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apersonfromflorida's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Alcoholism, Eating disorder, Racial slurs, Racism, Xenophobia, and Vomit
Minor: Sexual content
andromeda_1998's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Summary
This book is about Lauren and the other residents of the little town named Smith’s Hollow. There town is a quite peaceful one. Nothing ever really happens is Smith’s Hallow accept for the murder of Lauren’s dad of course almost a year ago. While her family is still healing from his death, strange things are starting to happen. Two broken bodies of out of town teens are found in the backyard of a villager and now it’s up to Lauren to find out the truth about the murders.
Characters
This is a though one. These characters are very well done but the aren’t written to please. They symbolize all different kind of people from Bigots to friendly mothers. There are characters with toxic ideals and there are characters that you will want to root for. Christina Henry doesn’t shy away from racism as well. If your looking for a book with lovable characters then this isn’t it. Are you looking for realistic characters? This might be the book for you.
Worldbuilding
The ghost tree is set in a world like ours so there isn’t a lot of world building but it has some twists that are well done. The only thing I miss is clear rules for the “magic/supernatural ” parts of this book.
Plot
The book started really strong but in the middle of the book it lost its flow for a bit. I feel like that has something to do with the repetition of the storyline. Towards the ending the book finds its way back on track. Just hand in there!
Writing style
Christina Henry had a way with writing that makes all the story’s she writes read like a fairytale. It’s a really compelling way of writing that I don’t get enough of.
Overal thoughts
This book is a good read for readers that are looking for a start in the horror genre. It’s fast, witty, a bit creepy but not to scary. I would recommend it to ages 14-18 but 14 years old is on the younger side of things.
Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Child death, Death, Gore, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Alcoholism, Eating disorder, Vomit, and Alcohol
missbreathing's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
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The characters are all interesting, complex, and layered. Lauren is an endearing MC, and her reluctance to grow up is relatable and enriches the story. The multiple POVs work well: they each have a distinct voice, and we get lots of information from each one.
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The prose does feel awkward at times, and it could use some polish, but it’s easy enough to get used to.
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While this book starts off strong, it does become a bit slow and repetitive. The story, tensions and intrigue would work better if this was a shorter book. As it is, it is a tad predictable and spends a lot of time repeating itself. Additionally, the last act feels a little convenient. The very end feels unearned and a bit abrupt.
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Still, I looked forward to picking this up in the evenings. I had a good time reading it. I’d recommend this to fans of small-town horror or of “My Best Friend’s Exorcism,” since it’s similar in its themes and imagery.
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Graphic: Gore, Racism, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Grief, Death of parent, and Murder
Minor: Eating disorder
bearregretsthis's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
A great novel for anyone searching for a horror and dark fantasy. Although Lauren is the protagonist each chapter switches perspective and involves a diverse cast, each with a unique plotline. I found many of the characters loveable and others I loved to hate. For someone who struggles to read larger texts the book kept me hooked until the very end.
I have previously read The Lost Boy by Henry and I hope to read more of her works however I found this story slightly less enjoyable than the work I had previously read; however the book is nonetheless a great read.
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, and Murder
Moderate: Body shaming, Pedophilia, Racism, Sexism, and Death of parent
Minor: Fatphobia, Gun violence, and Police brutality
grace_collinson's review
- 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? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Child death, Blood, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, and Sexual content
amarieb's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
5.0
Graphic: Child death, Death, Blood, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Alcoholism
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Racial slurs, and Sexual content
sararainsberry's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Gore, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Death of parent, and Murder
Minor: Vomit and Grief
lauriereadslohf's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.5
Things start off when two young women are found torn to pieces in the local bigots backyard. This is a quiet, sleepy town and this is a big deal. Or one would think so. Instead of everyone being in a huge panic screaming “LOCK YOUR DOORS THERE’S A MURDERER ON THE LOOSE!” people seem a bit “hmm, guess I better go water my lawn and mind my own damn business”. Weird, right?
Well, things only get weirder as the story moves along.
Told from multiple POV’s the main voice that stuck out for me was that of teenager Lauren who has been having migraines and visions and finds the forest a calming place. Her father died a year earlier, a grisly victim of murder whose killer was never found. Hmm, perhaps this town isn’t so “quiet” after all. The case gets brushed under the rug as everyone moves on with their lives but Lauren can’t move on quite so easily. She has a strained relationship with her mother and her best friend has suddenly gone boy crazy so she’s having a real shit time now and I felt for her. She starts her own poking around into all of these deaths that no one seems interested in solving and what she finds is far more than she could’ve dreamed up.
If the story had focused more on Lauren’s POV I think I would’ve enjoyed it more than I did. There’s a lot going on here and some of it is important but feels a bit underdeveloped even though the book is over 400 pages. There’s also one big reveal that read like a dark fairy tale. I love dark fairy tales but as far as this one goes I feel like it’s one that’s been told too many times. Or perhaps I’ve just read too many books or maybe I'm just too grouchy. Either way that reveal didn’t work for me. I’m also going to complain about Lauren’s love interest here because I’m me and also because I do believe she was 13 or 14 years old and he was in college (if my brain is remembering correctly) and he was at least 18 and maybe I’m just an old biddy now but that felt like too big of a gap at those ages and it bugged me.
What did thrill me were the imperfect and sometimes unlikable characters. There’s enough fiery rage, grief and assholery going around to fuel this whole cursed town and some of these people made me crazy but in the best way because it felt realistic to coming of age and also to the situations. There were few unblemished angels here. Almost everyone (except the innocent brother & the new to town policeman) had the potential to be a bit of a cruel dick at one point or another and there’s quite a few characters who are just despicable through and through and I don’t know why but I enjoyed that type of character honesty in this story even if some of them aggravated and upset the hell out of me at times! I'm looking at you Miranda (kiddo don't let boys ruin your self esteem) and also at you Mrs. IForgotYourNameButYour'reAnEvilBigot.
I guess I’m going with a 3.5 and I hope that rating matches my words.
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Eating disorder and Fatphobia
sarahasyouwish's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Racial slurs, Racism, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Body shaming, Toxic relationship, and Death of parent
Minor: Alcoholism