The Thickety: A Path Begins

I loved The Thickety. It had just enough dark, scary elements to keep me completely enthralled, and a perfect amount of fairytale elements to keep things balanced and age appropriate without taking away any of the dark feeling of the book. I loved Kara’s character, and watching her struggle with her own values (empathy for all creatures, kindness, and protecting her family) versus the values of The Path (eradicating magic at all costs), as well as struggling with the pull of the book, made her a fascinating protagonist. The magic was wonderful and creepy, and the characters were memorable. There are multiple antagonists, and I loved all of them. Sordyr, the chillingly terrible forest demon who is made of living branches and smells of decaying leaves. Grace, the beautiful daughter of the cult’s leader, who has more darkness within her than anyone sees. And Kara must even fight herself as she begins to be taken over by the grimoire. J.A. White uses my favorite style of writing, spare enough to not be distracting and to let the story shine on its own, but descriptive enough that I could feel and see and smell the story. It never felt overly complicated, or overly simple. The black and white silhouette illustrations by Andrea Offerman are also beautiful and eerily haunting. There are so many more fantastic things that I’d love to rave about but I can’t spoil anything! I cannot honestly think of one thing I disliked about the book (although the cliffhanger was pretty devastating…in a good way). I’d been in a reading slump where I had to make myself return to most books, but I was finding myself reading The Thickety at every possible opportunity and thinking about it when I couldn’t. This is definitely the best book I’ve read in its genre for a long time and I’ve already pre-ordered the next book in the series, The Whispering Trees, which is due out in March.

This book is amazing!!so many twists and turns..its just perfect and my favorite author!!I do suggest this to people who love twists and creepy/spooky stuff and witches too.

This is really a different look at witchcraft, where it is not simply a story of magic in a world where magic is not looked upon as an acceptable vocation. It is more like magic in a world much like the puritanical colonial New England or Middle Ages Europe. It is not a terribly uplifting read. For every moment of hope there seemed to be three instances of terrible bad luck to counteract it. I enjoyed the story for its inventiveness, but I definitely won't be suggesting this book to my students. Though they often claim to love the violent nature of recent stories and long ago folklore this might be too intense for many of them. Good read for the YA genre, but not middle grade appropriate.

Although it is geared toward the middle school age group, the book's appeal is far greater. The prose is simple and straightforward enough that you can get through it in under a day. (the gripping tale in fact demands this).At the same time, the plot is thrilling and oh so complex that the story and characters will stay in your mind and captivate your imagination for days on end. In a nutshell 'The Thickety' is all that you can ask for in a book. As in all good fiction, you will find that the forces of good are juxtaposed against those of evil. What makes it great are the unpredictable twists and turns in plot and, of course, all magic and witchcraft in it! But if you are thinking Harry Potter, think again. What you get here is far more dark and far more creepy (in a good way) but just as much fun! Finally, as in all good fiction, the forces of evil are defeated and those of good triumph.......or do they???? Well, I guess you have to read the book to find out! The best part for me is that this is just the first part of a series. So there are more such books to come and I can't wait to read them all!

Although the story is interesting, I find myself questioning gaps. Maybe I'm setting it down too much in between chapters, but to me there are a lot of questions that are not answered. And DO NOT fool yourself thinking this is for 3rd graders. I decided to read it prior to handing it over to my 9-year-old and I'm so glad I did. This is way too dark and violent for him (and I consider him to be pretty mature).

I love the details and imagination in this book. The adventure, the thrill, the suspense. The emotions that you read throughout the book.

I saw this at the local library when I was there with my kids. The cover caught my eye and I thought, "Why not!?" I went in with zero expectation. Honestly---- one of the best books I have read in a long while! The concept is not necessarily a new one; but the take.... that's where it shines. Well developed, mature- but contextually not too much so- deep... The story has these wonderful overtones that feel so familiar- like a favorite fairytale, or a tale around the campfire- but the quality, and the tone of the work is stunning. And he's not afraid to get DARK! So often, especially in young adult books, the author doesn't make the villain all that threatening; or the adversary all that convincing... but man- you are on the edge of your seat hoping that the heroin can pull through! And nothing is to be taken at surface value- nothing is as it seems... Very visually captivating, very unique in its approach.... would be an excellent film with DelToro directing. Extremely encouraged by this dark fantasy, and I cannot wait to get the second book in the series.

This book came recommended to me by someone whose opinion regarding kid-lit I trust. I'm 33 and I loved The Thickety. The writing is suitable for a strong-of-heart 10yr old, but the subject matter is very old school, dark fairy tale. The characters are three dimensional and compelling- antagonists and protagonists alike. I enjoyed Grace as much as Kara. I found I could not put this book down and blew through it with reckless abandon. Very much looking forward to the rest of the series!

Fantastic story, very well written, makes you feel like you are there. Highly recommend.

I really like these books despite them being for ages younger than me, the books themselves look nice and the story is interesting

I read this few times i enjoyed it everytime i read it as 4th book is out thought i refresh my memory reread the 3 previous books all are well worth buying and reading

Very well written. Characters are fleshed out. Story is very exciting.

great book!!