving earthly pleasures behind, supposedly for the sake of character development. Fracassi's writing is beautiful, yet it feels like he's trying too hard to come up with a deep coming-of-age story in a setting that doesn't allow him to do so.
The horror sections aren't much better. You can't tell whether the boys are possessed or not because they all act like little brats all the time. The demonic force never feels especially threatening; you just know it's going to end with the predictable "The power of Christ compels you," and the book doesn't disappoint in its lack of originality.
"Boys in the Valley" is an okay book, as long as you don't expect anything other than an average religious horror story. The tons of five-star reviews this is getting can make it seem like it's some kind of horror masterpiece. It definitely isn't.
The horror sections aren't much better. You can't tell whether the boys are possessed or not because they all act like little brats all the time. The demonic force never feels especially threatening; you just know it's going to end with the predictable "The power of Christ compels you," and the book doesn't disappoint in its lack of originality.
"Boys in the Valley" is an okay book, as long as you don't expect anything other than an average religious horror story. The tons of five-star reviews this is getting can make it seem like it's some kind of horror masterpiece. It definitely isn't.