Draw the Dark Review

There are things in Winter, Wisconsin, folks just don't talk about. The murder way back in '45 is one. The near-suicide of a first-grade teacher is another. And then there is 17-year old Christian Cage. Christian's parents disappeared when he was a little boy, and ever since he's drawn and painted obsessively, trying desperately to remember his mother.
The problem is Christian doesn't just draw his own memories. He can draw the thoughts of those around him. Confronted with fears and nightmares they'd rather avoid, people have a bad habit of dying. So it's no surprise that Christian isn't exactly popular. What no one expects is for Christian to meet Winter's last surviving Jew and uncover one more thing best forgotten the day the Nazi's came to town.
Based on a little-known fact of the United States' involvement in World War II, Draw the Dark is a dark fantasy about reclaiming the forgotten past and the redeeming power of love.
Taken from GoodReads.

Since his parents mysteriously disappeared, Christian Cage has been living with his uncle in the sleepy town of Winter, Wisconsin. He's an outsider, an outcast, and he's labeled the weird kid because his only means for self-expression and comfort is his art. He's begun having vivid dreams though, and he finds that in these dreams, he's a boy named David, and he can slip in and out of time - learning his town has a lot of secrets, and many of them involve the Nazi occupation of Germany. As he slips deeper and deeper into the dark past of Winter, Christian begins to wonder if he might just be able to rescue his parents in "the sideways place" in his dreams.

Draw the Dark is one of those books that I've never heard of before, but just happened to surprise me with an original plot, sound characters, and a riveting story. Written by Ilsa J. Bick, Draw the Dark is a cross between YA Sci-Fi and Fantasy, and it wholeheartedly embraces a creepy, be-afraid-of-the-dark vibe. Written in haunting prose that allows you to get inside the main character, Christian's head, you are sent on a terrifying and intense journey towards the truth with him.

Draw the Dark also turned out to be quite the history lesson. I never knew that the United States housed prisoners of war during WWII (something my text books left out - thank you, public school education.) Furthermore, Draw the Dark gets down to the psychology of the story, rather than just painting a picture of angst and horror. You will be in the midst of the story. My one problem I had with the story was that I was expecting more of a physical journey to "the sideways place," but that sort of failed to happen.

Either way, I was really very pleased with the original story and writing in Draw the Dark. I give it a 4 out of 5, I highly recommend it to fans of YA Fantasy and Sci-Fi, as well as those who love a good mystery and thriller.

I received Draw the Dark free of charge as an e-book in exchange for an honest review. This, in no way, affected my opinion or review of this book.

Release Date: October 28, 2010