Isadora Chang left home two years ago. She grew up in a depressing little mining town in the middle of nowhere, but after two of her friends committed suicide, she fled. She fled the deaths that had plagued the town for decades. She fled the mother who wouldn’t talk to her and the father who abused her. She thought she’d escaped, that art school had gotten her out for good. But even that has turned out to be a nasty thing. She’s so broke she sleeps on the couch at her part-time job, and she’s in danger of failing her art degree if she can’t finish her portfolio. The thing is, she actually finished it, she just can’t remember it. Her pieces are horror shows, all twisted figures in grotesque positions, people from home dying in horrific ways. And then her own father dies. And then Isa has to go back to Slater. And then everything gets worse.
At home, her mother is out of control and has sealed all the windows, and her older sister Trish is sleepwalking more than ever. Slater is ruled by the Vandersteen family, who co-founded the town and now run the local clinic, fund pretty much everything, and always get their way. Two years ago, Isa was friends with Mason, Wren, and Zach. When Mason was blamed for Wren’s death, Isa wasn’t there to help him. Now he’s here, begging her to listen when he says a monstrous spirit is killing children and only the two of them can do something about it. Because he’s not wrong. Their shared trauma connects them not only to each other, but to the darkness at the heart of Slater. And that darkness has its sights set on Isa.
We are in a truly golden age of young adult horror right now, and it takes a lot to stand out from the crowd. You need an interesting premise, compelling characters, and a strong sense of craft. Wen-yi Lee handles all three well. We don’t get much small-town horror in young adult books, real a small town, not just a suburb or a small city. Lee set The darkness we know in a dried-up mining town in the middle of winter, when everything is cold and desolate and dead. Slater is the kind of place where everyone meddles in each other’s affairs and the only places to be are the local diner and the woods. The plot unfolds slowly (perhaps a little to slowly) before it increases in intensity and passion until it becomes addictive. Even if I am not convinced by the fluff used to explain what is actually happening in the city, the confrontations with the monstrous creature are entertaining and terrifying.
Buy book
The darkness we know
The darkness we know
Buy this book from:
As for the characters, some work better than others. Isa is a rich tapestry of nuance and frustration. She tries so hard to stop being the person she was when she left Slater that she doesn’t know who she is when she finally returns. She disowns her friends and family because she thinks they (and she) deserve it, only to realize how wrong she was. I liked how Lee allowed her to confront her abusive childhood and everything her father took from her, while also trying to build something new out of all the rubble. There are a lot of teens who need to see someone else walk this path to help them on their own path. Mason also has a troubled past that he’s trying to work through. He’s learning where the line is between rebellion and troublemaking, and how he feels about the new identities he’s discovering within himself. Trish, Otto Vandersteen, and Isa’s mother are less developed, which is to their detriment. Others are important to the plot but are completely forgettable as characters. Because they are so underdeveloped, they seem more like plot devices than people.
One thing that pleasantly surprised me was the lack of romance. Although relationships take place in the background—Isa had a failed date at art school, Mason dated Wren and kissed someone else—romance is not a subplot. In young adult fiction today, romance is ubiquitous. Romance is so prevalent that platonic relationships can seem like a rarity. I spent much of the novel waiting for the inevitable moment when Isa develops feelings for one of the supporting characters, but it never came. This is really a book about the two main characters having a platonic relationship! The power of friendship will save us all. It’s not that I don’t like romance in my novels, it’s more that it’s nice to have some variety. Teens need to know that they have the option to date outside of mandatory heterosexual social norms, but they also need to know that they don’t have to date at all and that they can actually just be friends with someone they might otherwise find attractive.
Wen-yi Lee The darkness we know is an emotional, atmospheric horror novel for young adults. Like the monster that haunts the town, this novel will have you in its clutches. Readers who enjoy social horror, small-town horror, and stories about queer teens confronting their traumas should pick up this gripping novel.
The darkness we know is published by Zando/Gillian Flynn Books.
