The Wicker King by K. Ancrum is a dark, psychological young adult thriller about two teenage best friends, August and Jack, whose intense bond is tested as Jack spirals into a hallucinatory disorder, seeing an elaborate fantasy world where he is a king and August his champion. August, feeling indebted to Jack, accepts these visions as reality and joins him on a quest to fulfill a dark prophecy, leading them to alienate everyone as they descend into madness and codependency, with the physical book's design reflecting their journey as pages darken.