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readsforlove's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Terminal illness, and Dementia
Minor: Child death
cjmast's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
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? It's complicated
4.5
eloise_bradbooks's review
5.0
I absolutely loved this! One of my favourite middle grade novels, for sure.
We follow Eliot, who has just moved to a new town after her Babung, her grandmother, passed away. Eliot has been struggling with grief and wants to contact her Babung's ghost. But it's upon other ghosts that she stumbled upon in the creepy house she's now gardening at. With the help of Hazel, the girl staying at the strange house, she has to help the ghosts get their memories back if they want to pass to the other side serenely.
This story is about a girl trying to process grief and accept to move on in a new town.
It's about the ghosts she helps and their stories.
It's about family and friendship and crushes on girls.
It was beautiful.
The vibes were perfect for me: sweet well developed characters, a strange house with a magical key, magical objects and wonderful lost souls.
We follow Eliot, who has just moved to a new town after her Babung, her grandmother, passed away. Eliot has been struggling with grief and wants to contact her Babung's ghost. But it's upon other ghosts that she stumbled upon in the creepy house she's now gardening at. With the help of Hazel, the girl staying at the strange house, she has to help the ghosts get their memories back if they want to pass to the other side serenely.
This story is about a girl trying to process grief and accept to move on in a new town.
It's about the ghosts she helps and their stories.
It's about family and friendship and crushes on girls.
It was beautiful.
The vibes were perfect for me: sweet well developed characters, a strange house with a magical key, magical objects and wonderful lost souls.
blueberreads's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
saucy_bookdragon's review
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I cried during the last chapters of this so that says something. This is a cute but sad ghost story that mainly deals with grief and how memory is tied to life. It's not super adventurous or heavy on the mystery, rather spending most of its time with these themes and characters. It's also sapphic, there isn't much of a romance and none of the characters outright come out but it is crystal clear the protagonist Eliot and supporting character Hazel are lesbians.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Dementia, and Death
Moderate: Child death
Minor: Lesbophobia
astraeal's review
emotional
hopeful
sad
4.75
Except moving on is one of the hardest things a person can do—not for the ones who leave, but for the ones who are left behind.
ofpensandswords's review against another edition
4.0
Where the Lost Ones Go, by Akemi Dawn Bowman, follows Eliot, a girl who becomes obsessed with ghosts and paranormal activity when her grandmother passes away. When her family moves to a small town and she hears rumors of ghosts in a nearby house called Honeyfield Hall, she immediately tries to investigate. She finds the ghosts she is seeking, learning that they are trapped between worlds and need her help to move on, enlisting the help of Hazel, Honeyfield Hall's owner's granddaughter, to do so.
I really enjoyed this book! I don't always love ghost stories, but the promise of a middle-grade novel dealing with memory and grief while also featuring a queer romance was too good to pass up, so I'm really glad I gave this a try.
This is fundamentally a story about grieving and coming to terms with the death of a loved one, so if you're just looking for a paranormal mystery then this probably isn't the book for you. If you're looking for a poignant and touching story that happens to be set amid a mystery, however, then I think you'll really enjoy this book.
Eliot's relationship with her Babung is truly at the heart of the story, and I think that that was done really well. There are some books about grief I've read that truly don't flesh out the relationships enough for the reader to truly invest themselves in it, but that's absolutely not the case here. You truly fall in love with all of the characters, even those who aren't present.
I also really appreciated the low-key queer representation between Eliot and Hazel. I know that seeing casual queer rep in middle grade books would have meant the world to me as a middle schooler, so I'm really grateful to see that becoming more of a thing.
My only criticisms about the book are the fact that the plot could have been a bit better placed (it felt quite slow at times), and the fact that Eliot desperately needs a lot of therapy, but her parents aren't really coping with their own grief, much less helping her. Overall, though, I'm giving this 4/5 stars and highly recommend it for anybody looking for a thoughtful middle grade novel.
Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Children's for providing me with a free eARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.
I really enjoyed this book! I don't always love ghost stories, but the promise of a middle-grade novel dealing with memory and grief while also featuring a queer romance was too good to pass up, so I'm really glad I gave this a try.
