piercepd's review against another edition
3.0
This is an enjoyable enough tale. The writing style felt clunky all through & seemed overly simplistic until I realised it should have been filed as an older children's book in the shop. It's very much for the Robert Westell audience.
Enjoyable but not quite right for an adult reader.
Enjoyable but not quite right for an adult reader.
chrissireads's review
3.0
I immediately liked this book when it was described to me during a Reading Spa at Mr B’s Emporium in Bath. I have seen it being shelved as YA fiction, which confused me a little, as I definitely felt like Into The Trees had quite an adult feel to it. Nevertheless, YA or adult, Into The Trees is a decent read.
Into The Trees starts off in quite a fairy tale manner, which of course immediately appealed to me, I love my fairy tales. It starts with Harriet, a baby who only stops crying when she’s in the forest. It takes her parents Thomas and Ann a long time to work this out, but one night, by mistake Thomas is driven to despair when experiencing another night of crying. Thomas drives Harriet around determined to get her to sleep. He finds the woods and Harriet settles down. After a few experiences of this, Thomas and Ann make the decision to move to the forest. They convert a barn into a house and their sleep deprivation stops. There are also two more characters who share the narrative. There’s Raymond, a big man who is incredibly shy. He works at a farm near the barn. He also adores the woods. We’re also introduced to Keith, who isn’t the nicest man… A crime is committed and the book takes a sudden turn. It becomes quite a dark story.
I did enjoy reading this dark fairy tale-esque story, however, I wish more had been made of the why behind the woods soothing Harriet. I was waiting to find out why and I didn’t really get that. Into The Trees is still a good read though. It’s simply written and easy to follow. I just expected more from the intriguing beginning!
Into The Trees starts off in quite a fairy tale manner, which of course immediately appealed to me, I love my fairy tales. It starts with Harriet, a baby who only stops crying when she’s in the forest. It takes her parents Thomas and Ann a long time to work this out, but one night, by mistake Thomas is driven to despair when experiencing another night of crying. Thomas drives Harriet around determined to get her to sleep. He finds the woods and Harriet settles down. After a few experiences of this, Thomas and Ann make the decision to move to the forest. They convert a barn into a house and their sleep deprivation stops. There are also two more characters who share the narrative. There’s Raymond, a big man who is incredibly shy. He works at a farm near the barn. He also adores the woods. We’re also introduced to Keith, who isn’t the nicest man… A crime is committed and the book takes a sudden turn. It becomes quite a dark story.
I did enjoy reading this dark fairy tale-esque story, however, I wish more had been made of the why behind the woods soothing Harriet. I was waiting to find out why and I didn’t really get that. Into The Trees is still a good read though. It’s simply written and easy to follow. I just expected more from the intriguing beginning!
veelaughtland's review
3.0
This book definitely wasn't the thriller I was hoping it would be. It was more of a character study that touched on mental health and dealing with trauma. So I did still enjoy reading it, but I kind of felt like the author didn't really let us in enough with the characters. It felt like as a reader I was on the outside and so I never felt emotionally invested in what happened to the family. Coupled with an ending that felt quite lacklustre, this didn't really reach the heights I wanted. A decent page turner though for a book with such slow pacing.
bibliobethreads's review
3.0
Into The Trees came my way via the wonderful booksellers at Mr B's Emporium Of Reading Delights in Bath who recommended this novel (and sold it remarkably well!) in a reading spa that I attended with my sister, Chrissi Reads. It's been a little while now since we first heard about it so my memory had faded somewhat about why I was so excited to read it but then everything came flooding back as soon as I had read the first intriguing chapters. After a previously disappointing reading experience with a previous Mr B's recommendation, Hideous Creatures, I was so relieved to be pleasantly surprised by this novel. It's relatively slow paced so if you're a fan of non stop action in your plots, this may not be the book for you. There is one major, dramatic event which is pivotal to the characters in our story but apart from this, it's very much a methodical character study of how this event affects both the family in the book and those closest to them.
This is the tale of Ann and Thomas Norton whom when our story begins, are struggling with their new baby, Harriet. She refuses to sleep at night and our poor, severely sleep-deprived parents are really suffering with the exhaustion and physical, mental and emotional stress of it all. On a whim one night, Thomas drives Harriet into the forest and strangely enough, she stops crying. After repeating the experiment numerous times, the couple discover that it is only when Harriet is within the trees that she will sleep through the night. Of course, this is an answer to their prayers and they immediately sell their house and move to one within the forest so that they can all finally be happy. Unfortunately, their peace and happiness does not last for long when a terrible crime is committed against the family. The reverberations of this incident will haunt parents and children alike, especially Thomas who sinks into severe depression with the guilt of not being able to better protect his family and terrified that it could happen to them again.
I absolutely adored the opening chapters of this novel, which I also believe was its strongest part (and if it had carried on in this vein, there is no doubt I would be giving it a higher rating). The mystery behind why baby Harriet will not stop crying unless she is in the forest was almost fairy-tale in its execution and although we never find out exactly why the trees had such a calming effect on her I was fascinated to see how it would all turn out. I'm finding it quite hard to categorise this novel or pop it into a genre, I don't think it slots easily into a neat little box. There's parts of it that are almost fantastical but not quite, then there's the literary style of the author's writing and finally, the thriller portion where the family are attacked. The pace ebbs and flows, reaching a peak when the crime is committed and then slowly meandering down to a much more sedate narrative. I very much enjoyed the characterisation, particularly of Thomas and Thomas' new friend, quiet but soft-hearted Raymond.
