Draw the Dark [Hardcover]

Ilsa J. Bick (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2010

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 Nazis 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.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Gr 9 Up–Christian Cage's mother and father disappeared from the small town of Winter, WI, long ago, leaving him with his pragmatic Uncle Hank, the town sheriff. Clues left behind by his mother have led Christian to believe that his parents are both trapped in “the sideways place” and unable to return home. An outcast at school because of the belief that he caused the near-suicide of his first-grade teacher years earlier, the 17-year-old spends his spare time obsessively drawing images of the sideways place. As the novel opens, he discovers that in his sleep he has painted swastikas on a prominent citizen's barn. Soon after, he begins to have waking nightmares in which he sees a violent incident from the past through the eyes of a young Jewish boy. Frightened and bewildered, Christian researches Winter's history for an explanation, unearthing long-forgotten World War II-era events involving a camp for German prisoners of war. He also searches for answers about his growing ability to draw the thoughts and nightmares of those around him. Bick has created a likable teen protagonist whose unique ability is completely believable in the author's skilled hands. The novel brilliantly strikes a compelling balance between fantasy and contemporary fiction. Readers will be on the edge of their seats waiting to find out what happens next and will clamor for a sequel to follow Christian into the sideways place.–Leah J. Sparks, formerly at Bowie Public Library, MDα(c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

From Booklist

Packed with enough ideas to fuel two or three books, Bick’s ambitious, intelligent, and relentlessly dark novel is a notable achievement, even if it (understandably) wavers beneath its own weight. Seventeen-year-old Christian is a painter who is developing some disturbing talents: he can paint others’ thoughts and memories, perhaps even influencing their actions. He is also having some vivid dreams in which he inhabits the body of a child in the 1940s, watching as a town business leader uses German POWs as laborers. Christian awakes from one of these fugues to find himself blamed for painting swastikas on a barn, a terrible event that results in two fortuitous meetings: a dying old man in a nursing home with a connection to Christian’s dreams and a friendly psychiatrist who becomes his chief confidant. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg: psychotic bullies, deformed babies, sex scandals—you almost need to take notes to keep up. Interest levels might fluctuate across overlong scenes, but patient readers will be well rewarded. Gut-punch of an ending, too. Grades 9-12. --Daniel Kraus

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 344 pages
• Publisher: Carolrhoda Books; 1 edition (October 1, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 076135686X
• ISBN-13: 978-0761356868
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.5 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,361,068 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Among other things, I was an English major in college and so I know that I'm supposed to write things like, "Ilsa J. Bick is (fill in the blank)." Except I hate writing about myself in the third person like I'm not in the room. Helloooo, I'm right here . . . So let's just say that I'm a child psychiatrist (yeah, you read that right), a wannabe surgeon, a former Air Force major--and an award-winning, best-selling author of short stories, e-books and novels. Believe me, no one is more shocked about this than I . . . unless you talk to my mother.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars I am a ghost in a land of phantoms and remembered nightmares. September 5, 2010

By Ria Bridges

Format:Hardcover

I am a ghost in a land of phantoms and remembered nightmares.

To be perfectly honest, the only reason that this book didn't get a 5-star rating is because of the method of narration toward the beginning of the story. It was written as people talk, complete with an overuse of "well," "like," and an ellipsis ended every third sentence. That thankfully ended after the first chapter or so, but while it was there, it was bordering on painful to read.

The rest of the book was pure dark deliciousness. This is a book that doesn't pull any punches with what the reader can handle. I know a lot of people get their knickers in a twist when books for teens have swearing and expressions of sexuality. This has swearing, sexuality, crude humour, complete jackasses, and gory death.

The story contained in Draw the Dark was multilayered. The issue of the sideways place, the overarching mystery surrounding David Witek, and Christian's everyday life and troubles with Karl Dekker all played their part and tied in with each other smoothly. Happily, the story didn't end with the revelations of the Witek mystery, which I had been fearing it would. It continues on after that, ties up loose ends that could easily have been overlooked by readers, and ends the story in such a way that I really can't imagine a more satisfying ending. I can imagine a happier one, sure, but not one more satisfying, nor so right-feeling.

Draw the Dark is truly a wonderful book, one that will make you want to keep turning the pages long after your common sense tells you it's time to do something else. This isn't just a book for teens. It's a book for fans of horror in general, for those who enjoy a well-told supernatural mystery, and for those who want an example of what great first-person writing is. (Once you get past the beginning, that is.) Truly, this is not a book to be missed.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars King/Koontz-Lite, very enjoyable September 10, 2010

By Erisian

Format:Hardcover

Shelved as a Young adult novel, I feel it is incorrectly categorized, instead it should just be standard dark fantasy. The only aspects of this that make it YA is the 17 year old protagonist and the heavy handed coming-of-age vein, other wise it is "King/Koontz-lite".

Winter, Wisconsin. Murder. Nazis. Dead Bodies. Ghostly visions. Fatal fires. A boy who can draw people's nightmares. All of these topics are discussed on the cover liner notes. What is not discussed is how well put together it is. It was surprisingly enjoyable from a number of perspectives.

Detailing the events around social outcast Christian Cage. Dark opens with Christian, being investigated for graffiti on a local building, red spray paint with swastikas and eyes. Christian does not remember vandalizing anything. This isn't the first time that Cage has been in trouble with the law. The suicide of a school teacher brought him into the limelight when much younger.

Cage is an obsessive artist, falling into a near hypnotic groove, pulling visions into his art. Christian's shadowy and often cynical work leads him to investigate a mystery that has been buried in his town since WW2.

In `Draw the Dark', Ilsa Bick cobbles together a solid story. Not to be viewed as a negative point, people with half a care about WW2 era history will have key points figured out very fast, main plot points are not as "little-known" as the marketing blurbs will insinuate. As such, some of the plot twists are more like a cinnamon-y churro and less like a tangy knotted pretzel (mmm. soo hungry now). It is really all about the character progression and the deeper details of individuals lives, personal interactions, forgotten history, unheard conversations, and the desire to bury the past. It is the malleable characters and the incredibly solid framework of the tale that make the book.

Readers be warned that there is no evidence that this is the first book in a series. There are a large number of loose ends at the end, things you will wish were explained are left unresolved. It is not detrimental to the story, just something that might frustrate some.

-- FNORDinc.com

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Too Dark For Kids May 26, 2012

By Coffee Ramblings TOP 1000 REVIEWER

Format:Paperback

An orphaned seventeen-year-old named Christian was orphaned is now being raised by his Uncle Hank, the deputy of Winter, Wisconsin. Christian loves to paint. His favorite thing to paint is the portrait of his mother.

Christian is accused of painting on the Eisenmann's barn. Mr. Eisenmann owns most the town and always gets his way. Even though Christian said he did not paint the barn, he has to repaint the barn and start going to a shrink.

Several human remains are found in the town of Winter during this time.

While Christian is painting, he blacks outs and finds him back to the 1940's. He continues to travel back and forth through time for the remainder of the novel, and unravels a mystery.

Draw the Dark is published for young adults, but it should have been written for adults. The excess adult language throughout the book bothered me, and was unnecessary. Christian's dialogue and thoughts do not sound like a teenager, but resembles an adult. The mystery plot involving Winter, Wisconsin kept me turning the pages. I would only recommend this book to adults who enjoy mystery novels, but I think this is a little too dark for young adults.