And the Trees Stare Back

Gr 9 Up–This folkloric fantasy veers into horror and interweaves elements of science fiction extrapolated from secret Soviet science. It is 1989, and in a small Estonian village at the edge of the Soviet Union, 16-year-old Viktoria is haunted by the disappearance of her little sister. Anna was snatched by Soovana, a bog spirit that steals children with terrifying regularity. Then Anna reappears, seemingly the same age that she was five years ago, and Viktoria sets off on a search for answers that tests her beliefs to the core. This story has enough twists to surprise and shock regular readers of the genre. The climactic sequence also integrates historical events wherein Estonia began its peaceful process of liberation from the Soviet Union through a human chain of two million people and shared song. Lovers of folk horror will also be relieved to know that things do go bump in the night. Yet certain aspects could be stronger, such as incorporating the Estonian language—why call the fathers “Da” and not “Isa” and mothers “Mama” and not “Ema”? The villagers outside of Viktoria’s family are rather undifferentiated, fluctuating between scorning Viktoria’s folk beliefs and burning down the house of a suspected witch. Nevertheless, for teens seeking thrills, this book will keep them up at night; those seeking to learn about an inspiring historical moment of resistance to totalitarianism will also gain something.