"To All The Kids Whose Arms Are Filled With Too Much For Them To Hold"

K. Ancrum's The Wicker King has been one of the most fascinating and impactful reads I've had so far this summer. In the front, she says, "this book is dedicated to all the kids whose arms are filled with too much for them to hold, but who are trying their best not to drop a single thing...I see you and I am proud of you for trying."

The Wicker King is about the co-dependent relationship between August and Jack whose friendship goes way back but never surfaces at school because they come from vastly different groups. They rely on each other to survive their difficult home lives. However, when Jack starts to hallucinate and has trouble differentiating between the fantasy and the real world, August does his best to anchor him to reality by playing along with his imagination.

Jack starts leading August on a quest to fulfill a prophecy. As they delve deeper into this fantasy world, August and Jack cling tighter and tighter to each other while alienating their friends and family. In the end, they both struggle with their sanity and understanding what is real.

As teenage boys just trying to struggle through life, it is easy to feel sympathy for them and their situations. They are neglected by their parents and find each other in an attempt to fix things. Many teenagers might be struggling with many of the same issues and situations that August and Jack find themselves in. I can see that this would make them easy to relate to.

The author does a great job of addressing these ideas in her note at the end of the book. She points out that "they are not 'failing;' someone has failed them." She talks about the help and healing that can come when people find themselves in codependent relationships that are not healthy for them just like Jack and August's relationship becomes unhealthy for them. 

When I first picked up this book, I thought it would be a fantasy book. While Jack's delusions are fed by fantasy elements, this is a realistic fiction book that many people can relate to when it comes to its focus on mental illness and relationships. As a teacher, it made me think a lot about the ways that I can better keep my eyes peeled for students who need help and are reaching out. 

In this novel, time after time, adults--parents, teachers, nurses, social workers, and police--could have noticed the warning signs of their downward spiral and done something to help. The author's note continues, "The only people who were not in some way at fault were all the young people in this story, who were doing the best they could with the situation they were given...Many young people...find themselves being forced to carry something they never imagine would be so heavy, with no one around to support them. It must be said that they are rarely ever at fault for the multitude of ways they choose to bear that load." I need to make sure that I'm doing my part, as an educator, to keep the kids I interact with safe.

In addition to the beauty of the writing itself, this copy of the book is GORGEOUS! The end-papers as well as dozens of pages at the end of the book are black. The edges of the page are also decorated and as August and Jack head down a dark path, the pages become more and more cluttered, dirty, and dark. I think it helps illustrate a lot of the emotion in the story and the thoughts of the characters. It's really an ingenious addition to the writing itself.

I recommend this book for YA readers, people who might need to see themselves in a book when they are going through a hard-time, those interested in reading about mental-illness or codependent relationships, and lovers of realistic-fiction! You can purchase a copy from Amazon here!