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A review by theofficialzhang
Where Echoes Die by Courtney Gould
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest, spoiler-free review!
Themes: Grief, Loss, Family, Moving on
Representation: Lesbian, Mental health
Content Warnings: Abuse, Violence, Death
Premise: There are no cars in Backravel, no churches and no cemeteries. After her mother’s death, Beck decides to visit Backravel, a strange little town in Arizona that her mother was quite drawn to to solve her mother’s mystery. However, she has more questions than answers.
Characters
Since this book is more plot-focused, I found that the characters weren’t as well-developed as I would’ve liked. However, I think the author did a good job portraying how each character struggles with grief differently, how nuanced it is, and how it does not affect everyone the same.
For Beck, she has grief over losing her mother. Not just what she had with her, but what could have been since Beck has a very interesting, to say the least, relationship with her mother and that has affected her life a lot, as well as her relationships with other characters. We can witness Beck’s relationship with her mother in flashbacks. And the author does a good job connecting the present and past.
However, I did wish the author showed more interactions between Beck and her mother. A lot of what we know about her mother is based on Beck’s interactions from before, however, there is only one interaction (from what I can recall) from before the before. Before Beck’s relationship with her mother started to change. I feel like if we were to be shown more of the relationship before the before, it would help the reader better understand why Beck feels the way she does about her mother and why her feelings are so conflicted.
Other than that, I also think the author does a good job portraying Beck’s mental health because mental health isn’t something that is easy to portray. Showing how Beck’s struggles do not necessarily make her a “weak” person and how she can overcome them. However, I wish we were shown a bit more of Beck’s thought process about overcoming her struggles.
As for the other characters, they were also generally well-represented. I loved how Riley showed a different perspective of how she felt after losing her mother was different than how Beck felt. I liked the interactions that the two sisters had with each other and how their relationship was generally positive as well as how they cared for each other. I do wish we got a bit more explanation about why Riley felt compelled to act as she did around Beck from Riley rather than Beck’s internal monologue.
I also enjoyed Avery. I enjoyed how her character showed how living in Backravel could change you. I liked how she also showed a different perspective towards grief and loss since, yes, Avery does have troubles of her own. I also liked how she helped Beck, not only with solving the mystery of the town but becoming a better person. However, even though I liked the Sapphic representation that the author decided to include, I felt that Avery and Beck lacked chemistry and their relationship felt more platonic to me than romantic. Plus, I felt that having a romantic relationship took the focus away from their character development as individuals.
Finally, Ricky. He was an interesting antagonist. He started off seeming perfect, unsettlingly perfect until BOOM… the end when his true nature was revealed. As well as his motives for his actions. Though I loved his reveal in the end, and how what he did wasn’t because he was necessarily an evil person, I wished there was more of a buildup towards his character reveal. I wish the author included small fragments into Rick’s life that foreshadowed and better explained his actions based on his character and his character’s interactions.
Rating: 3.5/5
Plot
The plot was the best part of the book. After all, this book is plot based as the character is striving for a specific action, a “goal” if you will.
Though the exposition of the book started off slow and confusingly and might turn you away from the lack of action… do not fret. Once you sit through it, it is worth it. You are hit with twist after twist, leaving you with more questions than answers, and leaving you wanting more. Wanting to solve the mystery of Backravel with Beck. And wanting to figure out why exactly Backravel is so unsettling.
The ending of the book was unexpected and unpredictable. You’d think something else was the reason why Backravel was the way that it was based on the “clues” you were given throughout the story but it turns on you. Packed with action, the ending of the book does a good job of surprising the reader while tying all the ends of the story together in a fitting way.
Finally, the author does an excellent job of foreshadowing in the book. Leaving the clues in small sprinkles and letting the reader tie the clues together rather than revealing what happens straight away. She does this through things the other characters say, the actions that the other characters do, and making the strange town, Backravel, get stranger and stranger. Though, I can’t give you a specific example without spoiling the story itself.
Finally, the setting and atmosphere play a huge role in the plot. The desert and this strange town, Backravel, just seem to be in the midst of all the mystery!
Rating: 5/5
Style
Speaking of the setting, I loved how the author describes it. She uses a lot of vivid imagery to evoke the essence of Backravel. The imagery of the desolate desert and peculiar town. As you are reading this book, it feels like you have been transported to Backravel, the Arizona sun beating down on your face, along with Beck.
As for the themes, the author does a great job representing Sapphic love in a casual manner, something that is rare in books and rarer in YA thrillers. Which is something I, as a queer person, do find validating. She also does a good job with the mental health rep. She shows how grief can affect each person differently through different characters, their thoughts, their words, and their actions since grief and loss aren’t a “one-size-fits-all” type of thing.
