theaceofpages's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
The book opens with a support group for the parents of dying children. They are told that their children are in a wonderful place called the "Paper Forest". When we meet these children, however, we quickly realise that this is actually a dark and dangerous ever-changing landscape filled with death and monsters.
This is an incredibly dark story and I definitely recommend it to those in the upper half of YA rather than younger YA readers. It deals with a lot of difficult themes. But wow is it beautifully written. It does start off a little slow maybe, but once you start to get the characters a little better you can really get immersed in their world. While some actions did feel like they were driven by plot, this nightmarish world of self-discovery when on the verge of death was definitely a memorable one! I'd definitely love to read more stories set in the Paper Forest and learn more about its (clearly extensive) history and inhabitants.
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. As always, all opinions are my own.
Some notes on some of the content warnings. All are individually spoilered.
Note: All the CWs center around children so please be careful if this bothers you
Child death:
Homophobia:
This is an incredibly dark story and I definitely recommend it to those in the upper half of YA rather than younger YA readers. It deals with a lot of difficult themes. But wow is it beautifully written. It does start off a little slow maybe, but once you start to get the characters a little better you can really get immersed in their world. While some actions did feel like they were driven by plot, this nightmarish world of self-discovery when on the verge of death was definitely a memorable one! I'd definitely love to read more stories set in the Paper Forest and learn more about its (clearly extensive) history and inhabitants.
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. As always, all opinions are my own.
Some notes on some of the content warnings. All are individually spoilered.
Spoiler
Note: All the CWs center around children so please be careful if this bothers you
Child death:
Spoiler
In addition to actual deaths, the story is about dying children and their dying states are discussed several times. There are also a lot of corpses in the forest.Homophobia:
Spoiler
One of the characters was told he's wrong by everyone in the real world to the point that he doubts his own sexuality
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and Mental illness
Moderate: Grief, Blood, Suicidal thoughts, Child abuse, Homophobia, Body horror, and Torture
Minor: Cancer, Drug abuse, Death of parent, and Terminal illness
tandewrites's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
Paper Forests' special edition is out now! Featuring new cover art illustrated by Ksenia Kholomeva, a short story, and some bonus scenes 🍂
This book is a love letter to my dreams: to fish-shaped constellations, fairytales with unhappy endings, and soft boys with bloody knuckles. It’s a love letter to the child in my memories who is still made of magic and monsters and would read fairytales under a chestnut tree. And, most of all, this book is a love letter to the Forest.
Please note that this book depicts issues of mental illness, fantasy violence, mentions of homophobia, self-harm ideation, blood, death, and gore. I have done my best to approach these topics with sensitivity, but if you feel this kind of content may be triggering for you, please be aware.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Blood, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
Moderate: Death, Murder, Torture, Body horror, Child death, Gore, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Drug abuse, Bullying, Cancer, Homophobia, Addiction, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Car accident, Suicidal thoughts, and Terminal illness
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