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lovelymisanthrope's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Suzanne Young is the author of one of my favorite series of all time, so I was very interested to pick up this venture into middle grade.
"What Stays Buried" is a middle grade ghost story that follows twelve-year-old Calista Wynn. Calista and everyone on her dad's side are mediums who can see and communicate with ghosts, the only catch is that they lose their powers when they turn thirteen. With Calista's birthday only a few weeks away, and a new ghost kidnapping children, she will have to work quickly to be able to save the town.
I was very pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this story! Calista is a super fun character to read from. She is mature, has a big heart, and seems very age appropriate. She makes mistakes like a twelve-year-old would, but she is a great sleuth and determined to crack this case. She also has so much love and adoration for her family, which was so beautiful to see.
This book felt very atmospheric and spooky, but it was not too scary for the target age range. This book is about ghosts, and so it does touch upon death, but again, I felt like it was done very age appropriately and middle graders will enjoy this story.
I was very invested in the story and hoping to figure out the mystery right alongside Calista.
Suzanne young is an immensely talented writer and I look forward to reading more from her in the future.
"What Stays Buried" is a middle grade ghost story that follows twelve-year-old Calista Wynn. Calista and everyone on her dad's side are mediums who can see and communicate with ghosts, the only catch is that they lose their powers when they turn thirteen. With Calista's birthday only a few weeks away, and a new ghost kidnapping children, she will have to work quickly to be able to save the town.
I was very pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this story! Calista is a super fun character to read from. She is mature, has a big heart, and seems very age appropriate. She makes mistakes like a twelve-year-old would, but she is a great sleuth and determined to crack this case. She also has so much love and adoration for her family, which was so beautiful to see.
This book felt very atmospheric and spooky, but it was not too scary for the target age range. This book is about ghosts, and so it does touch upon death, but again, I felt like it was done very age appropriately and middle graders will enjoy this story.
I was very invested in the story and hoping to figure out the mystery right alongside Calista.
Suzanne young is an immensely talented writer and I look forward to reading more from her in the future.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Child death, Death of parent, and Kidnapping
aishidoodah's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
cboddie's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
4.0
5th & up
naomiysl's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I was going to give this a 4, maybe even a 5, because the writing is stupendous. But the ending was just...trite. It made me mad, and didn't really make sense with the buildup we got. Felt sloppy at the end.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death of parent, and Death
stephanien's review
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
What Stays Buried was a fun, emotional paranormal book that I would have definitely loved as a kid. Calista Wynn, soon to turn thirteen, will lose her ability to speak with ghosts, something that will have a huge impact on her for reasons that are explained in the book and for which I don't want to give away. It added an emotional impact for which I wasn't prepared, as I was expecting simply a ghost story, a paranormal adventure, but this little emotional side story added a lot of depth to the story that I loved.
Calista was a fun character to get to know and I loved her spunk and her protective nature as her little sister started to gain her own powers. With a curse on the family stretching back decades, Calista knew she was going to lose her powers when she turned thirteen, something that was terrifying, especially as a new case lands in her lap just weeks before her birthday. I love how Calista is unsure of herself, but enters each situation at full speed, knowing she has to protect her family and her friends, no matter what. When children begin disappearing, and she starts seeing those children as ghosts, she fears the worst. Knowing she can't work alone, she teams up with an unexpected ally, and I loved how the friendship develops throughout the story. The characters were fun, with a depth to them I wasn't expecting and I enjoyed getting to know them all.
The plot was interesting and flowed very well. I thought it was intricate considering this is a juvenile fiction novel, and it was definitely on the scarier side. My favourite genre is horror, so I am a bit biased when it comes to that genre as I never think it is scary enough, but I do think the young reader will find it scary, with ghosts appearing, demon possession, children being kidnapped, a curse, and murderous ghosts. Some of the settings were downright creepy, including the marsh. Some people do get injured, but because it's not the humans doing the injuring, I do think young readers will be more understanding of the events and why things are happening. The story flowed very well, and it was never boring; in fact, I read the book in one sitting as I couldn't put it down.
Verdict
What Stays Buried was a lot scarier than I thought it would be, but that was what I loved about this book. However, I wasn't a fan of the ending as I am one for emotional endings even if I did enjoy the emotional way the whole ghosts thing resolved itself. I thought that was enough, but it continued right to the end, something I thought was out of step for the rest of the book which was actually spookier than I thought it would be, to my pleasant surprise. I know some reviewers took issue with the unsupervised summoning of dead spirits, something to do with occult practices, but I don't care about any of that. Gosh, how many people tried to summer Bloody Mary in the mirror when they were ten-years-old and had to hide under their blankets for a week? That is the fun of reading this stuff, so enjoy!!
jenn_h's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
3.75
scoutabout's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
xangemthelibrarian's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
This was absolutely terrifying. The descriptions of the Tall Lady, the demon possession, the ghosts being turned to ash. Absolutely terrifying! What a ride!
While I really enjoyed this book, I kept getting pulled out of the story by the weird 3-person narration. It is incredibly jarring to see something like "Callie wanted to protect Molly. She didn't want to see the little girl get hurt." Same thing with the other supporting characters in this story. It would shift suddenly between "her father" and "Mac" or "Nora" and "her mother" idk it was just really weird for me. I really wanted to see this story from Callie's perspective, and hearing someone say "Mac" or "The little girl" instead of using the names Callie would have used felt a little unnatural.
I also felt like Callie didn't have a lot of her own agency. She spent most of the book relying on her dad, grandma, and aunt to save the town. She didn't once try to do anything on her own until she had no other option. It was frustrating.
While I really enjoyed this book, I kept getting pulled out of the story by the weird 3-person narration. It is incredibly jarring to see something like "Callie wanted to protect Molly. She didn't want to see the little girl get hurt." Same thing with the other supporting characters in this story. It would shift suddenly between "her father" and "Mac" or "Nora" and "her mother" idk it was just really weird for me. I really wanted to see this story from Callie's perspective, and hearing someone say "Mac" or "The little girl" instead of using the names Callie would have used felt a little unnatural.
I also felt like Callie didn't have a lot of her own agency. She spent most of the book relying on her dad, grandma, and aunt to save the town. She didn't once try to do anything on her own until she had no other option. It was frustrating.