The Book of Accidents: A Novel

The Graves family – Nate, Maddie, and young Oliver – are moving into a new house; well technically it’s an old house where Nate used to live with his father. His horrible, abusive father who did some despicable things to him, but Nate keeps that all inside and hasn’t told anyone about it. As for Maddie, she has her own harrowing tale from her childhood, as well as a strange ability to seemingly bring things to life when she carves and creates art. And finally, there’s Oliver who has such extreme empathy that he can feel everyone’s pain and anguish and sadness to the point where he’s unable to move. Oliver makes a new friend, a strange older kid who seems really familiar to Nate, and who is able to do dark magic with something called The Book of Accidents.

As the book progresses, it is clear there is something far more sinister going on here, with potential catastrophic proportions. Wendig has outdone himself again in this gruesome and dark story that leaves you feeling numb and hollowed out. You’re going to need to make sure you’re in a comforting and warm place when you read The Book of Accidents.