Fast read due to book length and fast paced story. Definitely an engaging YA book with a complex focus on deep topics.

An incredible and compelling story worth a read. Excellent mental health rep and rep of a positive relationship. Heartbreaking and poignant.

The Wicker King by Kayla Ancrum blew me away and I am still processing it! Wow, an interesting, twisted story about two teen boys, their acquaintances, family lives and their long-lasting friendship. The relationship between the young men becomes increasingly unhealthy and worries their friends, who try to help them. Things get worse before anything changes and authorities intervene. Food for thought in so many ways, 4 stars!

Dark, unique story. I was intrigued from the very beginning, and this story kept getting darker the more it progressed. It made my hair stand on end, and I wasn't sure where it was going to lead to. The writing was beautiful and haunting. The short chapters were initially somewhat abrupt, but as I got more used to them it made sense for the book to be written this way.
This was an interesting depiction of mental health, and showed an interested perspective in which the character is aware of mental health issues. I think this is a book I might have to read more than once to fully appreciate the richness of the story. This was definitely an emotional rollercoaster of a read.

3.5 stars

I pretty much have no idea what I just read and I liked it.

August and Jack are interesting characters. They have sort of a toxic relationship that is rooted in a history of absentee parents. They find themselves together all the time and there some serious co-dependency.

Plot wise...yeah I don’t even know. It was weird and at some parts boring and I had my WITAF face on the entire time. And yet, I was captivated. The last third of the book took a turn I wasn’t expecting and I definitely wanted a bit more from the ending.

Overall, it was an intriguing story and I look forward to seeing what K. comes up with next.

**Huge thanks to Imprint for providing the arc free of charge**

I WAS NOT PREPARED FOR THIS BOOK. It was so much more than I expected. The mental health stuff is both magical and terrifying. You can see what’s wrong, but you are so inside of the boys’ heads that you get wrapped up in their world and their decisions too.

Highly recommended if you like the following:
- Boys Having Emotions And Not Understanding Them
- INTENSE PINING
- slow build romance
- weirdly codependent friendships
- mental health feels
- lots of longing touches
- being Messed Up not meaning you can’t be okay in the end

Also, it’s gorgeous. And the author’s note is perfect.

I DNF'd this for now because the author has said that things have changed from the arc to the printed form, and I want to read it as it is in the finished copy instead of what I have. I'll come back and update this review once I've acquired/read the finished copy. This is a really interesting book and I can't wait to see the finished version!

I was really excited for this book, unfortunately I ended up putting it down. The writing style just wasn’t for me and due to that reason, I found it hard to get into the story.

It's hard to pinpoint what I liked the most about The Wicker King. I really enjoyed the writing style - brief chapters, odd & alternating perspectives, time shifts, and unreliable narration. Some readers might find this off-putting, but it's like catnip to me. I love it! The mixed format with drawings, photographs, and other memorabilia kept things interesting as well. I appreciated the fact that these additions actually helped to advance the narrative, they weren't merely arbitrary add-ons.

I must admit that I fell hard for the two MCs here. Similar to the way I felt about the characters in Charm and Strange and Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock, August and Jack were compelling to read about and I was invested in their story. Frankly, I was worried for these boys. The portrait Ancrum painted of co-dependency was powerful and unsettling.

Full of edgy visions and dark prophecy, this book will have you turning pages late into the night. Loved the interplay between the characters and the eerie storyline. Must read.

Young adult novel, firs novel of K. Ancrum, The Wicker King got my attention  on Netgalley thanks to the blurb and the dashing cover. But my expectations and while-reading feelings were crushed. 

I read there and there that this might have been a thriller, some kind of mystery young adult with mental illness. But  I prefer to define it a normal contemporary, even if bit strange. First of all, it's because of the book itself. Its structure is strange and particular, with medical and police files, really short chapters that flew page after page. This way of organizing a book is particular, a bit "not so amazing" at the start, but I arrived in no time at the end of the novel. So, it was pleasant to read but at the same time I felt like I didn't read that much. But the book is actually quite big.

This super fast reading provide me also a bit of problems with Jack and August. I felt like I only got a glimpse of them and not all the important details. At the same time I could see the bon between the two friends - intimate, strong, emotional, even if not 100% sane. I managed to follow them and understand them, some of their acts, even why August choose the most wrong way to help Jack. I saw it all, yet there was nothing good in their action... since they managed to hurt themself more and more. 

I didn't see any attempt to romanticized mental illness or try to abilist in any way, which was great. Least great was how I had difficult to grasp Jack's life. Not because I didn't feel him, but the main topic... I had the impression that was handled like one of the many details of the story and not one of the most important one. In fact, in the end, I think that it wasn't about Jack's condition, but the way the two boys connected with each other.

