This was super intense (in a good way!) and kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time I was reading. There were many twists and turns and I didn’t see the ending coming. The middle was slow and it felt like it was dragging on, however, it picked up near the end, and it’s definitely worth pushing through.

However, it was very graphic. There are many triggers that some people may find too disturbing. But it was a fantastically plotted story that will stay with me.

ARC provided by the publisher—Orbit Books—in exchange for an honest review.

4.5/5 stars

Well, Boys in the Valley was so good. It was surprisingly so good.

“All of life is a great gift,” he says. “Not because of what it gives us, but because of what it allows us to give others.”


I read a horror novel probably once or twice a year. That is not to say I don’t like reading the genre, as I do read plenty of horror manga, but my preference tends to lean toward fantasy, sci-fi, and historical fiction novels more than horror novels. But I’m determined to read at least one horror novel every year, and this year, due to the unmissable praises for Boys in the Valley I saw online, I decided to pick it as my horror read. Horror reviewers and authors such as the like of legendary Stephen King highly praised it, and wow… I never read any book by Fracassi before, and Boys in the Valley might become the biggest pleasant surprise of the year for me.

“The harder you fight to join the path of your choosing, the more the decision will resonate within you.”


When I read Boys in the Valley, I didn’t know anything about the content of it. Literally nothing. And I do believe my reading experience was improved because of that. If you want more details regarding its premise, I recommend you check out the official blurb on Goodreads or Amazon. But to give you a minimum pitch, several readers have mentioned this is Lord of the Flies meet The Exorcist with a dose of Midnight Mass, and I think that is an accurate comparison. It did not take long for me to feel the oozing and ominous atmosphere from the narrative, and the story took a darker turn with each page turned. Mark my words. Boys in the Valley is intense, gory, and brutal. But in my opinion, what made it stand out is how the themes of hope strive to shine through all the darkness. I am not what you would call a religious person. However, I can totally understand the power and necessity of faith and the irreplaceable strength it can bring to many people. I think these themes were reflected wonderfully without ever feeling like it was preaching, and I loved that.

“Frederick Douglass once wrote, ‘The soul that is within me no man can degrade.’ Now, I’m shifting the context a bit. He wasn’t referring to a life in Christ, but he was talking about the power of humanity, about rising above the oppression of those who had forced him into slavery. And he was talking, I believe, about being true to himself, to the man he was at his core… I’d like to think his statement applies here, as well. What I’m trying to express, Peter, is that whatever you decide to do with your life, you must have faith that your soul will always remain your own. It cannot be degraded, not if you stay true to yourself.”


Fracassi’s way of keeping the tension running was incredible. The first 100 pages were pulse-pounding at the right moments, but once we moved past the 100-page mark, it was a non-stop thrill and chaos to the end. I never felt bored reading Boys in the Valley. If anything, I wanted more pages out of it. Due to my constant exposure to reading fantasy and sci-fi tomes, I did feel Boys in the Valley was slightly too short, and the concluding sequence was a bit too soon, but these are just minor issues due to my own preference. And it needs to be mentioned the horror and terrifying aspect of the circumstances certainly never felt diminished. They actually felt more genuine because Fracassi always remembered to make sure the fear and stressful moments the characters felt were palpable and also relatable to his readers. When you see someone so mentally strong break down in tears, it is not a pleasant thing to witness because you will know just how stressful and tenuous the pain and pressure the individual endured. And Fracassi explained it so well and simply here:

“To see him so visibly, dramatically shaken is like seeing an adult cry for the first time. Seeing someone—someone you had thought unbreakable—splinter and crack. I still recall the first time I saw my mother cry. It was the first time in my life I felt truly exposed. Truly at risk. Because if our parents can be hurt, or shaken, or brought down by despair, what hope have we?”


Considering that Boys in the Valley is a horror novel, I expected a bloody, creepy, and unnerving atmosphere conjured from the text, and in these, Fracassi succeeded. What I didn’t expect, however, was how fast I became invested in the characters. Peter, David, Father Andrew, Brother Johnson, Father Poole, and all the other characters were well-written characters. Note that I didn’t say they’re all likable. But well-written characters don’t mean they have to be lovable. Some characters can be well-written even though they exist to serve the purpose of being hated by readers. But rest assured, it is not difficult to like Peter’s mentorship under Andrew, his friendship with David, or his innocent crush toward the only woman in the novel: Grace. It is precisely because of how quickly I felt invested in the character’s journey that the horror and intensity felt more terrifying. I kept turning the pages to find out how Peter and the other protagonists would rise and survive their ordeals, and I was not disappointed by what I read.

