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3.74 AVERAGE
3.74 AVERAGE
Oh yesssssss. Firstly, my music loving soul absolutely loved the way music is woven throughout the story and is essential to the plot. Secondly, this book is a perfect October read - spooky, slightly creepy, a little cosy and just wonderfully autumnal vibes.
The way the music, the mystery, the fiddle, the ghosts, the friendships and the family all weave together is so seamless. It all felt perfectly balanced.
The book revolves around a murder mystery, and Shady’s brother is accused. But even before that, she is wondering about the mystery of her dads fiddle, and raising ghosts. Given that there’s a murder, these naturally fold right into each other and we’re left trying to protect Shady from the ghosts!
Shady is also bi and trying to sort out her love for her best friend while all this is going on, and while Sarah is giving some mixed messages. I loved how we got to see Shady interact with Sarah, and later Cedar, and it was always quietly balanced against everything else. There’s some honestly lovely moments with both and while I loved how it ended up playing out, I loved more that it felt honest and was a really adult response to a tough situation.
The ghost raising is creepy AF, and I sort of loved it. Which is impressive as I am a right wuss! I also loved how the mystery of the fiddle and the ghosts we see end up mixing with the modern day occurrences.
This very much feels like it could have really happened, despite me not believing in ghosts! Utterly wonderful. 4.5 stars.
The way the music, the mystery, the fiddle, the ghosts, the friendships and the family all weave together is so seamless. It all felt perfectly balanced.
The book revolves around a murder mystery, and Shady’s brother is accused. But even before that, she is wondering about the mystery of her dads fiddle, and raising ghosts. Given that there’s a murder, these naturally fold right into each other and we’re left trying to protect Shady from the ghosts!
Shady is also bi and trying to sort out her love for her best friend while all this is going on, and while Sarah is giving some mixed messages. I loved how we got to see Shady interact with Sarah, and later Cedar, and it was always quietly balanced against everything else. There’s some honestly lovely moments with both and while I loved how it ended up playing out, I loved more that it felt honest and was a really adult response to a tough situation.
The ghost raising is creepy AF, and I sort of loved it. Which is impressive as I am a right wuss! I also loved how the mystery of the fiddle and the ghosts we see end up mixing with the modern day occurrences.
This very much feels like it could have really happened, despite me not believing in ghosts! Utterly wonderful. 4.5 stars.
There is nothing wrong with this book. A few years ago when I was getting back into reading, I put a bunch of these magical/supernatural YA books on my tbr, despite being way past the age for YA. I do still enjoy some YA, and some of them were hits, but I think I over-magical-YA'd. 😂 I'm just not getting into this one. I might be done with these, at least for a while. But I had to try with this beautiful cover!
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
First, this book has an amazing atmosphere. The eerie music and ghosts define this book. That and the family history and trauma. This book is mostly about family. It’s grief and secrets.
On the side there is a cute found family in this book too.
On the side there is a cute found family in this book too.
A couple of things I didn’t know going into this book was that a) it’s a YA contemporary, I don’t know why in my head I thought that this was a fantasy, and b) the magic in this book will not be the highlight; I mean I knew it was southern gothic but later realised it is more magical realism.
I enjoyed this book. It was a short, quick read, and keeping with the contemporary genre, it focused more on family and friends, rather than world building or setting up the rules that make up the fantastical aspect of the plot. Although, this book reads more like a children’s book than young adult.
This book follows the first person perspective of Shady Grove, a teenager who can see and conjure ghosts by playing her fiddle. She inherited the fiddle and the ability from her father. When the book opens, Shady and her family are going through a recent death (her father’s), and we see that she feels lost and alone. Her almost-girlfriend is distant, her brother is absent, her mom doesn’t give any attention to Shady, and more or less Shady’s a girl with no friends and much grief.
It was interesting following her perspective and seeing how she changes from her initial characterisation as an obedient and goody-good girl to a more independent and wholesome person. The mystery is built nicely, even if it’s resolved too conveniently. And the family secrets run deep, even though they were pretty obvious to guess. The novel doesn’t add anything more to the genre but it doesn’t stray from the conventions either; which worked in the story’s favour.
A significant point to note is the eerie spooky feeling that is created by Walter’s writing. And it stays long after the scene is over and we’ve moved on to a different place. However, no matter how much the eerie feeling was built there was no culmination of it, most of it felt like a built up with no reward.
I would recommend this book, as it’s perfect for fall/Halloween season. And in parts, really enjoyable.
I enjoyed this book. It was a short, quick read, and keeping with the contemporary genre, it focused more on family and friends, rather than world building or setting up the rules that make up the fantastical aspect of the plot. Although, this book reads more like a children’s book than young adult.
This book follows the first person perspective of Shady Grove, a teenager who can see and conjure ghosts by playing her fiddle. She inherited the fiddle and the ability from her father. When the book opens, Shady and her family are going through a recent death (her father’s), and we see that she feels lost and alone. Her almost-girlfriend is distant, her brother is absent, her mom doesn’t give any attention to Shady, and more or less Shady’s a girl with no friends and much grief.
It was interesting following her perspective and seeing how she changes from her initial characterisation as an obedient and goody-good girl to a more independent and wholesome person. The mystery is built nicely, even if it’s resolved too conveniently. And the family secrets run deep, even though they were pretty obvious to guess. The novel doesn’t add anything more to the genre but it doesn’t stray from the conventions either; which worked in the story’s favour.
A significant point to note is the eerie spooky feeling that is created by Walter’s writing. And it stays long after the scene is over and we’ve moved on to a different place. However, no matter how much the eerie feeling was built there was no culmination of it, most of it felt like a built up with no reward.
I would recommend this book, as it’s perfect for fall/Halloween season. And in parts, really enjoyable.
Fiddles, bluegrass, queer love triangle, and ghosts.
Shady Grove learned to play fiddle from her daddy before he died. Now that her brother is accused of murder, she plans on finding her dad's old fiddle and using it to raise ghosts. With a love triangle consuming much of her attention, Shady attempts to connect to the other realm and seek juatice for her brother.
For a YA supernatural novel, it was okay... The plot was engaging enough to want to finish, but no major surprises or twists to be found. This was a book club pick and though I wouldn't recommend it to most adults, I think middle school kids would find it more engrossing. 3☆
Read my other reviews on Instagram- @whathilaryreads
Shady Grove learned to play fiddle from her daddy before he died. Now that her brother is accused of murder, she plans on finding her dad's old fiddle and using it to raise ghosts. With a love triangle consuming much of her attention, Shady attempts to connect to the other realm and seek juatice for her brother.
For a YA supernatural novel, it was okay... The plot was engaging enough to want to finish, but no major surprises or twists to be found. This was a book club pick and though I wouldn't recommend it to most adults, I think middle school kids would find it more engrossing. 3☆
Read my other reviews on Instagram- @whathilaryreads
A bit disappointing, but alas, mystery isn't my favorite genre. This really needed more ghosts. That would've saved it quite a bit!
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated