Skyla Arndt

Together We Rot has such a gorgeous cover, I knew I couldn't miss this YA gothic horror/romance debut. The story follows Wilhelmina Greene, an eighteen-year-old living in the isolated northern Michigan town of Pine Point, whose mother disappeared a year ago, and her former best friend Elwood Clarke whose family is fanatically religious and controlling. Wil is convinced that Elwood's family has something to do with her mother's disappearance.
After sneaking off to a party, Elwood comes home to overhear his father reveal a terrifying secret. Wil encounters Elwood fleeing through the woods in the night, and they decide to unite against the dark forces in their town.
Together We Rot is lyrically and compellingly written, the setting dark and atmospheric. The sensitive subjects of grief, alcoholism, religious cults and corruption are skillfully blended with a dark, riveting story of paranormal horror. This book would have benefited from being longer which would have allowed for more world building and explanation of the fantasy elements. I could not put it down.… (mais)

So boring. I read it because I wondered just how cliche the ending would be. What a forgettable ending. The synopsis makes this book seem far, far more action-packed than it actually is, with plenty of time for character study. Instead this is a whiny melodramatic romance with odd friendships. Ronnie squealing to Wil "I can explain!" after she walks in on Ronnie's ex-boyfriend collecting his clothes--melodrama. That is usually a phrase squawked from a cheating partner to the one who they cheated on, so the placement of it here was really weird. Like, I was unsettled. I wasn't connected to any of these characters. They were increasingly insufferable. The author tried to make them seem like deeper individuals than they actually were, and I was not convinced. The woods could have been scarier, but I'm not sure how. If the corpses reek so much, why haven't animals dug them up? The descriptions of weather were actually very nice and added to the story a lot. I dread being in that weather. I live in the PNW so it isn't a thing, but we occasionally get snow. The story was predictable in a lot of ways and I was...so annoyed. The book relies on body horror a lot, frequent insects, and claustrophobia. This is not a horror book. It's barely even a thriller. I felt bad for the author and that's rare. Maybe she'll write something I am more enthusiastic about. I wanted to like her..… (mais)

A nifty blend of mystery, religious fundamentalism running riot, and urban fantasy, all wrapped up in a story told from alternating viewpoints Wil Greene's mom vanished a year ago and ever since, finding her, or learning what happened to her has become an obsession. It's affected her grades, caused a huge break in any friendships she had, save for one, and has her in an ongoing battle with the local sheriff.
Elwood Clarke, her former best friend, is living a nightmare, but he's barely aware of its extent. When things start to crash and burn at home. it reunites them in an uneasy alliance that gets stronger the more they learn about Wil's mother's disappearance, and the ever-increasing insanity among worshipers attending the church where Elwood's father is the preacher. Read this and you'll be treated to scary events, sinister people, a most unusual forest and an unexpected ending. This is a fine tale for teens who like a gritty read.… (mais)