Will I love And the Trees Crept In?

The first time I read this book, I was blown away by how twisty and creepy it was.

Silla is a wonderfully complex heroine. Is she paranoid, or is the manor really cursed? How much is she imagining and how much is real? Every time I thought I knew where the book was going, I was wrong. It just gets weirder and more unsettling as the book progresses.

As I read it, I just kept thinking that things didn’t make sense. But it was so compelling that I couldn’t stop, even when I was very confused. The ending pulls it… show more.

Though this book is not quite in the same vein as the others, I had to add it for its ghostly, atmospheric feel. There’s something wrong with these woods and this house. Is it a family curse? A haunting? Or something far more sinister? I love a book that makes me feel something and really takes me out of the real world while I’m reading it. And this one did just that.

Hoping for a better life, Silla and her little sister Nori escape their abusive childhood home and journey to their aunt’s eccentric mansion, ensconced in a cloyingly dark forest. But despite their Aunt Cath’s warm, maternal welcome, something isn’t quite right at La Baume. The looming trees seem to draw closer every day, Nori’s new imaginary friend is a strange, faceless man in the woods, and Aunt Cath’s quirky, odd behavior quickly devolves into madness. Not to mention that strange creeaaking night and day, that sets Silla’s teeth (and nerves) on edge. This was my most recent read, which… show more.

This is almost a novel in verse; the way it’s written is beautiful and haunting and just slightly off-center in the best way. The chapter titles alone read like poetry. Silla and her sister Nori move to their ancestral home–a house the color of blood, set in the midst of dark woods–to escape abuse and war, but they quickly realize the horror they’ve left behind is nothing compared to what lives in the trees. This gothic read gets more and more claustrophobic, drawing you into the house and the way it changes its occupants as the forest closes in around… show more.