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audryt's review
3.0
I really liked this book, but it wasn't without flaws. While the characters felt realistic and interesting, they also felt like they could have been fleshed out more. Their issues were resolved too easily and too quickly.
This book was really short and could've benefitted from another 10-15 pages of material and more wrap-up at the ending, which was rather abrupt.
I love the cover and the overall design and plan to keep it in my collection because of that. :-)
Good for Black History Month because of the information about slavery in CT, but also covers themes of losing a parent, being forced to move to a new place, and ghost hauntings.
This book was really short and could've benefitted from another 10-15 pages of material and more wrap-up at the ending, which was rather abrupt.
I love the cover and the overall design and plan to keep it in my collection because of that. :-)
Good for Black History Month because of the information about slavery in CT, but also covers themes of losing a parent, being forced to move to a new place, and ghost hauntings.
kellyjcm's review
2.0
Pemba moves from NYC to Connecticut unwillingly. Torn from her best friend and boyfriend, the only world she has ever known, to live in small-town New England, populated primarily by white residents. Her house appears to be haunted, and this is somehow related to the local history that Abraham, an older black man who has befriended Pemba and her mother, has been researching.
I so wanted to love this book. And I did enjoy aspects of it. Pemba's narrative voice is strong and authentic, and her poems are fantastic: introspective and relatable, but still genuine teen. Also, an authors' note explains that the history of Colchester, Connecticut (the setting) that is related in the book is real, which I didn't know before I read, so I found that fascinating.
The downside? The ghost story never took off for me. It read more like a mystery, lacking in the atmospheric tension requisite for a ghost story. The paranormal element of the story, which I won't reveal here, is certainly a focus, but definitely lacks a seamless integration with the character and her backstory.
Surprisingly, the prose writing feels like an early draft rather than a finished piece. Transitions between paragraphs are really abrupt, and I didn't feel as though there is enough dialogue to "cover" characters' actions within scenes. A few minor plot details are introduced but not really resolved, particularly the one regarding Pemba's father. The poetry that is the voice of Phyllys only confused me, but that might be because I don't understand how the paranormal connection between Phyllys and Pemba works.
I so wanted to love this book. And I did enjoy aspects of it. Pemba's narrative voice is strong and authentic, and her poems are fantastic: introspective and relatable, but still genuine teen. Also, an authors' note explains that the history of Colchester, Connecticut (the setting) that is related in the book is real, which I didn't know before I read, so I found that fascinating.
The downside? The ghost story never took off for me. It read more like a mystery, lacking in the atmospheric tension requisite for a ghost story. The paranormal element of the story, which I won't reveal here, is certainly a focus, but definitely lacks a seamless integration with the character and her backstory.
Surprisingly, the prose writing feels like an early draft rather than a finished piece. Transitions between paragraphs are really abrupt, and I didn't feel as though there is enough dialogue to "cover" characters' actions within scenes. A few minor plot details are introduced but not really resolved, particularly the one regarding Pemba's father. The poetry that is the voice of Phyllys only confused me, but that might be because I don't understand how the paranormal connection between Phyllys and Pemba works.
williamsdebbied's review
3.0
Historical fiction/paranormal mystery. Pemba and her mother move from Brooklyn to Connecticut and Pemba immediately senses something strange in their new house. She connects to a slave girl named Phyllys who is trying to relay a message across time.
There is some interesting African American history based on real events in the history of Colchester, Connecticut.
There is some interesting African American history based on real events in the history of Colchester, Connecticut.
floridaminnie's review
3.0
Different type of ghost story. I wish the author dove deeper into the historical aspect of the novel.
thisgrrlreads's review
1.0
Thankfully only 108 pages long or I would not have made it through the slang that was trying too hard and the Marilyn Nelson poems that I somehow thought would be more gripping. The book may actually have been too short to really tell a story, so resorted to stereotypes and bad slang.
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