“First of all… be careful you don’t confuse evil with despair. One reason tragedy exists is to teach us how to help others, help others learn how to find a way through their own dark time, through a journey of growth. As a priest, you must always be in the light, Peter. You must find courage inside yourself when you feel there is none. It is in these darkest moments that you will discover your true self. When you do that, when you discover this new you through life’s most difficult trials, only then will you find salvation. Only then will you lead others to that same salvation, guide them safely along their own dark paths.”


Whether you are a fan of the horror genre or not, I believe Boys in the Valley by Philip Fracassi is absolutely worth the read if you are in the reading mood for an unputdownable, scary, and tension-filled standalone novel. It is not a surprise now why so many horror writers and reviewers praised the hell out of this book, and I think it's only a matter of time before Boys in the Valley became more popular. And yes, this novel would work so well being adapted into a horror movie or a one-season mini-series. I can definitely see it happening someday, and Fracassi deserved it.

“I like to hope that, ultimately, these tests of character will strengthen us, versus weaken; that these storms of conflict, of struggle, will brighten our inner light and make us beacons to those in need, and not darken our minds, hurl us into madness and despair, lead us to defeat and certain death.”


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Boys in the Valley

I was really excited for this book, it had everything you need for a creepy, interesting horror story with depth:
An orphanage in the 1905 - check
Oppressive and abusive priests - check
Horrors of Catholicism - check
Remote setting - check
Demon possession - check
“Evil” children - check

But unfortunately, it really fell flat for me. The story is told from multiple points of view, which I’m grateful for as all the characters felt very one dimensional so breaking them up helped keep it interesting. However, it switched between first person and third person for different characters which I’m sure was an intentional literary choice, but I found it very jarring and it took me out of the story.

The story was very much plot driven rather than character driven, which isn’t always a bad thing but I found it hard to connect to any of the characters which made it less scary because I didn’t really care about any of the characters. The only character with any kind of dimension was Peter and I just found him insufferable (I get the allegory that was intended with him but it felt far too much)

I liked how the brutality and horror of the possession was a mirror of the brutality and horror of the a Catholic orphanage in the early 1900s and the treatment of the boys by the priests, but sadly that made the ending all the more disappointing and frustrating. No spoilers, but I didn’t get the fight back against the abuse inherent in those institutions I was hoping for and it made all the violence feel like it was for nothing.

This wasn’t necessarily a bad book, it just really wasn’t for me. I don’t mind violence and gore, but I like my horror with a bit more subtly and with something to actually say and this just felt like it used brutality and child-on-child violence as a replacement for any real substance.

I’m giving it 3 stars because it was a quick and easy read, and had some interesting ideas at times.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a coming of age story with amazing character building and the creepiest atmosphere I’ve read through this year! I really enjoyed this read.

This book hooked me in with its introduction and didn’t let go! A relentless, unforgiving and terrifying rip roaring ride from start to finish.

I'm a gal who needs a bit more characterisation to enjoy her horror. Not to defend this book, because really it just wasn't very good. The writing is super basic, the characters all feel like the same person, and there seemed to be no real reason for all the brutality. I love a bit of gore, but it just had zero effect on me at all in this. I think that there is an audience for thriller/horror, and I'm just not it.

