Book Recommendation: Through the Woods by Emily Carroll

"Book Recommendations" will be a format for sharing any and all books - with some context regarding use in a library. Maybe. I might keep it to just the review in some cases. Either way, here's a review of Emily Carroll's Through the Woods.

Citation: Carroll, E. (2014). Through the Woods. Simon and Schuster. 

Summary: After showing this book to a colleague, they came up with a great way to describe this graphic novel; Colonial Gothic. Carroll’s work is not only beautiful and compelling, but it is couched in unease. The five stories in Through the Woods escort the reader through the sensation of being pulled “down, into the dark”, like Carroll imagined as a young child reading by a single lamp as a child. On the surface, this is a graphic novel filled with characters that are forced to confront something looking at them from a dark corner, or reappearing after being long gone, or unexpected dangers that prickle the back of your neck. A little deeper, and the reader finds that Carroll has a distinct way of establishing deadlines for her characters. Presenting a dire warning or strange sign, that we know is going to lead down into the dark. A friend, a brother, or kind neighbors are not what they seem – and everything doesn’t always turn out alright for the subjects of each story. At their core, these are moral tales – the dangers of independence, the destructive power of jealousy, and the loneliness that can permeate even the closest friendships. While I started reading Carroll’s work online, the paperback version accomplishes the same design mastery of scrolling down on a screen to the big reveal. She uses color sparingly, typically to emphasize the giant reds to indicate something amiss. She also uses deep blacks to create a sense of separation for the characters, as well as the reader, recreating that same feeling she had of being pulled into the dark. 

Genre: Most DEFINTIELY Horror  

Theme/Point: The main purpose of Carroll’s work is to entertain – but with a definite flavor of confronting established relationships and the dark that can sometimes overwhelm them. Her style prompts unease, a twist of a lens just ever so slightly to warp our perception and force us to look at things we initially saw as harmless or boring. 

Audience: I would say 12+ keeping in mind that the better students are able to visualize the more scared they might become! As with any horror book, I think helping students know what they’re getting into would be most helpful! 

Uses: It’s a beautiful book, and I think would fit well into any exhibit or collection focusing on urban myths and lore, as well as a general Halloween collection! Her character styles are also amazingly good, and could fit into an analysis of colonial attire and design as well!