There was also a big of about the queerness of Jack and August. Personally, I don't feel this book as a queerbait, since I had the strong impression that August feeling were real and yet a bit still in the questioning phase. And I think that's pretty normal. At least, I related to the "questioning", but the rep in this book isn't related to my identity, so I cannot really judge.

In the end, The Wicker King left me with a huge amount of MIXED FEELINGS. As I already stated,  some things miss to me and others are there but I could not grasp anything in particular. Yet it was a really interesting read and I will surely read other book by K. Ancrum.

4 Stars 

The Wicker King is a lush tale of co-dependence, magic, and how far you would go for someone you love. 

Like August, we're slowly introduced to the world of the Wicker King. The world itself is lush and confusing, a fantasy version of the past living unseen over top of ours. I was disappointed we never really went there or explored much of it. 

The extremely short chapters helped the pacing and tone of the novel. The more Jack sees of the other world, the less time August has to help him and figure out what the hell is really going on. The shorter chapters really highlight the urgency and help you really glean the gravity of the situation. 

The graphics and photos involved were perfect. They were never distracting and were always there to enhance the prose, not fill in what the prose couldn't do. 

I would consider this an LGBTQ+ book, even though no one labels themselves on page. It is hinted in the summary about their feelings so I feel confident in my categorization. 

The biggest thing I loved about Jack and August was how messy their relationship is. Honestly, they're a mess. Their homes lives suck. The romantic lives they have apart from each other are messy and complicated, filled with jealousy and confusion. In their own relationship, there's a power struggle. August himself admits it's probably borderline abusive. But humans are messy and so are our relationships. I'm not saying this a healthy relationship or one you should strive to have by any means, but it's so refreshing to saw an LGBTQ+ relationship that messy, raw, and real. To often it's a fairy tale, perfect ending or a devastatingly heartbreaking one. We're human beings too and it's okay to write us that way. 

Overall, this book should be on your TBR. What a better time to read it then the spooky, fall season?

Excellent young adult novel told from the perspectives of two young men. The novel focuses on mental illness and the strains that the condition causes in a friendship.

Thank you, Macmillan, for sending me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was my most anticipated release for fall and I was beyond excited to receive an ARC. I immediately started it and once I started I couldn't stop. The only thing that prevented me from actually finishing it in one siting was having to go to work, and as soon as I was home again I devoured the second half. This book was magical and intriguing and unlike anything I have ever read.

First off, I loved August. I loved his devotion and loyalty to Jack even if at times it was misguided. He did the things he did out of a fierce love for his friend, and even when there was no one in the world to protect him, and their world was spiraling out of control, he never stopped trying to protect Jack. And even if his and Jack's relationship was at times unhealthy I couldn't help but root for them.

And then there was Jack. For anyone that has read Nora Sakavic's All for the Game series, there were several times when Jack's controlling demeanor reminded me of Andrew Minyard (whom I love). And his rapidly unraveling mental health and grasp on reality was both interesting and terrifying. I was constantly worried about what would happen and sometimes it felt like you were falling into his mad world of kings and magic and terrifying creatures.

Also, the writing in this was beautiful. It was simple, and elegant and straightforward, all of which I love. I'm going to share my favorite quote, and it may be <i>mildly</i> spoilery, so feel free to skip it if you want, but it's beautiful so you should probably read it.

"Jack curled around him, pressing their foreheads together in sorrow. They breathed the same air. So close but not touching. Never touching. Through the haze, August wondered if Jack could taste the remnants of stardust he'd brought back with him from the edge of death."

I don't know if that is just my slightly obsessive love of stars, but I reread that part at least ten times because it's beautiful and I love it so much.

Lastly, I LOVED the format of this book! I don't know about you, but short chapters give me life, and this book was the epitome of short chapters. I don't think any chapter was over three pages long, and most of them consisted of only a page. So basically, it was heaven. And interspersed throughout the whole book were pictures and sketches which I adored. I can't wait until my pre-order arrives so I can actually see all the ones I missed in the ARC!

Eerie, mesmerizing, and confusing. I love that the pages literally get dark with the descent into madness. The mental health and codependent relationships are fully fraught with tension, madness, and love. Excellent characterizations but the end is just... wanting. Still not quite sure what I think about this one.

Love this book. Will appeal.to young men, and.would be great for discussion groups.

An interesting book with complex relationships and dark themes. It has a very unique style, with very short "chapters", each one with a title. I wasn't a big fan of this in the beginning but eventually I got used to it. The pictures added a nice perspective too, making it easier to get the whole thing. My only complaint was that the ending felt a bit anticlimactic, but it was overall a nice solid work and I'm sure it will captivate a lot of people.