A book that wavers throughout, what begins as a stand-out specimen of body horror that would make Cronenberg proud swiftly devolves into a meandering YA dark fantasy. ( )

Review Courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales

Quick & Dirty: This dark fantasy is filled with depth and founded on a thought provoking premise of human will and agency in a world where two fantastical species are at war.

Opening Sentence: Evan sat on his bed with his back against the pillow.

The Review:

Evan’s transformation to his Wuftoom self is painful both for him and the reader. Thompson’s descriptions are chilling and at times nauseating, I needed about twenty pages to get used to it. Membrane is growing over Evan’s body, changing him into one of the Wuftoom, disturbing worm-like creatures. But as he’s transforming in the dark master bedroom of his home the Vitflies come and visit.

The Vitflies and Wuftoom are at war. To bribe him, the Vitflies offer Evan an escape from his blackened room and sickened body. They let him enter/possess the body of students at school. A school he might be able to go to if he wasn’t so sick. Eventually, through a painful process, Evan completes his transformation. Even though his body is like the Wuftooms, his mind manages to stay mostly human. He clings to his memories of his human mother. But if he wants to survive as a Wuftoom, the elders tell him he has to let go.

Evan made one mistake, one anybody could have made, and his life is ruined because of it. He goes underground with the Wuftoom and begins to train for war with his new family members. But Evan’s different from the other Wuftoom because of his human connections. So now he’s forced to choose between his new race or give in to the Vitflies blackmail and save his mother.

The writing style here is incredibly gripping. The reader is thrown into the darkness with Evan. His pain, his metamorphosis, and his internal conflict are all close to the surface. It’s so real, creative, and original I never once had any trouble accepting these new species of Wuftoom, Vitflies, or Higgers. Evan’s world is tragic and built with such precision that the reader feels everything closely. My favorite character in the book is probably Olen, the old Wuftoom, who talks to Evan about his new life.

The ending was a little convenient in my opinion, but it didn’t detract from the arc of the story or its many deep themes. The plot was gripping. In some cases, you need a strong stomach as Evan’s metamorphosis and the world of the Wuftoom isn’t a pretty one.

As far as recommending this book, I found it a really thought-provoking read that needs a strong reader to get through. The graphic descriptions are chilling and at times overwhelming as Evan’s world transforms into a dark fantasy that challenges everything he thought he knew about himself. One thing Thompson does seem to glaze over is the idea of children being taken in and transformed into Wuftoom. It could be that I just missed the message under everything else that was going on, but given Evan’s behavior I doubt it.

Notable Scene:

Scrape, scrape, scrape.

“Who’s there?” Evan called softly.

Scrape, scrape, scrape.

“Are you trapped?” Evan pulled himself up. His skin groaned with the effort.

“Let…me…in.” The voice was shrill, inhuman. It made Evan’s blood freeze.

“What do you want?” he whispered.

“To talk to you, proem,” the voice said. “To make a deal. To help you if you need us.” It was not a worm speaking, that much Evan could tell. A worm couldn’t fit in there.

The Wuftoom Series:

1. Wuftoom

FTC Advisory: The author provided me with a copy of Wuftoom. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review. ( )

I won this book from the One A Day Y. A. blog in a giveaway. I was not required to write a review in exchange, but always do so anyway.

Wuftoom is a highly imaginative but chilling book about a boy who initially thought he was just sick and then realized he was transforming into a worm like creature called a Wuftoom. This story is about how he evolves physically, emotionally and mentally-- and how he struggles to stay true to both his past human self, Evan and his new Wuftoom self, Brode.

There were a lot of great things about this book. The description is spot on, to the point that I was squirming in my seat from visualizing the disgusting way Wuftoom looked and moved and how they ate other creatures in gruesome detail. Evan/Brode was an engaging and interesting character. I enjoyed meeting the other Wuftoom (most specifically Olen, the old Wuftoom) and learning about their culture and background.

I definitely had an adjustment period to this book. I was almost nauseated from the descriptions initially. I think if I had read this when I was 12 years old as the book states is its younger limit, I would have had nightmares for days. And I still don't know how I feel about how the book glazes over the issue of children being converted into Wuftoom. *SPOILER ALERT* More specifically, our protagonist lures another child into becoming a Wuftoom-- and although Wuftoom are an interesting species, I'm not sure I would ever condemn any to that fate.

This said, this was a darkly entertaining and creative first novel from Mary Thompson. ( )