Book Review: Boys in the Valley by Philip Fracassi
ARC provided by the publisher—Orbit Books—in exchange for an honest review.
Boys in the Valley by Philip Fracassi
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
Series: Standalone
Genre: Horror
Word Count: 91,000 words
Pages: 352 pages (Paperback edition)
Published: 11th July 2023 by Tor Nightfire (US) & 13th July 2023 by Orbit Books (UK)
Well, Boys in the Valley was so good. It was surprisingly so good.
“All of life is a great gift,” he says. “Not because of what it gives us, but because of what it allows us to give others.”
I read a horror novel probably once or twice a year. That is not to say I don’t like reading the genre, as I do read plenty of horror manga, but my preference tends to lean toward fantasy, sci-fi, and historical fiction novels more than horror novels. But I’m determined to read at least one horror novel every year, and this year, due to the unmissable praises for Boys in the Valley I saw online, I decided to pick it as my horror read. Horror reviewers and authors such as the like of legendary Stephen King highly praised it, and wow… I never read any book by Fracassi before, and Boys in the Valley might become the biggest pleasant surprise of the year for me.
“The harder you fight to join the path of your choosing, the more the decision will resonate within you.”
When I read Boys in the Valley, I didn’t know anything about the content of it. Literally nothing. And I do believe my reading experience was improved because of that. If you want more details regarding its premise, I recommend you check out the official blurb on Goodreads or Amazon. But to give you a minimum pitch, several readers have mentioned this is Lord of the Flies meet The Exorcist with a dose of Midnight Mass, and I think that is an accurate comparison. It did not take long for me to feel the oozing and ominous atmosphere from the narrative, and the story took a darker turn with each page turned. Mark my words. Boys in the Valley is intense, gory, and brutal. But in my opinion, what made it stand out is how the themes of hope strive to shine through all the darkness. I am not what you would call a religious person. However, I can totally understand the power and necessity of faith and the irreplaceable strength it can bring to many people. I think these themes were reflected wonderfully without ever feeling like it was preaching, and I loved that.
“Frederick Douglass once wrote, ‘The soul that is within me no man can degrade.’ Now, I’m shifting the context a bit. He wasn’t referring to a life in Christ, but he was talking about the power of humanity, about rising above the oppression of those who had forced him into slavery. And he was talking, I believe, about being true to himself, to the man he was at his core… I’d like to think his statement applies here, as well. What I’m trying to express, Peter, is that whatever you decide to do with your life, you must have faith that your soul will always remain your own. It cannot be degraded, not if you stay true to yourself.”
Fracassi’s way of keeping the tension running was incredible. The first 100 pages were pulse-pounding at the right moments, but once we moved past the 100-page mark, it was a non-stop thrill and chaos to the end. I never felt bored reading Boys in the Valley. If anything, I wanted more pages out of it. Due to my constant exposure to reading fantasy and sci-fi tomes, I did feel Boys in the Valley was slightly too short, and the concluding sequence was a bit too soon, but these are just minor issues due to my own preference. And it needs to be mentioned the horror and terrifying aspect of the circumstances certainly never felt diminished. They actually felt more genuine because Fracassi always remembered to make sure the fear and stressful moments the characters felt were palpable and also relatable to his readers. When you see someone so mentally strong break down in tears, it is not a pleasant thing to witness because you will know just how stressful and tenuous the pain and pressure the individual endured. And Fracassi explained it so well and simply here:
“To see him so visibly, dramatically shaken is like seeing an adult cry for the first time. Seeing someone—someone you had thought unbreakable—splinter and crack. I still recall the first time I saw my mother cry. It was the first time in my life I felt truly exposed. Truly at risk. Because if our parents can be hurt, or shaken, or brought down by despair, what hope have we?”
Considering that Boys in the Valley is a horror novel, I expected a bloody, creepy, and unnerving atmosphere conjured from the text, and in these, Fracassi succeeded. What I didn’t expect, however, was how fast I became invested in the characters. Peter, David, Father Andrew, Brother Johnson, Father Poole, and all the other characters were well-written characters. Note that I didn’t say they’re all likable. But well-written characters don’t mean they have to be lovable. Some characters can be well-written even though they exist to serve the purpose of being hated by readers. But rest assured, it is not difficult to like Peter’s mentorship under Andrew, his friendship with David, or his innocent crush toward the only woman in the novel: Grace. It is precisely because of how quickly I felt invested in the character’s journey that the horror and intensity felt more terrifying. I kept turning the pages to find out how Peter and the other protagonists would rise and survive their ordeals, and I was not disappointed by what I read.
“First of all… be careful you don’t confuse evil with despair. One reason tragedy exists is to teach us how to help others, help others learn how to find a way through their own dark time, through a journey of growth. As a priest, you must always be in the light, Peter. You must find courage inside yourself when you feel there is none. It is in these darkest moments that you will discover your true self. When you do that, when you discover this new you through life’s most difficult trials, only then will you find salvation. Only then will you lead others to that same salvation, guide them safely along their own dark paths.”
Whether you are a fan of the horror genre or not, I believe Boys in the Valley by Philip Fracassi is absolutely worth the read if you are in the reading mood for an unputdownable, scary, and tension-filled standalone novel. It is not a surprise now why so many horror writers and reviewers praised the hell out of this book, and I think it’s only a matter of time before Boys in the Valley became more popular. And yes, this novel would work so well being adapted into a horror movie or a one-season mini-series. I can definitely see it happening someday, and Fracassi deserved it.
“I like to hope that, ultimately, these tests of character will strengthen us, versus weaken; that these storms of conflict, of struggle, will brighten our inner light and make us beacons to those in need, and not darken our minds, hurl us into madness and despair, lead us to defeat and certain death.”
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