Furthermore, the villain of the piece is wonderfully drawn, very easy to hate yet incredibly authentic to read. Think of the worst neighbour you've ever had (or heard about) and then imagine him written down as a character. He was very believable and I also appreciated his journey as a character, through self-loathing, greed and despair. As a reading experience, I definitely had an enjoyable time with this novel. There were parts that were stronger than others and the ending left me feeling slightly crestfallen, just wanting a bit more but it's certainly made me curious to check out some of the author's other works.
For my full review and many more, please visit my blog at http://www.bibliobeth.com
This is the tale of Ann and Thomas Norton whom when our story begins, are struggling with their new baby, Harriet. She refuses to sleep at night and our poor, severely sleep-deprived parents are really suffering with the exhaustion and physical, mental and emotional stress of it all. On a whim one night, Thomas drives Harriet into the forest and strangely enough, she stops crying. After repeating the experiment numerous times, the couple discover that it is only when Harriet is within the trees that she will sleep through the night. Of course, this is an answer to their prayers and they immediately sell their house and move to one within the forest so that they can all finally be happy. Unfortunately, their peace and happiness does not last for long when a terrible crime is committed against the family. The reverberations of this incident will haunt parents and children alike, especially Thomas who sinks into severe depression with the guilt of not being able to better protect his family and terrified that it could happen to them again.
I absolutely adored the opening chapters of this novel, which I also believe was its strongest part (and if it had carried on in this vein, there is no doubt I would be giving it a higher rating). The mystery behind why baby Harriet will not stop crying unless she is in the forest was almost fairy-tale in its execution and although we never find out exactly why the trees had such a calming effect on her I was fascinated to see how it would all turn out. I'm finding it quite hard to categorise this novel or pop it into a genre, I don't think it slots easily into a neat little box. There's parts of it that are almost fantastical but not quite, then there's the literary style of the author's writing and finally, the thriller portion where the family are attacked. The pace ebbs and flows, reaching a peak when the crime is committed and then slowly meandering down to a much more sedate narrative. I very much enjoyed the characterisation, particularly of Thomas and Thomas' new friend, quiet but soft-hearted Raymond.
Furthermore, the villain of the piece is wonderfully drawn, very easy to hate yet incredibly authentic to read. Think of the worst neighbour you've ever had (or heard about) and then imagine him written down as a character. He was very believable and I also appreciated his journey as a character, through self-loathing, greed and despair. As a reading experience, I definitely had an enjoyable time with this novel. There were parts that were stronger than others and the ending left me feeling slightly crestfallen, just wanting a bit more but it's certainly made me curious to check out some of the author's other works.
For my full review and many more, please visit my blog at http://www.bibliobeth.com
traceyvj's review
4.0
From the happenings at the opening of this book, I was expecting a very different sort of tale to what it turned out to be - some sort of dark fable, with perhaps a supernatural element - a changeling or two thrown in for good measure. However, in saying that, this book is well worth a read.
raychelbennet's review
1.0
I’m rewriting the tag line at the bottom of my copy: “a seriously misogynistic book by a seriously misogynistic author.”
This is one of those books where I don’t have a lot of words for how bad this is. The male characters of despicable (excluding Raymond, he’s an angel). They’re overtly sexist, violent, and aggressive. The plot doesn’t really make any sense. This could have been a great commentary on the effects of trauma on the mind and mental illness in general, but it was absolutely ruined by how awful Thomas and Keith are and there are absolutely no redeeming qualities. Ann, Harriet, and Raymond are the only good characters, and they’re why I would even give this one star.
This is one of those books where I don’t have a lot of words for how bad this is. The male characters of despicable (excluding Raymond, he’s an angel). They’re overtly sexist, violent, and aggressive. The plot doesn’t really make any sense. This could have been a great commentary on the effects of trauma on the mind and mental illness in general, but it was absolutely ruined by how awful Thomas and Keith are and there are absolutely no redeeming qualities. Ann, Harriet, and Raymond are the only good characters, and they’re why I would even give this one star.
watchingpreacher's review
3.0
I'll be honest; I thought this was going to be a magical realism novel. Maybe even a supernatural thriller. Instead, it's a look into the life, the hopes, dreams, thoughts and failures, of four characters and how they all relate to a house in the woods. There's nothing special about the house, except the people living there. There's nothing special about the woods; it could've been anywhere. But the setting informs the thoughts and lives of these characters, and it changes them in ways they didn't think they would.
The plot is decent and the characters are very well-drawn, while the prose is adequate. It was a fast read that I liked, with good characters and a nice story, but I don't think I'll remember it in a few months. One of those reads that didn't really make a big impact, but you don't regret having read it either.
The plot is decent and the characters are very well-drawn, while the prose is adequate. It was a fast read that I liked, with good characters and a nice story, but I don't think I'll remember it in a few months. One of those reads that didn't really make a big impact, but you don't regret having read it either.
mftaylor's review
3.0
This was a nice change of pace for me. Not a horror or thriller; but a nice, more realistic and not overly violent, family story. This book is very well written and the characters are great. Characters you really get invested in and wonder and worry about. This is a story of family and friendship. I really enjoyed it.
memydogandbooks's review
3.0
An enjoyable read, a page turner with interesting insight into a few key character's that play out this story. I'd probably check out another of Robert William's books and would recommend for a quick, enjoyable read.
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