Customer Reviews

The Hanging Woods

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I'm not saying that this debut novel is destined to endure like the Harper Lee classic, but there are some similiarities: 3 kids on the verge of trouble, a mystery man in a small Alabama town, a heated trial. In one way, though, this book will resonate in a way Mockingbird can't. These kids are real. They aren't angels. And they come from deeply flawed families. Kids today might have a hard time relating to Scout Finch, but they may see themselves in Walter Sithol.

And although the book is clearly a YA novel, its sharp edges and dark side will keep a more mature reader engaged right to the end. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Full Review:

On the one hand, The Hanging Woods, the debut novel from Scott Loring Sanders, seems unmistakably to be in the "young-adult" genre. It is about early teen boys, and its language and situations are clearly geared for young people. On the other hand, it is hard to imagine a darker story, or a protagonist as flawed as young Walter Sithol. And that leads me to wonder what young readers think of this boy, which also leads me to doubt my initial certainty that this book is solely for teenagers. While I believe they can handle it and learn from it, I also think that the adult reader will appreciate the complexities that emerge in the three central characters and enjoy the awful story that unfolds.

Walter is a typical boy in a small Alabama town in the mid-70s. His father is tough on him and his mother is over-protective. He hangs out with Jimmy and Raymond, known as Mothball, and they swim and fish and hang out together and occasionally get on each others' nerves. Walter carries a secret, though, and it may mildly annoy the reader that he refers to having seen his mother's diary without disclosing to the reader what he has read there. In any case, for various reasons tension builds between Walter and the other boys. Sanders renders these three boys with care, so that they are utterly distinct: Jimmy, the ringleader and troublemaker; Mothball, the chubby one, afraid of everything; and Walter, the smart one, the one who seems to have a firmer sense of right and wrong.

Then there is "the Troll," a Vietnam veteran who lives under a bridge and becomes both a legend and a mystery to the boys, a town oddity for them to taunt and an easy scapegoat when things go wrong. The more the Troll is revealed in this story, the more the whole book seems to be following the model of To Kill a Mockingbird. The three kids in some ways even resemble Scout, Jem, and Dill; the Troll seems very much like Boo Radley; and eventually there is even a trial scene that echoes the one in the Harper Lee classic. There's nothing wrong with imitating a masterpiece, but what's ingenious here is that just at the point where the reader is convinced that Mockingbird is the template, Sanders has young Walter read that novel and learn from it. And it is from that point on that The Hanging Woods diverges and becomes its own terrifying story.

It is, I think, risky to place a boy such as Walter at the center of a novel, particularly one aimed at young people. And yet, the author trusts the reader of any age to see Walter's flaws, and to keep reading despite them. It's a gamble that pays off.

This is a very good read. Highly recommended.

Drawn in by impeccable writing, engaging characters and rich (sometimes outright bizarre)images/scenes, I found myself immediately engrossed with the book. The story turned in several unforseen directions and filled me with equal parts hysterics, nostalgia and horror. Be prepared to fall into a world that is both remarkably comfortable and hideously unsettling. The spectrum of emotions you'll feel is astounding.

Although this book is marketed as a young adult fiction it is by far the best book I have read this year and I am in my mid 40's. I read a lot, a book every few days, but this one stands out. It has action, intrigue and a great plot with twist that kept me reading till I finished it in one setting. I highly recommend it to any and all.

My nephew told me about this book and I was reluctant to read it because it was categorized as fiction for youth. Wow, this book was amazing! I started reading it late one night and called in sick to work the next day because there was no way I was putting it down until I was finished. It was worth my time and my money. As soon as I finished reading it, I ordered his next book.

This book is tagged as YA, and that's appropriate: it's a terrific book for older kids who don't need to be spoonfed pablumized literature, and who want the real thing.

It's also a great and compelling read for adult lovers of good lit as well. Smart, frightening, often (starkly) hilarious, plotty, full of twists and turns. A book that catches up the reader in its dark passages.

In short: This guy can write!

Gold Star Award Winner!

You know that feeling you get when you pass a particularly horrific accident? It's not that you want someone to be hurt, but you can't help slowing down to look. That's how I felt as I began reading this book.

The year is 1975, shortly after the end of the Vietnam War. Times are tough. Tempers flare and the stress level is high. There are many historical elements that firmly root this story in this time period, yet the events and emotions in this story are not relegated to the 70's. Knowing this human condition exists today gives it even more impact.

Scott Loring Sanders deftly places the reader into the mind of thirteen-year-old Walter. Through Walter, the reader will experience the killing of a fox up close and personal. I could feel the fear and panic of the fox as he struggled against the trap. I felt the life energy of that fox dissipate into nothing through the handle of the stick used to beat him senseless, and I felt both Walter's revulsion and thrill over his first kill. His grandfather had insisted on this savage method. He told Walter, "...you gotta learn the hard way, really feel it with your hands, so you can appreciate the easy way."

