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A review by piperlee
The Wicker King by K. Ancrum
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
This book feels difficult to review. Maybe it’s one that I’ll have to mull over for a while before I really get a grasp on it. The book itself is dark and almost tragic, following the story of two teen boys, both neglected by their parents, who fall deeper and deeper into codependency and unhealthy patterns until everything seems to crash down around them.
I didn’t love the story itself or the writing style, but I still felt drawn to the book - I think because of how the author writes such complexity into the characters and their relationship. I expected the focus of the story to be on Jack’s hallucinations and how August helped him cope, but the story really centered on the nature of their friendship and how it evolved as Jack grew more and more lost in his own world.
As I read, I was worried that the author was romanticizing Jack’s mental illness and his unhealthy and borderline abusive relationship with August. But as I kept reading, I saw that the author was simply portraying the real consequences of neglect and codependency and allowing us to uncover the dark nature at the same pace as the characters. While difficult to read at some points, I found this creative writing style also drew me in.
For me, the best part was the author’s note at the end - without it, the book would have felt incomplete. In the note. K. Ankrum describes her intention in how she portrayed the characters and scenarios, highlighting the seriousness of neglect and the future relational damage it can create, as well as demonstrating how failure of other adult figures to address signs of need in students can only create more damage. I found the note really insightful and helped me to see the story in a different light.
Also! I loved the mixed media inclusions as well as how the pages changed color as Jack plunged deeper into his own world. Details like that are my fav.
I didn’t love the story itself or the writing style, but I still felt drawn to the book - I think because of how the author writes such complexity into the characters and their relationship. I expected the focus of the story to be on Jack’s hallucinations and how August helped him cope, but the story really centered on the nature of their friendship and how it evolved as Jack grew more and more lost in his own world.
As I read, I was worried that the author was romanticizing Jack’s mental illness and his unhealthy and borderline abusive relationship with August. But as I kept reading, I saw that the author was simply portraying the real consequences of neglect and codependency and allowing us to uncover the dark nature at the same pace as the characters. While difficult to read at some points, I found this creative writing style also drew me in.
For me, the best part was the author’s note at the end - without it, the book would have felt incomplete. In the note. K. Ankrum describes her intention in how she portrayed the characters and scenarios, highlighting the seriousness of neglect and the future relational damage it can create, as well as demonstrating how failure of other adult figures to address signs of need in students can only create more damage. I found the note really insightful and helped me to see the story in a different light.
Also! I loved the mixed media inclusions as well as how the pages changed color as Jack plunged deeper into his own world. Details like that are my fav.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Mental illness, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Child abuse and Forced institutionalization
Minor: Drug use, Homophobia, and Panic attacks/disorders