This was such a wild ride of a book with a lot of my buzzwords of horror included; possession? Check. Isolated setting? Check. Boys running amok Lord of the Flies style? Check! The pacing of the narrative was excellent, with clear set up scenes leading to powerful horrific moments, before taking things back down a notch to build back up to the next big action scene. The characters were a little bit one note, but this is very much a plot forward story and the boys were different enough to be interesting to follow. I also enjoyed the way in which the writing switched from third to first person depending on who's point of view we were reading from. My main issue was with the ending, which just felt a little bit anti-climactic for me, given the action that had preceded it. With that being said though, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and will be eagerly anticipating Philip Fracassi's next offering.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Peter lives at St. Vincent's Orphanage for Boys in a remote Pennsylvanian valley. Raised by the priests after his father shot his mother and them himself, Peter spends his days farming the land and caring for livestock, studying and caring for the other younger boys in the orphanage. He has friends and a future. The biggest decision he has to make is whether to become a priest and stay at the orphanage or leave and start a family.
Then, late one night, a group of men arrive, one of them fatally wounded. With the man's death, an evil spirit is released into the orphanage, dividing the children and turning them against each other. Peter finds his life choices become much bigger than marriage or the church. It is life and death, and what chance does a 16-year-old boy have against an ageless evil?
Written from multiple points of view, Boys in the Valley charts the hard life of orphaned boys in 1905 living under priest rule. They are up at the crack of dawn and work all day on the land, growing crops or caring for the animals that feed them. They must study the bible and learn lessons. There are strict rules that must be obeyed at all times. Punishments are severe. It is not an easy life for them. There are already some factions between the boys, but most conflicts are held at bay by Peter and David, the older boys. There are also factions among the adults, with Father Andrew being the softer influence in the boys' life and Father Poole being the disciplinarian, so tough he has a hole in the ground the boys are sent to for minor infractions. Boys in the Valley isn't a cosy read even before things go wrong.
The orphanage's fall into madness is like something out of Lord of the Flies. From a steady build of increasing factions and tension among the boys, bad dreams and uncomfortable feelings, it abruptly descends into a brutal blood bath with torture, abuse and murder. The boys' rebellion is like a huge, feral sigh of relief, shaking off the harsh rules they've abided by but one that goes too far. But the violence isn't glorified or gratuitous. It stays within the rules of the story's world.
Unlike some horrors that don't explain what the evil is, with Boys in the Valley, we know up front this is about demonic possession. Knowing that only builds tension as the adults try to explain the boys' change in behaviour as a rebellion against their hard living conditions rather than admitting the exorcism they performed has unleashed something on their wards. That the current victims are children might trigger some people, so be warned. This is not a cosy horror that is becoming more popular at the moment. This is full-on, uncomfortable horror examining the eternal battle between good and evil. Billed as a cross between Lord of the Flies and The Exorcist, Boys in the Valley delivers on that promise and more.
My only complaint and this is so minor that I'm nitpicking, is the way Father Andrew hops about in how he is going to handle Peter becoming a priest. Andrew wants Peter to take his vows and stay on at the orphanage, but he wants Peter to understand what he is giving up, so Andrew has let Peter form a friendship with a girl at the nearest farm. But for all his talk that it must be Peter's choice, there are some times Andrew thinks about Peter's commitment to the church as if it is a foregone conclusion and has even arranged a date for Peter to take his vows. But that is the only thing that halted my reading. Otherwise, it was a white knuckle, edge-of-my-seat read that I couldn't put down.
I found Boys in the Valley a deeply dark book with pockets of hope and bravery that stopped it from becoming too bleak and extreme. If horror is your thing, this is definitely one to check out. I will certainly be looking out for more from Philip Fracassi. Highly recommended.

Received from NetGalley in exchange for a unbiased review.

If you like dark, bloody horror for your summer beach reads then I’ve got one for you. Fracassi knows how to write a page turner, that is for sure.

This is the second of his books I’ve read (Gothic being the other) and I enjoyed this very much. It’s a lurid tale written in a way that makes you unable to put it down. I enjoyed the use of different narrators and viewpoints. It’s lived in my head this week!

Throughout the book there is a real sense of dread, which I find more fun than the more “splattery” parts.

Oh wow well that was traumatising! I couldn’t put this book down it was so intense and dark! It started off feeling so innocent and easy going, then out of no where someone turned the lights off and what was left was a nightmare! Brilliantly written!

It’s the turn of the 20th century, thirty boys and a handful of priests reside in an orphanage in a remote area of Pennsylvania.
The boys are hard at work preparing for the coming storm and getting provisions ready for winter. Young Peter and father Andrew have even doubled up on supplies from a neighbouring farmhouse.

To the boys the work is hard and the treatment is seemingly cruel at times, but the late night arrival of a group of men with one badly injured and covered in satanic symbols will set them on a course that will be far crueler.

This book was flawless. Honestly I was so impressed by everything about it. The writing was elegant and beautiful yet very much grounded in the dirt to keep it real. Everything was described so well that I could fully visualise every moment of the book.
The characters had such a solid level of personal agency and it was great to see the twists and turns that happened with a couple of characters(I won’t spoil that).

The plot flowed fantastically and it teased the beginnings of things to come before it spiralled into a whole new level out of nowhere.
It was tense, exciting and full of things that left me unable to put the book down.
The obvious tagline of being like the exorcist meets lord of the flies is perfect, and so I won’t try to offer more of a sales pitch than that!

