this book is a perfect modern fairy tale. 
 not a nice disney one with singing birds where everyone gets to go home with their prince and all of their limbs, but the older, darker kind involving foot-choppery and decimation. 
 lemme step back a bit. i added this book to my to-read shelf the moment i saw its cover here on goodreads.com. i knew nothing about it except that something in me bellowed "WANT!" i did not win it in the firstreads giveaway (naturally) and as more and more people began writing reviews for it, i discovered that it was not at all the kind of book i had thought (spooky horror), and was in fact something far more insidious and lasting. 
 WHY AM I TELLING YOU ALL OF THIS? 
 1) this is how all my reviews are. welcome. 
 2) i am afraid of reviewing this book. 
 it is tricky business, isn't it, sometimes? on the one hand, if i had not read other reviews on here, i would have gone into it thinking it was going to be a typical horror story. and who knows how i would have responded when i found out the actual tone of the book? but by not saying anything, who knows if this book will reach the correct audience? 
 decisions are hard. 
 i will say this: it is a beautiful book. and i mean that both in the book-as-object sense and in its contents. don't ever read this book on a device - you are missing half its power - a unicorn without its horn is just a horse, after all. 
 this is a nearly-perfect book that every human should read. its treatment of the subject is incredibly sensitive, and conor is someone it is impossible not to feel for. although some of the specifics are limited to experiences in childhood, the majority of it has universal kick-in-the-heartedness. (i could not find an appropriate "real" word. that is all i have)it depicts helplessness and bravery and loss so very well. and it never feels manipulative, which is so rare in books like these. 
 it only missed out on that fifth star because i was sure, after hearing other people's commentary, that is would make me cry. why do i have to be such a damn robot? 
 but other than that, i cannot recommend this book highly enough. read it, write a better review than i have, and then gather your loved ones to you.