Regent Academy had a long and storied history in the small town of Winslow, Vermont. But so does the vast forest that surrounds its campus. While the school is known for molding teens into world leaders, its past is far more nefarious–and even more entangled with the forest–than anyone would suspect.

I loved this book, and it broke my heart just a little. Very strong start, complex and believable characters, brilliant premise, I couldn’t put it down. Halfway through we were cruising to a 5-star review and, probably, awards.

I was left with a sense of disappointment not because of flaws but because of an unfulfilled promise. The elements of power, generational curses, evil done centuries ago and undone or atoned for in unexpected ways, inventive monsters, heroes with magic and heroes with scythes, teenagers falling in love, a gay Black protagonist in elite white spaces caught up in forces far over his head and warring factions with ancient power he only comes to understand toward the end of the story. It’s wonderful! Out of grief and dashed hopes I cry out: Land the plane!

Here’s the problem: The plot is clever enough and the messages of the plot are subtle enough that if the third act had been 25 pages shorter it would’ve been perfect. Another round of editing would have made this book an absolute masterpiece.

The love story is quite well done, the monsters devilishly drawn, and the sense of hatred and anger running out of control is cunning and subtle. The forest speaks to me almost as clearly as it speaks to Douglas. I read this shortly after a trip to Vermont, and descriptions of the town of Melrose and the elite architecture of the school are spot on.

It just felt like, in the final push where Douglas ushers forth into the heart of the forest to confront the evil powers, there’s a sense of urgency in the narrative but the writing makes it feel like they’re running through maple syrup. Have you ever watched a movie where there’s a ton of action but gratuitous use of slow-mo and close-ups on ultimately pointless details (looking at you, Hobbit movies)? This is the weakness of the back half of this book.

If someone had ruthlessly hacked away at the third act the way Emma and Everett hack at the monsters of the forest, we’d be talking about awards. Movies. If you’re a screenwriter looking to snap up a blockbuster, buy this book and bring it to the screen. I’ll be first in line to see it. I’ll also be pre-ordering Jackson’s next book.
– Matt Gill