4.5 stars

It is no surprise to find out that Philip Fracassi is a screenwriter because his debut novel, Boys in the Valley, would make a fantastic movie. Starting with one of the most impactful opening chapters I've read in a long time, this book is set at the turn of the 1900s, in a rural Catholic orphanage. One night an injured man is brought to the priests there for help, but his wounds are as much to his soul as to his body. And he brings with him a pestilence that refuses to leave.

This story is steeped in the very real cruelty experienced at these kinds of orphanages; cruelty that is paralleled by the demonic violence that takes root there. It starts with a slow crawling unease and crescendos to a stand-off that left my heart in my throat. Perfect for fans of The Exorcist and Lord of the Flies.

I received this arc for free from netgalley in exchange for a review.

I thank NetGalley and Little Brown Book Group UK (Orbit) for providing me with an ARC copy of this novel, which I freely chose to review.
I was not familiar with the work of Philip Fracassi, and judging by other readers’ comments, he is a writer of short stories with a fair bit of following and several awards, although his incursion into writing novels is a bit more recent.
The first sentence in the book’s description compares it to several novels, and the comparison holds, but only to a certain extent (although I am referring specifically to Lord of the Flies and The Exorcist, as I don’t know the other novel well enough to comment). The story does focus, mostly, on a group of young orphaned children (the two oldest ones are 16), living at St Vincent’s, a Catholic Orphanage, supervised by several priests (three), and Mr. Johnson, who is there as a way to avoid serving a prison sentence for his crimes. He is strong as an ox and blindly obeys Father Poole, who is in charge of the Orphanage, and runs it with an iron fist.
When the story began I thought this might go the way of Colson Whitehead’s The Nickel Boys, as there are some scenes of abuse (at the time they might have called it extreme discipline, as it is set at the turn of the century, although I think some of it is extreme even for that era), but then, something extraordinary happens one night, and things change completely overnight. What had been a group of children fairly compliant with their tasks (taking turns working the fields, tending the animals, or cleaning the orphanage), ends up split up into two groups, one that behaves in a way totally uncharacteristic, and the other that tries to hold onto things as they were and don’t quite understand what is happening around them.
The novel does work as a coming-of-age story, particularly that of Peter Barlow, the main character, who narrates part of the story in the first-person, and whom readers get to know quite well. Despite the trauma he suffered as a young child (mentioned in the description and that still has a tool on him as he shows symptoms of what today would be classed as PTSD), he is hard working, a good student, and a boy whom the youngest ones look up to. One of the priests, the youngest and most humane, Father Andrew, is preparing him for the priesthood, although Peter isn’t so sure. Because there is a girl, Grace, who lives on a neighbouring farm, and they have been exchanging correspondence and reading materials for years. Peter’s faith, his loyalty to Father Andrew, his sense of responsibility, and his commitment to keeping the rest of the children safe are put to the test during the novel, and he has to face some tough decisions.
Other themes that run through the story are the nature of families, fatherhood, faith and religion, religious vocation, styles of education, the role of discipline, obedience, free will, what a normal childhood should be like, and the best way to bring up a child, innocence, penance, good and evil...
Readers also get other perspectives of the story, as there are many other characters whose thoughts and experiences we are privy to, although those are narrated in the third person, and they don’t play as important a part in the novel as Peter’s reflections. They help us see other sides of the story and also get information and witness events Peter cannot access. (In most cases, each chapter is told from one person’s point of view, so there is no risk of getting confused.) I particularly liked David, another orphan and the oldest one with Peter, who turns up to be a reluctant hero, and who feels realistic and extremely likeable, with his virtues and plenty of flaws as well. Johnson is also a very interesting and complex character, and one nobody is likely to forget in a hurry.
I will not go into too much detail about the plot, but things get pretty scary, and extreme violence (including to children), murder, and psychological torture are among some of the things that appear on the page. A special warning goes to those who suffer from claustrophobia, as the children are sometimes punished with “the hole”, and that is as bad as it sounds.
The writing is very visual, cinematic even, with short chapters, and the descriptions are mostly of sensations and feelings, rather than lengthy catalogues of objects or materials. Some of the scenes are very memorable, and it is impossible not to imagine how well this book would work as a script, and what a fabulous horror movie it could become, in the right hands (and there is a mention of an adaptation in the author’s note at the end, so that might be already in the works). Some readers complain that, for a period novel, there isn’t much detail about the era and the language is not always accurate. In fact, the children are rarely in contact with anybody from outside (other than accidentally, and, in Peter’s case, through his visits to the neighbouring farm), and they live pretty isolated lives, so the novel feels as if it was taking place in an alternate world, a universe of its own, out of time and out of sync with the rest of the living, rather than one that is heavily influenced by things going on around them. Those who read it expecting the amount of detail of a historical or period novel are likely to be disappointed, but I must admit I got so carried away by the story that I didn’t particularly notice that aspect, and it didn’t bother me at all.
The story flows well, in a reflective and placid mood at first, and then the rhythm increases as events accelerate, and more and more unusual and unexplainable things keep happening, reaching a point where it isn’t possible to play safe anymore.
The ending fits the story, and although I will not share too much about it either, I have said before that I don’t believe a happy ending is best suited to a horror story. It somehow seems to negate all that has gone before and creates a reassuring note that feels alien to the genre, which aims at making readers afraid, anxious, or at least uneasy, but that is my personal point of view only.
I enjoyed the novel (if enjoy is the right word); I grew fond of the characters (some of them at least, not all); and I particularly liked the way the psychology of those characters —even the ones no longer in control of their own minds— is explored. I’d recommend it to people who like horror novels, especially those to do with religion, and who are fond of young protagonists. Anybody with concerns about violence, torture, and abuse, especially when children are the victims, should abstain from reading it, as some of the scenes are very graphic. I look forward to reading more novels by this author, and I will be eagerly awaiting the adaptation of this one to the screen (small or big).

