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katykelly's review
4.0
Jamaica-set ghostly mystery, with a realistic portrayal of a young person's grief.
I'm not a fan of ghost stories, but I could definitely appreciate this one, where the heart of the story is not so much ghosts but Tyrese's grief at losing a beloved father. And I very much enjoyed seeing the setting, culture and language of the island, and feel it's beneficial for young readers to experience different lives to their own.
Tyrese is not coping well with the sad death of his father, he won't talk about it, about his dad, about how he's feeling. His mum has taken him back to his dad's family home in Jamaica from their Manchester home, to meet the family he doesn't know and to give him a change of scenery.
There he meets a cousin - Marvin - who speaks patois but instantly becomes friendly with him. Tyrese doesn't have time to start to bond before his Grammy's tales of island mysteries and supernatural creatures start to become very real for him - he's seeing things that can't be there, hearing voices and rhymes, feeling drawn away from his family towards something darker.
He, Marvin and a new friend called Ellie, herself left to her own devices by a busy father find themselves running round the island, escaping unknown enemies and not-quite-real beings, and have no idea what's going on. Who is the Shadow Man who seems to be after Ty - and why?
With the classic 'let's seek out information' set-up, and set-pieces involving chases and escapes, it's a very good heart-stopper actually, with facts to unravel, history to delve into, and a great threesome (not exactly Harry/Ron/Hermoine but reminiscent of the way they work together) who stick together and help each other through.
I loved hearing about other cultural stories and the way the story all unwinds to keep Ty's own current life situation as key, his confused and guilty thoughts very well portrayed and dealt with.
Quite scary at times, best for ages 9-13.
I'm not a fan of ghost stories, but I could definitely appreciate this one, where the heart of the story is not so much ghosts but Tyrese's grief at losing a beloved father. And I very much enjoyed seeing the setting, culture and language of the island, and feel it's beneficial for young readers to experience different lives to their own.
Tyrese is not coping well with the sad death of his father, he won't talk about it, about his dad, about how he's feeling. His mum has taken him back to his dad's family home in Jamaica from their Manchester home, to meet the family he doesn't know and to give him a change of scenery.
There he meets a cousin - Marvin - who speaks patois but instantly becomes friendly with him. Tyrese doesn't have time to start to bond before his Grammy's tales of island mysteries and supernatural creatures start to become very real for him - he's seeing things that can't be there, hearing voices and rhymes, feeling drawn away from his family towards something darker.
He, Marvin and a new friend called Ellie, herself left to her own devices by a busy father find themselves running round the island, escaping unknown enemies and not-quite-real beings, and have no idea what's going on. Who is the Shadow Man who seems to be after Ty - and why?
With the classic 'let's seek out information' set-up, and set-pieces involving chases and escapes, it's a very good heart-stopper actually, with facts to unravel, history to delve into, and a great threesome (not exactly Harry/Ron/Hermoine but reminiscent of the way they work together) who stick together and help each other through.
I loved hearing about other cultural stories and the way the story all unwinds to keep Ty's own current life situation as key, his confused and guilty thoughts very well portrayed and dealt with.
Quite scary at times, best for ages 9-13.
melbsreads's review
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content warnings: death of a parent, grief, body horror, panic attacks, blood
I was really intrigued to read this one because it's set in Jamaica and involves Jamaican folklore. And for the most part, I flew through this and was hooked from start to finish. But at the same time, I definitely didn't anticipate that so much of this story would be caught up in grief. Like, the death of a parent stuff is very much central to the story, and I appreciate why it was there. But I didn't expect SO much of the story to be about Ty's grief and trying to find out how to live in a world without his father.
Anyway, this was occasionally gorier than I anticipated, perhaps because the majority of the story reads very much like the young end of YA. And while the ending was a little rushed for my liking, I very much enjoyed it, and I'm glad I read it!
I was really intrigued to read this one because it's set in Jamaica and involves Jamaican folklore. And for the most part, I flew through this and was hooked from start to finish. But at the same time, I definitely didn't anticipate that so much of this story would be caught up in grief. Like, the death of a parent stuff is very much central to the story, and I appreciate why it was there. But I didn't expect SO much of the story to be about Ty's grief and trying to find out how to live in a world without his father.
Anyway, this was occasionally gorier than I anticipated, perhaps because the majority of the story reads very much like the young end of YA. And while the ending was a little rushed for my liking, I very much enjoyed it, and I'm glad I read it!
maireadh's review
dark
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
An incredibly scary read! The elements of folklore woven through this story were often chilling, perfectly combined with the very sad realities of grief.
firefox's review
3.0
(Arc)
The plot was interesting but I felt the execution and writing style wasn't for me? It felt along the lower bounds of YA and I just got bored easily. However, Tyrese was an amazing MC.
The plot was interesting but I felt the execution and writing style wasn't for me? It felt along the lower bounds of YA and I just got bored easily. However, Tyrese was an amazing MC.
teamcharlie3's review
1.0
I was definitely older than the intended demographic so I found it quite hard to find the main character likeable. Their decisions didn't really make sense and was quite frustrating but it was a very quick read and I did enjoy how fast paced it was.
smol_turtle's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
han_cat's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
mekeisha's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
bookwormandtheatremouse's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent
pageglue's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
“Shadow Man, Shadow Man, him come get you. Shadow Man, Shadow Man, him come take you.”
Months after the death of his father, Tyrese and his mother go to Jamaica to see family and stay with his Grammy and his cousin, Marvin. When all he wants to do is forget about what happened, his family, partly on the recommendation of his councillor, continue to mention his father repeatedly, driving Tyrese further into himself and away from them. One day when he runs off on his own, he stumbles upon a grave with a strange symbol on the tombstone. Tyrese, Marvin, and their new friend Ellie-Mae uncover a dark history that will haunt them all.
I’m still shocked that this book that’s recommended for 11-14-year-olds is the scariest horror book I’ve read this year! I’ll be upfront: the plot was messy. BUT the horror scenes were deliciously creepy! I really liked the characters, but the issues that Tyrese was going through were so dominant that I wished that the side characters had been more developed. I loved the setting and the folklore of the duppies. And I was frequently impressed with the writing, especially when it came to describing the setting and establishing the mood.
Despite its flaws, the good things about this book were excellent so I would easily recommend it. I would also warn that the depiction of grief is pretty heavy.
Months after the death of his father, Tyrese and his mother go to Jamaica to see family and stay with his Grammy and his cousin, Marvin. When all he wants to do is forget about what happened, his family, partly on the recommendation of his councillor, continue to mention his father repeatedly, driving Tyrese further into himself and away from them. One day when he runs off on his own, he stumbles upon a grave with a strange symbol on the tombstone. Tyrese, Marvin, and their new friend Ellie-Mae uncover a dark history that will haunt them all.
I’m still shocked that this book that’s recommended for 11-14-year-olds is the scariest horror book I’ve read this year! I’ll be upfront: the plot was messy. BUT the horror scenes were deliciously creepy! I really liked the characters, but the issues that Tyrese was going through were so dominant that I wished that the side characters had been more developed. I loved the setting and the folklore of the duppies. And I was frequently impressed with the writing, especially when it came to describing the setting and establishing the mood.
Despite its flaws, the good things about this book were excellent so I would easily recommend it. I would also warn that the depiction of grief is pretty heavy.