BOOK REVIEW: Of The Trees

“Only she can hear the deadly whisper of the trees.

High school seniors, Cassie and Laney, spend their days on ghost hunts, Laney trying to pull Cassie into belief. Cassie tolerates it for her best friend, but she doesn’t really believe … until the carnival comes to town.”

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Have I been reading the wrong genre all this time or was this book just utterly awesome? It wasn’t that it was written brilliantly or that the world was extraordinary or the characters were witty. It was the way E. M. Fitch took her very simple story and brought me along for the ride. Though we’re talking a thriller by genre, I didn’t feel my heart pounding uncomfortably outside my chest. I was curious – nay excited – to see where the story would go and I felt that she satisfyingly wrapped things up in the end and made no excuses for a non-traditional ending.

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It can’t be easy to write something that won’t be popularly accepted. I think that was why I loved Of The Trees so much – E. M. Fitch respected the story by giving it its proper ending instead of making things too neat and happy. It reminds me of the movie Stranger Than Fiction with Will Ferrell (not to give away the ending) but there was a crossroads in the film that E. M. Fitch faced too: to kill the darlings or not to kill the darlings. I feel that E. M. Fitch made the right choice in Of The Trees.

And some might complain that all wasn’t revealed in the end but to be honest, I actually liked that. It meant that after I’d finished the book there was something left to be pondered. It was a little mysterious, a little chilling even, but I think I’d prefer that than to have all the answers wrapped up in a neat little bow.

Also, I loved the main character, Cassie. She had a conscious but wasn’t pious. She followed the rules but wasn’t a prude. She looked out for her friends and loved ones. She was strong and brave. She was someone I could root for, someone who I aspire to be like. We need more young adult fiction with characters like Cassie!

Like I said, Of The Trees wasn’t brilliant literature or extraordinary world building or clever characters. It was a simple story. But simple doesn’t mean it was easy to write. I think E. M. Fitch weaved this story together perfectly. I loved every second of it and couldn’t recommend it enough.

Title: Of the Trees
Author: E. M. Fitch
Type: Fiction
Category: Fantasy thriller
Publisher: Month9Books
Publication Date: February 28, 2017
Edition: First Edition
Pages: 354
ISBN: 978-1944816612
Find it: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | TBD

 

 

five stars out of five

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