This is fundamentally a story about grieving and coming to terms with the death of a loved one, so if you're just looking for a paranormal mystery then this probably isn't the book for you. If you're looking for a poignant and touching story that happens to be set amid a mystery, however, then I think you'll really enjoy this book.
Eliot's relationship with her Babung is truly at the heart of the story, and I think that that was done really well. There are some books about grief I've read that truly don't flesh out the relationships enough for the reader to truly invest themselves in it, but that's absolutely not the case here. You truly fall in love with all of the characters, even those who aren't present.
I also really appreciated the low-key queer representation between Eliot and Hazel. I know that seeing casual queer rep in middle grade books would have meant the world to me as a middle schooler, so I'm really grateful to see that becoming more of a thing.
My only criticisms about the book are the fact that the plot could have been a bit better placed (it felt quite slow at times), and the fact that Eliot desperately needs a lot of therapy, but her parents aren't really coping with their own grief, much less helping her. Overall, though, I'm giving this 4/5 stars and highly recommend it for anybody looking for a thoughtful middle grade novel.
Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Children's for providing me with a free eARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.
cakt1991's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-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
4.0
I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.
I have heard a lot of good things about Akemi Dawn Bowman’s work, although I have never picked up one of her books until now. However, if they’re all as good as Where the Lost Ones Go, I’m excited to explore more.
Having just read a book about expressions of grief mingled with paranormal elements, I find it continually fascinating how people worry about stories being “too similar,” for whatever reason, especially from marginalized voices, as apart from those elements, they’re so different…even the expressions of grief are different! I loved following Eliot on her journey as she reckoned with her grandmother’s passing, including attempting to make contact with her spirit.
Eliot is very easy to relate to, as I also lost my grandmother around a similar age as she did. This was a very nostalgic read for me as a result, and while my process of grieving wasn’t identical to hers, I couldn’t help but enjoy living vicariously through her.
I enjoyed the “haunted house” aspect and the twist on the ghost story. It’s subtly creepy and atmospheric, and I enjoyed following Eliot as she explored and unearthed the Hall’s secrets.
I also love the romance that develops between her and Hazel. It starts as a friendship, and blossoms slowly into something more. There’s a twist where Hazel is concerned, and while I found it pretty obvious, I’m also not the target audience, and I appreciate how it was written in a clever way without overly spoon feeding it to the audience.
This is a fun paranormal middle grade, and one that for the most part, holds appeal for older audiences as well. If you enjoy ghost stories that also explore grief and loss, I recommend keeping an eye out for this one.
betweentheshelves's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-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? It's complicated
4.0
Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Children's for an advanced copy of Where the Lost Ones Go by Akemi Dawn Bowman to review! I don't know how she gets so lucky, but Bowman always has the best covers. They are all absolutely breathtaking, including this one!
This isn't Bowman's first middle grade, but it's the first middle grade of hers that I've read. And I'm not surprised that I loved it! Bowman nails the voice in this, authentically communicating Eliot's feelings and her struggles with grief. It could be a great jumping off point to discuss death and grief with kids or tweens. You can feel how much Eliot is hurting and trying to figure out how to move forward from that hurt. I do wish some sort of therapy would have been represented, because that could have been such a positive thing. I get why it wasn't, plotwise, but including would have given the book that extra edge.
We also get some twists on the classic ghost story for middle grade. While some of the plot twists were easy for me to spot, they might not be as easy for kids reading it. Bowman plays with your expectations throughout the book, and it really makes the entire story engaging. It made me want to see what Bowman was going to do next!
All in all, if you're looking for a new middle grade to jump into that might deal with some difficult topics, I would recommend this!
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Such a lovely middle grade about grief, about learning to move on, about new beginnings. Stay tuned for a full review to come!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief and Death
Moderate: Dementia and Child death
anniekslibrary's review
5.0
This is by far my favourite middlegrade I've read so far this year, and a definite all-time favourite. It's both a ghost story about a haunted house and a story about a girl grieving her grandmother and trying to find closure and come to terms with her loss, and these aspects of the story are combined in the most phenomenal of ways. Parts of the story are really fun, but it's also a really heartfelt, emotional read. Particularly the ending made me tear up.