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bookcheshirecat's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
3.5
“I'm learning that it's good to think about what scares you. To bring it into the light. Even to hold it in your hands, if you can, and feel how it can't hurt you anymore. To think of it and say, 'I am not afraid.”
➽ Watch Over Me is another haunting story by Nina LaCour who writes melancholy and healing so well. We follow Mila, who just aged out of the foster system and is invited to intern as a teaching assistant at a remote farm. I really liked the setting as it's isolated and haunted by ghosts that Mila has been able to see since she was little. The magical realism element fits well into the story and the author's writing style. Mila has been through a lot before she ended up in the foster system and it's slowly coming to light the longer she stays at the farm. I loved the themes of healing from trauma and confronting your personal ghosts. Mila isn't used to belonging anywhere so the farm is her chance at finding a place and family of her own. I especially liked the bond she had with Lee, a young boy who is her only student so far. He's also been through a lot and Mila is determined to help him heal from that.
➽ I only wish the story had been longer and more fleshed out. Apart from Lee, most characters felt one-dimensional and we didn't get to know them as well. The other adopted children didn't have any personality. There was more potential in the story and with more time we could have used that to deepen the story. Aspects like Mila's relationship with Liz and Lee were underdeveloped and not really resolved.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, and Emotional abuse
theyellowbrickreader's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury and Child abuse
greylandreviews's review against another edition
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
This was okay but, it just didn't hit me hard in the feels like <i>Were Are Okay</i> did. I still think about that one a lot. The best way to describe this is trauma focused head space of girl aging out of the foster care system and going to a haunted house to face her past ghosts.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Abandonment, Child abuse, Gaslighting, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Car accident and Death
ash_ton's review against another edition
emotional
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
3.75
i'm so glad this didn't turn out to be cult-y
Content Warnings
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Grief, Abandonment, Blood, and Death
Minor: Animal death, Cursing, Medical content, Car accident, and Panic attacks/disorders
celineguedj's review against another edition
dark
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury and Domestic abuse
caseyaboutthroughout's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury
_pauline's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Nina LaCour captures loneliness and trauma in a unique yet imo accurate & relatable way. I‘m saying this as someone who - just like with Hold Still - doesn’t actually relate to the trauma the mc has experienced (fortunately), which could either mean that it has to be exceptionally well done in order for me to feel that way or that I simply don’t know what I‘m talking about, that’s for other people to decide.
I did find the flashback scenes quite disturbing/unsettling but I know they were meant to, I know that’s the point of them.
I really liked the storyline with Lee
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Fire/Fire injury, and Gaslighting
samgelbert's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Utterly devastating. I wasn’t expecting the heaviness or the ghosts so I didn’t properly prepare myself for this story. It’s really dark and I suppose the end was a relief but I’m still feeling shook from the emotion. I’m not sure how to rate it; perhaps I’ll come back and Polish this review when I have more time to process.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Abandonment, Death, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury
pjv's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Child abuse, and Death
hyperashley's review against another edition
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, Death, and Physical abuse