Review: What We All Saw


I read What We All Saw some months ago and what I can’t remember of the storyline is better ingrained in the intense feeling of creepy spinechilling awe that distilled to pure enjoyment. So much so, I want to re-read it and have recommended it as Book Club read.

Mike Lucas is no stranger to books and curating stories however this, his first foray into YA, is astonishing. Swift moving narrative is gilt with historic horror, suspense-filled seesawing moments and just enough humour to keep the whole thing real. References for this tale involving four tweens embarking on a nightmarish summer of terror and its resemblances to The Body (Stand By Me) and IT are many but I honestly didn’t make these initial comparisons because Lucas’ writing is so assured and vivid, I was never not in the cul de sac or by Hags Drop with Sam and his mates. In fact, for me, there are more imbued elements of Yann Mantel’s, Life Of Pi in terms of surreal reality.

There is no mistaking the premise of this story from its opening line; a young boy dies. A cover up begins. The horror is shared by seemingly inseparable friends, Sam, Shell, Gray and Charlie. It is the recount of just how they all came to be there, what each endured and where they end up made by adult Sam that provides backstory, tension and an exquisite sense of atmosphere.

He begins in the early 70s, in England, which is experiencing an unprecedented drought-stricken summer. The call to the quarry and its unfathomable cooling waters is hard to ignore in spite of warnings to remain away. Befouled by a historic past of executions and witch hunting folklore, the quarry’s lure for childhood dares coupled with boredom are the catalysts that draw the group to the very edge of reality and sanity. After witnessing the death of a despised local bully, the gang are wracked with guilt but also rattled with uncertainty. What was it that they heard or saw or didn’t hear or see? Is denial the remedy for guilt-riddled complicity? Did witches really exist and do they still walk amongst us?

The unearthing of answers to each of these ambiguities is chilling and complex, beautifully supplied in a fluid flow of tortured internal thoughts, nightmares and observations mostly bestowed by, Sam. Heart-in-your-mouth adventure, stretches throughout becoming hirewire taunt by the end.  Apart from the obvious tragedies, each of the young protagonists faces his or hers own personal emotional adversity. Being a pre-teen is the best of times and the worst of times and What We All Saw is a magnificent, stirring display of how societal strains can strengthen or fracture the bonds of friendship; how trauma can rent rips in relationships too frayed to repair. How believing or disbelieving can alter perception and still leave us questioning.  

What We All Saw is equal parts enthralling, spooky, edifying and downright entertaining. It’s a story that speaks both to teens and those who remember what it was like to be one. And I personally can’t wait to read more from this author; right after I re-read this, one more time.

Title: What We All Saw
Author: Mike Lucas
Publisher: Penguin, $19.99
Publication Date: 31 May 2022
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9781761045936
For ages: 13+
Type: Young Adult Fiction


Buy the Book: Boomerang Books, Booktopia

 

 

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