ALA Booklist (Tue May 01 00:00:00 CDT 2018)

A walk through an increasingly dense and perilous forest becomes a pithy metaphor for aging in this poetic picture book for older readers. Stylized images of trees and plants, rendered in thick strokes of bold colors, are in striking contrast to the crisp white backgrounds, some of which are utterly blank or contain barely visible embossed images of faces. Die-cut holes, usually in those faces' eyes, hint at what those faces are gazing at, and the pared-down, lyrical lines give those scenes lots of weight. "As they move forward, the forest grows thicker. It becomes both more difficult to penetrate and more fascinating." At first, it seems like the prose is merely describing a walk through a forest, but taken together, the words become deeply poignant. Bozzi meaningfully gestures toward love, hate, nostalgia, language, wisdom, death, and rebirth, usually indirectly. It's a beautiful object, with a stunning, highly tactile layout, and while it's not quite clear who the ideal audience would be ults and artistically inclined teenagers might like it, too ose who connect with its enigmatic beauty will be transfixed.

Kirkus Reviews

Bozzi, an Italian journalist and poet, envisions a forest journey as a metaphor for the stages of life. The book's design is clever, instantly arousing curiosity with its translucent jacket (sans title) overlaying brilliantly hued vegetation onto a muted cover. The first double-page spread is all white, containing a straightforward sentence on the verso and a debossed face with die-cut eyes through which color is visible on the recto. A pattern is established. The white pages depict, by embossing or debossing only, a sequence of humans of varying races who gradually age. These file between spreads of greenery that similarly transform from a small grove to a progressively more crowded forest, then barren woodland. As youths, the explorers study insects and invent games. Later they notice fellow travelers, whose diversity is mentioned in terms of height, shade, and temperament, with potential for rivalry or love. Some leave traces (art carved in stone), but ultimately, "there is a ravine into which each explorer will eventually fall, despite the precautions taken and the advancements of science." The final etched face gradually fades as saplings rise through its cracks. Death is unequivocally a mystery. Some will appreciate the final blank pages for contemplation. For others of any age, confronting one's own mortality in a context in which life seems neither meaningful nor to be remembered will be disquieting.Students of design will appreciate the construction and the lush, vibrant compositions; those seeking comfort for end-of-life matters will want to look elsewhere. (Picture book. 10-adult)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

From its sumptuously colored vellum jacket to its final, mysterious blank white spread, this uncommonly beautiful volume invites readers to marvel over both its daring design and enigmatic messages. Bozzi-s minimal text walks readers through -an enormous, ancient forest- where -explorers- travel an increasingly difficult journey. On alternating spreads, subtly embossed images, faintly visible against white pages, show the maturation of a human face from baby to elder, while die-cut eyes reveal startling glimpses of the wild, bright forest in the scenes that follow. Young children may miss some of the metaphorical links to a life-s passage, extended in astonishing visual details and dramatic gatefolds. But the sheer marvel of the design, together with the inclusive, open-ended mystery of what lies beyond the forest, makes this a wondrous piece of bookmaking for all ages. Much like a poem, it will evoke new emotions and layers of meaning with repeated readings. Ages 4-up. (June)

School Library Journal (Fri Jun 01 00:00:00 CDT 2018)

Gr 5 Up-Employing the forest as a metaphor for life, a narrator takes readers through a verdant, sometimes knotty landscape, acknowledging both its mystery and pleasures. The games the travelers create, the stories they share, and the notes they leave behind as they wander through the landscapes' "beauties and dangers," which grow more fascinating and more difficult to navigate, are all observed, as are the characters and personalities of those who pass through. It's a spare, quietly paced, but forward moving text. For most travelers, this is not a solitary expedition; along the way they experience friendship, rivalries, and love. Ultimately, though, there is no turning back on this journey, which ends after an arduous climb, with a fall into a ravine. "No one knows" what lies beyond, notes the narrator, who circles back to a line delivered early in the book, "some say there is a grove of young pines." Two illustrators contributed to the exquisite visual and tactile bookmaking. Spreads of lush forest scenes peopled with embossed full-length white figures, many guiding the way or carrying packs (read: burdens) are interspersed with white spreads featuring barely visible embossed faces that slowly age and scar, and die-cut holes that peek into the next scene. Gatefolds and an illustrated, translucent onion-skin cover wrap add another layer to the stunning book art. VERDICT While American readers may find this mediation on lifeand deathsomewhat direct, even startling, its abundant symbols and beautiful book design are sure to intrigue sophisticated readers. Daryl Grabarek, School Library Journal