Book Review: And the Trees Crept in By Dawn Kurtagich

Goodreads Summary: When Silla and Nori arrive at their aunt's home, it's immediately clear that the "blood manor" is cursed. The creaking of the house and the stillness of the woods surrounding them would be enough of a sign, but there are secrets too--the questions that Silla can't ignore: Who is the beautiful boy that's appeared from the woods? Who is the man that her little sister sees, but no one else? And why does it seem that, ever since they arrived, the trees have been creeping closer?


Filled with just as many twists and turns as The Dead House, and with achingly beautiful, chilling language that delivers haunting scenes, AND THE TREES CREPT IN is the perfect follow-up novel for master horror writer Dawn Kurtagich.

I don't know what it was about this book that kept me reading it even though I was confused most of the time. The writing was good but for the majority of the story I was confused and had so many questions the further I got. 

Silla and Nori arrive at their aunts home to get away from a horrible life they had in London with their parents. Their aunt, Catherine, lives in a manor called La Baume. They feel that this life will be better for them even though their mother hardly ever talks about the manor and their aunt. Catherine welcomes them with open arms and becomes what the girls need as a "mother figure" . For once Silla and Nori can live a normal life. After a while things start to change. Their aunt is getting paranoid of the girls going into the woods. She becomes distant and sometimes off. Sill start to realize that the house is haunted and that her aunt might not be as crazy she she was led to believe.

I did have a nice time reading this story. It was a good physiological thriller. It was haunting, suspenseful, and weird. I had so many questions the more I got into to the book! It had a slow start and with the questions I had it was frustrating. I especially had a lot of questions about Gowan. Who was he? How can he go back and forth through the woods and nothing bad happens? How come he is the only human present outside of Silla, Nori, and Catherine? 

The writing was good. I think that is what made me push on with reading. It was written with diary entries so we could get a couple of glimpse inside Nori and Catherine's head. 

The ending remedied the slow beginning and questions. I was about 50 pages toward the end and I was worried it wasn't going to end right. The ending was really good and it summed up everything perfectly. This is a good time reading a story like this with fall approaching and Halloween .

Rating 3.5 Stars