★★★★
Read : February 2014
"I'm not a bad person. But I'm not the person I used to be, either.."
"When thirteen-year-old James discovers a homeless man in an abandoned house, the course of his life changes dramatically. Hoping to find a 'cure' for a dark curse inflicted on the man, the pair embark on a journey together not knowing that what they discover will impact them both in ways they never imagined..."
The Dark Inside follows 13-year-old James' story. Distraught by the death of his Mother a year previously and hurt by his violent Step-Father who he has been left to live with, he takes solace in a run-down, abandoned house on the top of a hill. It is here that he first meets Webster, an injured homeless man with problems of his own. As James and Webster become close, they share their secrets and Webster gradually reveals a little more about himself and his past; he suffers from a dark curse and they both embark on a journey to find a cure for his condition.
Webster, and especially James, come across as quite sweet, despite their personal demons, and Rupert Wallis has written them in a way that they are very easy to connect and empathise with. They are relateable, despite their unusual circumstances, and their stories are fascinating; I found myself wanting to know more and more about them with each new piece of information presented.
James comes across as a very sweet, almost naive, teenager. He is quite trusting but full of sadness after his Mother's sudden death. Webster is portrayed as a rather guarded, wary and mysterious man who is full of secrets. He is ex-military and seems quite distant, like he doesn't want to form close relationships. However, him and James seem to develop a very close relationship quite quickly. They both seem lonely and fill a void within each other and their relationship quite rapidly resembles that of a father and son.
When Webster's 'secret,' or dark curse, is revealed my first thought was that it was all a little cliche, but I revised that opinion as I read on. I don't remember his curse ever being referred to directly by it's 'official name' but there were some major hints throughout the story about his dark condition. The book explores his curse through both his and James' characters, which I found really interesting; there were a lot of questions around whether Webster is really cursed or whether he just believes that he is enough for it to become real for him and those around him...think along the lines of the placebo effect. I liked that Wallis didn't make it clear in his novel whether this was the case or not as it left a lot of thoughts swirling in my head long after I'd finished reading. There was also some exploration of the ideas of good and evil within The Dark Inside which made for good reading.
There were a lot of twists and turns throughout the novel and I found myself blind-sided by a few of them. Some of the events in The Dark Inside were totally unexpected and I enjoyed the ending a lot..I had no idea what would happen and I think Rupert Wallis finished the story well. The loose ends were all tied up whilst, at the same time, leaving some rather important questions hanging for me, as the reader, to think about.
Overall, I really enjoyed The Dark Inside and would recommend it. It was quite dark and unsettling at times and jumped around between reality and fantasy. The exploration of Webster's curse was written really well and kept me hooked throughout.
Disclaimer: A proof copy of this book was kindly sent to me via Goodreads First Reads to read and review. All thoughts and opinions on the book are my own.
