HEX

March 14, 2016
Despite some emotional gut punches, Heuvelt’s supernatural thriller fails to fully capitalize on its intriguing premise. The New York town of Black Springs appears perfectly normal to the outside world, but is, in fact, subject to a curse. Katherine van Wyler was sentenced to death for witchcraft in 1664 after resurrecting her dead son. She has haunted Black Springs for centuries, and her whispers create suicidal thoughts in the minds of those who hear them. Leaving the town for more than a short time is not an option for residents, who would be compelled to kill themselves if they did so. The phenomenon even attracted the attention of the federal government, which established the military academy at West Point to help cover it up. Town residents are governed by strict rules imposed by the government, and even their Internet use is monitored and censored. The restrictions chafe the younger generation, whose rebellion threatens the status quo. Heuvelt (The Ink Readers of Doi Saket) develops his characters enough to give their tragic lives resonance, but the story’s resolution disappoints. Agent: Sally Harding, Cooke Agency.

February 15, 2016
In Dutch author Heuvelt's English-language debut, a town haunted by a 17th-century witch uncovers the true face of evil--and it's not supernatural. Black Spring, New York, seems like many other picturesque towns near the Hudson River except for one feature: Katherine van Wyler, a woman who was executed for witchcraft in the 1600s but somehow remained to haunt the residents of the town and their descendants. The witch herself is a terrible sight: bound in chains, with her eyes and mouth sewn shut to prevent her from directly taking revenge on anyone, she nevertheless wields power over the town. Those who live there can never leave, because if they're absent for too long, they're overcome by suicidal urges. A group of Black Spring teenagers, led by Tyler Grant, decides to record their interactions with her, intending to post the truth across the Internet. Their desire to break the code of silence turns dangerous when one boy, himself the victim of domestic abuse, goes too far in humiliating Katherine, and someone dies. The town descends rapidly into chaos as Katherine takes her revenge and people begin to do unspeakable things. Heuvelt offers up a truly terrifying parable about mankind's depravity and the depths of evil of which we are capable; his point, of course, is that little truly separates us from history's most terrible moments, including the Puritan persecution of witches. The story is not merely unsettling, it is horrifying, and there is no redemption or image of hope in which one can find solace. But one cannot deny that it is well-done: the narrative stands up to some gaps in logic to persuade the reader that "civilized people" are only a few steps away from madness. Don't expect any hint of optimism; read it if you dare!

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March 15, 2016

The Hudson Valley town of Black Spring, NY, has been cursed for hundreds of years. Katherine, burned as a witch in the 17th century, wanders the village with eyes and mouth sewn shut to keep her power controlled. The townspeople have found modern ways to deal with Katherine, using high-tech surveillance and smartphone apps to track her appearances. And if you move to Black Spring, you can't leave, nor can you talk to outsiders. The teenagers are growing restless with the limits placed on them by the spell, and that frustration leads to actions that could doom the entire community. VERDICT This Dutch horror novel was a huge hit in Europe and does clever things with the intersection of ancient evil and technology. The prose is rough in places, especially as the story gets up to speed, which could be owing to the translation. Yet once the teens start their experiments, the tension levels spike and remain high until the terrifying finish. [Previewed in "Editors' Spring Picks," LJ 2/15/16.--Ed.]--MM

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December 1, 2016

In his acknowledgements at the end of the book, Heuvelt discusses how he rewrote his original story (published in the Netherlands in 2013) while it was being translated into English. He changed the setting to a small town in the Hudson Valley and gave the work a completely new ending. Although he provided his characters with American names, he allowed them to retain their "Dutchness," which makes for a charming, quirky, and humorous cast. They seem amazingly well-adjusted considering the restrictions that govern their lives. But when a group of Internet and social media savvy high school seniors confront the reality of being trapped forever in Black Spring by a 17th-century witch's curse, town law is no obstacle to their determination to change the status quo. Unfortunately, well-intentioned, testosterone-fueled teen bravado can quickly turn ugly. The teens pursue a series of activities that awaken the witch's wrath, but it is the townsfolk's dehumanizing descent into fear that turns Heuvelt's charming, don't-turn-out-the-lights ghost story into a bona fide tale of horror. Teens will relate to the characters' dilemma and appreciate how decisions made in the grip of either fear or love can have disastrous consequences. VERDICT Definitely not for the faint of heart, Heuvelt's cinematic descriptions will appeal to horror movie fans and lovers of psychological thrillers.-Cary Frostick, formerly at Mary Riley Styles Public Library, Falls Church, VA

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.