Reviews

Grave Matter by Alex T. Smith, Juno Dawson

theoth3r5ide's review

dark sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.5

bookb1itch's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-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

A gentle intro to the gothic genre for MG readers.  Haitian religion and beliefs about the afterlife vs old school Anglicanism.  Universal balance.  Aunt Marie was my favourite character.
I got this from my local library and now that I love it, sadly it appears to be unavailable through our usual suppliers for our Library.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Child death, and Grief

premium_huhn's review against another edition

4.0

Ich habe das Büchlein bei einem Weihnachtswichteln auf Goodreads bekommen und bin sehr angetan davon.
Das Buch las sich äußerst kurzweilig und die Gestaltung mit sehr gut lesbarem Schriftbild und wirklich schöner Bebilderung lud zum Weiterlesen ein. Das ist durchaus auch so gedacht - im Nachwort wird erläutert, dass sich dieses Buch (auch) an diejenigen richtet, die sonst nicht so gerne lesen, etwa weil sie Probleme mit dem Sehen oder einer Leseschwäche haben. Die Geschichte selbst ist sehr traurig ohne dabei aber hoffnungslos zu sein. Sam wandelt seinen Schmerz in Aktion um. Das mag nicht immer sinnvoll sein, hilft ihm aber letztendlich dabei, das Geschehene und die jetzige Situation zu verarbeiten und wieder nach vorne blicken zu können. Insgesamt ein schönes Buch für Zwischendurch.

patchworkbunny's review against another edition

4.0

Grave Matter is the latest young adult novella from Barrington Stoke designed for reluctant readers. Juno Dawson returns to her love of horror with a story about bringing a girl back to life. It had vibes of Buffy about it (both when Dawn tries to bring their mum back and the start of season six). It is also illustrated with creepy black and white drawings by Alex T. Smith.

the_red_one's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

thecatsaysmew's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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

novel_nibbles's review

adventurous dark emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

thesebookdelights's review against another edition

4.0

3.5

bookymac95's review against another edition

1.0

Not my favourite out of the three horror books by the same author, it just didn’t click with me this time unfortunately.

frankensteinscreature's review

2.0

A rather disappointing ending, but a good introduction to the gothic for younger readers!