A good horror, a story that mixes different classic tropes like the evil that affects a closed community and how the young boy reacts.
I think it drags a bit and some less pages would have made it a very gripping read.
3.5 upped to 4
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Boys In The Valley opens on a chapter so powerful I knew I was in for a good ride.
The event leading to Peter Barlow's incarceration at St Vincents orphanage was shocking, brutal and emotional in equal measure. Immediately investing me in the lead character and setting the scene for a bleak, horror filled tale.

Boys In The Valley is told from Peter's perspective in first person present and past tense alongside multiple other third persons. This distinction made it easy to follow the storyline whilst expanding the view across the somewhat limited setting of the orphanage.

All the boys in the orphanage have come from tragedy- of course, how else would you arrive there. This shared trauma immediately creating a bond across the young characters that makes it's severance even harder to bear.

As can be expected in harsh winters at underfunded institutions the cupboards are bare, the children are starving and worked to the bone. Run by three priests and a skeletal staff of ex-cons there is little love to be found at St Vincents, making Father Andrew Francis' paternal instinct towards Peter a beacon in bleak circumstances.

I very much enjoyed the relationship dynamic between Peter and Andrew. The desperate need they both had for Peter to follow Andrew into priesthood despite his inevitable love for the nearby farmers daughter, (the only girl in the book!) Grace.

I found Brother Johnson the most compelling of all. His inner conflict between good and evil is evidenced from the off, the small voice inside imploring him to care for the children he is mercilessly tormenting. I'm glad Fracassi gave us a backstory for Brother Johnson, his character arc was perhaps the most impactful for me.

Boys In The Valley is a painful read. The treatment of the children is abusive in the way of religious fanatics even before true evil finds its way into the orphanage. Fracassi turns up the tension slowly with uncanny behaviour and isolating snow storms, an itch beneath the skin erupting into a whirlwind of violence and body horror.

Spanning only a few days, Fracassi ends the blood soaked massacre that is Boys In The Valley with a beautifully bleak and quiet relief that had me carefully placing it down and sitting with my thoughts. Not something I often do!

Religious horror at its simplest, Boys In The Valley tears out your heart and stamps all over it. Not for the faint hearted, horror lovers rejoice!

I clocked in the acknowledgements that Fracassi left a thankyou for 'bringing the story to the screen', fingers crossed everyone, I would watch the hell out of this!

This was ok! The story follows a few different perspectives of those who live and work at St Vincent’s orphanage for boys before, during and after a group of men arrive, one of them presumed possessed! There is heavy trigger warnings for abuse so bear that in mind.

I would have enjoyed this more if it was less that 300 ish pages. It felt like it dragged a little bit towards the end and I found myself skim reading it. The setting and imagery was set really well and made me feel creepy and uneasy. The possession element was done well however I would have preferred more creepiness to it and more story surrounding the man who was brought to the orphanage rather than just a few pages.

Just not for me. I struggled with the plot, the overall atmosphere and writing style did not work for me. This might work for others who enjoy horror, however it just is not my genre.