This first chapter sets the tone of the book. Disturbing, you say? Absolutely. Fascinating? Positively! I read on, I'll admit, with some trepidation, as a reader who neither hunts, nor appreciates the feeling of satisfaction that hunters must feel when taking their prize, a foreigner to this male world of violence and dominance.

Meet Walter's friends. Jimmy is the leader who's rough around the edges, chiseled and hardened at the hands of his abusive, alcoholic father. Mothball's the chubby oddball who aims to become famous by beheading a chicken in just the right way so that he, Mothball, can keep it alive for over eighteen months and, therefore, beat the Guinness Book record. As you might imagine, he's subjected to more than his share of pranks and jokes, which makes him even more determined to succeed.

The boys walk the town in the wee hours of the morning as they pull off ever-escalating pranks on the local townspeople. To prove to one another that they aren't chicken, the risk and fear factors are taken up a notch each night. They venture further toward the Hanging Woods, Niggertown, and the Troll, a homeless Vietnam War veteran. When Troll sees them, they race home, adrenaline pumping, fear lighting a fire beneath their feet. But neither Jimmy nor Mothball knows Walter's secret, that Troll knows him. He called him by name!

The temperament of a thirteen-year-old around his parents is, by design, often volatile and argumentative. These are the times that teens must decide for themselves who they are and who they want to be. They examine the values their parents have tried to teach and compare them with the values their parents have shown. They are bombarded with the voices and opinions of their peers and walk a tightrope between what they are coming to believe about the world, and what they have been taught to believe. Imagine the turmoil Walter must feel when his safety net is snatched away the day he reads the secrets in his mother's diary. Walter's interpretation of those events results in his slow unraveling. The shift in the foundation of his world leaves Walter feeling unable to do anything more than stand by and let the darkness inside take over.

Other reviews have compared this book to TO KILL A MOCKING BIRD by Harper Lee and I see the similarities. Certainly the author has nailed the social atmosphere of the time, an interesting statement in itself, since
the two books are set forty years apart. Both books masterfully address cruelty, hate, and prejudice, and both feature an innocent character on trial who makes the perfect target, in part, because they are reclusive and strange, the criminal stereotype. But for me, the similarities end there. Where Atticus Finch patiently strives to teach and show high moral values, the parents in THE HANGING WOODS are equally dysfunctional, instead teaching their son anger, frustration, and resignation.

As I read this book, I was strangely reminded of the classic movie, THE CHRISTMAS STORY, but without the light humor. Both feature rough, real-men-don't-cry type fathers; apologetic, coddling mothers; and sons struggling to find their place in their family and the world. In both, you become immersed in the strange world of guy bonding; fathers attempting to grow their sons up tough.

THE HANGING WOODS is a riveting look into a disturbed mind. I doubt I will soon forget the images and emotions Scott Loring Sanders brought forth in this, his first novel. I warn you, this is a dark, troubling read that will niggle at your conscience for days, if not weeks. But if you're like me, you won't be able to put it down until you find out if Walter's okay, in just the same way that you can't help slowing to view that accident.

I have compared THE HANGING WOODS to two enduring classics. I found myself researching the Tallapoosa River that separated Walter and his friends from Niggertown. I asked a social studies teacher what he knew of the Tallapoosa and the history of the time period. This novel completely got under my skin and instilled a desire in me to find out more.

How could I not also give it a Gold Star? I look forward to reading what Mr. Sanders has to offer next.

Reviewed by: Cana Rensberger

This unsettling, tragic tale records the events of one strange summer among three friends--vindictive trickster Jimmy, soft, pudgy Mothball, and the enigmatic Walter--in a small Alabama town during the 1970s. After Jimmy plays a cruel trick on them, Walter and Mothball decide to return the favor. Things go awry when their joke ends in tragedy, and the boys find themselves scrambling for reasons to justify their actions. Fans of happy endings are advised to steer clear of this one. The oppressive atmosphere of this weird, sordid novel will haunt the reader long after the story is finished. Recommended for Ages 16-Up.

Just finished reading this book. I truly love a book that is difficult to put down and this one is it! Makes you think of your own mortality and what guilt can eventually do to a person. I will definitely read again, since there are so many things that after reading the end, I did not pick up on! Loved this book!!!

This book reminded me alot of McCammon's "Boy's Life" and even touches of TKAM. This is a well written tale and I can see how it gets classified as Young Adult, but it really should be in regular Fiction. This story has a very dark edge to it, but is a perfect portrait of the South and all of the issues a child must face before growing up. I am interested in seeing what Sanders' next offering will be.

I was really excited for a book that I thought would be different from your standard YA, challenge the reader etc... Some people feel this book it soo mature for young adults, but I think the problem is instead it's poorly written. It read like a cheap horror film, and the inexperience of the writer shone through many times. Get this book from the library if you want to, but certainly don't buy it.