 ‘Wasps in the Ice Cream’ is a unique and majestic look at small town boredom, first love and witch bottles Wasps in the Ice Cream by Tim McGregor Publisher : Raw Dog Screaming Press (7 Feb. 2023) Language : English Paperback : 192 pages ISBN-10 : 1947879537 ISBN-13 : 978-1947879539 A Horror Book Review by Tony Jones I love coming-of-age novels and Tim McGregor’s superb Wasps in the Ice Cream ranks amongst the absolute best of them. It took me right back to being bored and sixteen, living in a small town where there was not much to do, with episodes of underage drinking, video games, loud music, sporadic acts of violence and unobtainable visions of the opposite sex. I grew up in the north of Scotland and although this novel is set in Canada, the feelings of alienation and disaffection are identical, with Tim McGregor absolutely nailing what it was like to be sixteen and not giving a f**k what your parents and teachers say. Although the excellent Raw Dog Screaming Press are undoubtedly promoting Wasps in the Ice Cream as an adult novel it had a vibrant and convincing Young Adult (YA) feel to it. The protagonist is sixteen and has issues with his dad and stepmother and since it is narrated in the first person by Mark Prewitt it becomes even more teen driven. Mark’s developing infatuation for the enigmatic Georgina (known as George) Farrow was pure YA and I found the scenes around their developing friendship/relationship to be perfectly pitched. There was a scene near the end of the book where the cult science fiction Robocop was showing on the cinema that almost had me in tears it was so powerful. Mark, you bastard. If that moment had been captured in an eighties teen John Hughes movie it would have had a very different outcome! I will most certainly be buying this book for my own school library as I am certain it will find an audience amongst genuine teen readers. Wasps in the Ice Cream is set during the long hot summer of 1987 and I guess another reason I loved the book so much was the fact that I was about sixteen in the same year and also saw Robocop on the big screen! But I had to blag my way in, as it was rated ‘18’ in the UK! The eighties name dropping of films, pop culture and raiding the local video-shop for gory and gaudily boxed horror films was also spot on, as was the obsession with what was going to appear at the cinema the following week. As their fleapit only showed reruns, their long and frustrating wait for the appearance of Robocop for really funny, as in those days it really did take a year or longer for films to appear on home video. Ultimately Wasps in the Ice Cream is about what happens when you fall for the girl everyone hates (or at least don’t understand) and the weird peer-pressures teens feel around standing out, with the story taking its time getting around to introducing the spiky George Farrow. Mark has had the same best friends for years, Eric and Kevin, and he is no longer sure he even likes them anymore. He works two parttime jobs and is in a rut, whilst trying to save enough cash to restore an old car he has sitting in the garage. He spends his time fooling around with Eric and Kevin, doing a combination of dumb stuff and rewatching their favourite films whilst trying to stay out of the way of his dad who has married a much younger woman whom Mark is dismissive of and unpleasant to, even if he has no real reason to be so. In small towns everybody knows everybody else’s business and rumours are known to get blown out of all proportion, none more so than the stories surrounding the three Farrow sisters. The Farrow family live in a dilapidated house outside of town and if the rumours are true are down on their luck after losing money at some stage in the past. The girls were withdrawn from the local school after the suspicious death of a fourth elder sister and there are idle and unfound rumours that the family dabble in witchcraft. Although the Satanic Panic phenomenon is never mentioned, this story is set during a period were many Americans (okay, this is set in Canada) believed Devil worshippers walked amongst us in plain sight. Through the bored troublemaking of Mark and his two friends Eric and Kevin he eventually meets George, at which point a very good story becomes a truly excellent one. Mark is totally torn, as he cannot let his friends know he is interested in a girl who is effectively a pariah in the small town where he lives. The story cleverly explores these internal conflicts, taking in lust, infatuation and the lengths he will go to keep his dream girl a secret. How he keeps this hidden from both his friends and family is both a key and important part of the story and anybody who has ever sneaked a girl or boy into their family home will feel and identify with Mark’s pain. The support characters were drawn outstandingly well and how they interacted with Mark, I particularly liked his stepmother and his unfound casual unpleasantness towards her. Also, how his two best friends reacted to change and the possibility that Mark might have a life beyond them and rewatching the same old flicks or playing the same arcade machines to death. And in the background we have the largely symbolic wasp nest close to the ice cream parlour where Mark works and his casual obsession with the gorgeous older girl who works in the cinema kiosk across the road. All these factors contributed to a beautifully drawn small town and the relatable characters who inhabited it. You might ask what makes Wasps in the Ice Cream a horror novel rather than a nostalgic coming-of-age drama? The use of the supernatural is used very subtlety and is beautifully restrained, you will have to read the novel yourself to decide whether it exists at all. I adored the manner in which ambiguity was used by the Farrow sisters and their interactions with each other. George makes witch-bottles (and Mark helps) to keep their property safe and she also believes the ghost of her dead sister is not so far away and not such a fan of Mark. I loved this part of the story and it naturally flowed with the development of their relationship. I have read Tim McGregor before, but Wasps in the Ice Cream is significantly better than everything else I have come across, this powerful story impressed me so much I have already cued Taboo in Four Colors on my kindle and am going to take a closer look at his back catalogue. Mark does some crappy things, but his voice is so authentic I guarantee you will forgive him. The ending was also both outstanding and reflective and not dissimilar to any of us looking back upon a pivotal part of our own teenage years. Simply outstanding and sure to be one of the books of 2023. We all have a George in our past, whom we probably think about more than we would care to admit. Tony Jones Wasps in the Ice Cream by Tim McGregor  What happens when you fall for the girl everyone hates? Summer 1987: Mark Prewitt's only priority is to avoid his dad's new wife and waste time with his friends, but idle nights are the devil's playground. When his friends decide to pull a cruel prank on the reclusive and strange Farrow sisters, Mark regrets caving in to peer pressure. Wanting to make amends, Mark is drawn into the mysterious world of the Farrow girls, finding a kindred spirit in the middle sister, George. She is unlike anyone he's ever known; a practicing witch who uses folk magic to protect her family. They bond over books, loneliness, and homemade spells. She even invites Mark to join a séance to contact her dead sister, who died under mysterious circumstances. Keeping their relationship secret, Mark learns that living a double life in a town this small is impossible. When the secret is exposed, and his friends plot to punish the witch sisters for stealing one of their own, Mark is forced to choose between these two worlds. "Filled with evocative and captivating scenes, strong female characters, and an engaging narration, readers will become engrossed immediately, while the threat and fear at the heart of this story, satisfyingly, sneaks up on them." -Booklist, starred check out today's other horror book review below the ehart and soul of horror fiction review websitesComments are closed.
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