Author: Shea Ernshaw
Publication Date: 7 December 2021
Publisher: Atria Books
Page Count: 368
Reading Method: Physical (BOTM Backlog)
Dates Read: January 26 – 31
There is no history in a place until we make it, until we live a life worth remembering.
A History of Wild Place, Shea Ernshaw
Review
Shea Ernshaw wrote The Wicked Deep and Winterwood, both of which I absolutely loved, so when I saw A History of Wild Places as one of the Book of the Month options, I hoped right on it. Not to mention, the cover is so pretty!
A History of Wild Places is the story of Pastoral, a reclusive community hidden in the woods – which are said to be full of disease. Travis Wren is drawn to the community in search of missing author, Maggie St. James. After the longest first chapter in the history of chapters, we switch from Travis’ perspective to those of community members Calla, Bee, and Theo – several years in the future. The story is a slow unravelling of the ideas that founded the community and the relationships necessary to keep the community together. There are so many secrets to be discovered, and as we progress through the story, it becomes clear that nothing is as it seems.
After the first chapter, Travis just disappears. Which felt a little weird because we spent so long with him during that first section of the story. But then suddenly we are dumped into the minds of Theo, his wife Calla, and her sister Bee who all live together in a farmhouse on the outskirts of Pastoral. Pastoral is led by Levi, who inherited the leadership role from the original settlers. All three of these characters are incredibly mysterious and you can tell almost immediately that something isn’t right in this community.
In addition to the mysterious characters, there is a strange sickness bleeding from the trees outside the village that infects anyone who sets foot outside the boundary. But Theo isn’t content to just stay inside the boundaries and Calla is terrified of what that means for their future. This story is so twisty, dark, magical, and weird and I really enjoyed it. Some of the middle sections seemed to drag a little bit and I kept wanting them to just put their heads together and figure out what the heck was going on already. I really loved the strength and courage of these characters. Their investment in the community and taking care of the members they share their lives with was admirable.
The writing is just as beautiful as Ernshaw’s previous works and I really felt invested in the characters and their journey. The ending was completely unexpected and takes a little bit of open-mindedness to accept, but Ernshaw does a great job of leaving little clues throughout the story so it doesn’t seem outlandish and out of the blue.
About the Book
Travis Wren has an unusual talent for locating missing people. Hired by families as a last resort, he requires only a single object to find the person who has vanished. When he takes on the case of Maggie St. James—a well-known author of dark, macabre children’s books—he’s led to a place many believed to be only a legend.
Called Pastoral, this reclusive community was founded in the 1970s by like-minded people searching for a simpler way of life. By all accounts, the commune shouldn’t exist anymore and soon after Travis stumbles upon it…he disappears. Just like Maggie St. James.
Years later, Theo, a lifelong member of Pastoral, discovers Travis’s abandoned truck beyond the border of the community. No one is allowed in or out, not when there’s a risk of bringing a disease—rot—into Pastoral. Unraveling the mystery of what happened reveals secrets that Theo, his wife, Calla, and her sister, Bee, keep from one another. Secrets that prove their perfect, isolated world isn’t as safe as they believed—and that darkness takes many forms.
About the Author
Shea Ernshaw is a NYT bestselling author and winner of the Oregon Book Award. Her books have been published in over twelve countries/languages, and her novels The Wicked Deep and Winterwood were Indie Next Picks. Her debut adult fiction novel A History of Wild Places will release in December of 2021. She lives in a small mountain town in Oregon, and is happiest when lost in a good book, lost in the woods, or writing her next novel.
