The Girl from the Woods

The Girl from the Woods by Chris Keane takes us into a world of supernatural occurrences, dreams foreshadowing reality, and sinister acts. At the heart of the novel, though, is nineteen-year-old Dante finding himself and becoming an adult.

When the story opens, after a tantalizing, vivid dream featuring a fiery red-head, Dante awakens in his home to a bleak reality: His brute of a brother informs him that their parents have flown off to Europe for an undetermined period of time, and it is time for the two of them to grow up. Dante is to spend the summer with his grandmother (gram) who lives on a mountain in a small, rural community in the Adirondacks a few hours away.

When Dante arrives at his destination, he finds the town pretty lame, which goes along with his self-described “lame-ass” life. He’s drifting along with no real purpose to focus him.

Shortly after his arrival, Dante sees, in the flesh, the girl from his dream. “He just stood there open-mouthed and breathless as she stretched her arms into the sky.” They strike up a flirtatious friendship. The author effectively takes us inside of Dante’s gamut of emotions, fears, and desires as he navigates the prospect of actually becoming involved with Angie, this otherworldly girl of his dreams. “It was becoming more and more obvious that he was a mess, a true train wreck.”

Angie’s dad is the town doctor. The plot thickens when strange occurrences happen, and Dante grows suspicious of the beloved doctor. He also becomes more concerned about his grandmother, who starts to wander away for full days.

This mix of suspenseful, quick-paced plotting, and complex, fleshed/out character development makes for a totally enjoyable, riveting, satisfying read. The novel is set up for a sequel, and I look forward to reading more books revolving around Dante, Angie, and Gram.