For the general formatting of the book, I didn’t really think too much of it. It was written in third-person present tense which didn’t add nor subtract anything from the book and actually fit the book since it was pretty plot heavy.
Rating: 3.5/5
Final Rating
Characters: 3.5/5
Plot: 5/5
Formatting: 3.5/5
Final Rating: 4/5
Personal Rating: 3.5/5
Date Read: May 30th, 2023
Date Reviewed: May 31st, 2023
Themes: Grief, Loss, Family, Moving on
Representation: Lesbian, Mental health
Content Warnings: Abuse, Violence, Death
Premise: There are no cars in Backravel, no churches and no cemeteries. After her mother’s death, Beck decides to visit Backravel, a strange little town in Arizona that her mother was quite drawn to to solve her mother’s mystery. However, she has more questions than answers.
Characters
Since this book is more plot-focused, I found that the characters weren’t as well-developed as I would’ve liked. However, I think the author did a good job portraying how each character struggles with grief differently, how nuanced it is, and how it does not affect everyone the same.
For Beck, she has grief over losing her mother. Not just what she had with her, but what could have been since Beck has a very interesting, to say the least, relationship with her mother and that has affected her life a lot, as well as her relationships with other characters. We can witness Beck’s relationship with her mother in flashbacks. And the author does a good job connecting the present and past.
However, I did wish the author showed more interactions between Beck and her mother. A lot of what we know about her mother is based on Beck’s interactions from before, however, there is only one interaction (from what I can recall) from before the before. Before Beck’s relationship with her mother started to change. I feel like if we were to be shown more of the relationship before the before, it would help the reader better understand why Beck feels the way she does about her mother and why her feelings are so conflicted.
Other than that, I also think the author does a good job portraying Beck’s mental health because mental health isn’t something that is easy to portray. Showing how Beck’s struggles do not necessarily make her a “weak” person and how she can overcome them. However, I wish we were shown a bit more of Beck’s thought process about overcoming her struggles.
As for the other characters, they were also generally well-represented. I loved how Riley showed a different perspective of how she felt after losing her mother was different than how Beck felt. I liked the interactions that the two sisters had with each other and how their relationship was generally positive as well as how they cared for each other. I do wish we got a bit more explanation about why Riley felt compelled to act as she did around Beck from Riley rather than Beck’s internal monologue.
I also enjoyed Avery. I enjoyed how her character showed how living in Backravel could change you. I liked how she also showed a different perspective towards grief and loss since, yes, Avery does have troubles of her own. I also liked how she helped Beck, not only with solving the mystery of the town but becoming a better person. However, even though I liked the Sapphic representation that the author decided to include, I felt that Avery and Beck lacked chemistry and their relationship felt more platonic to me than romantic. Plus, I felt that having a romantic relationship took the focus away from their character development as individuals.
Finally, Ricky. He was an interesting antagonist. He started off seeming perfect, unsettlingly perfect until BOOM… the end when his true nature was revealed. As well as his motives for his actions. Though I loved his reveal in the end, and how what he did wasn’t because he was necessarily an evil person, I wished there was more of a buildup towards his character reveal. I wish the author included small fragments into Rick’s life that foreshadowed and better explained his actions based on his character and his character’s interactions.
Rating: 3.5/5
Plot
The plot was the best part of the book. After all, this book is plot based as the character is striving for a specific action, a “goal” if you will.
Though the exposition of the book started off slow and confusingly and might turn you away from the lack of action… do not fret. Once you sit through it, it is worth it. You are hit with twist after twist, leaving you with more questions than answers, and leaving you wanting more. Wanting to solve the mystery of Backravel with Beck. And wanting to figure out why exactly Backravel is so unsettling.
The ending of the book was unexpected and unpredictable. You’d think something else was the reason why Backravel was the way that it was based on the “clues” you were given throughout the story but it turns on you. Packed with action, the ending of the book does a good job of surprising the reader while tying all the ends of the story together in a fitting way.
Finally, the author does an excellent job of foreshadowing in the book. Leaving the clues in small sprinkles and letting the reader tie the clues together rather than revealing what happens straight away. She does this through things the other characters say, the actions that the other characters do, and making the strange town, Backravel, get stranger and stranger. Though, I can’t give you a specific example without spoiling the story itself.
Finally, the setting and atmosphere play a huge role in the plot. The desert and this strange town, Backravel, just seem to be in the midst of all the mystery!
Rating: 5/5
Style
Speaking of the setting, I loved how the author describes it. She uses a lot of vivid imagery to evoke the essence of Backravel. The imagery of the desolate desert and peculiar town. As you are reading this book, it feels like you have been transported to Backravel, the Arizona sun beating down on your face, along with Beck.
As for the themes, the author does a great job representing Sapphic love in a casual manner, something that is rare in books and rarer in YA thrillers. Which is something I, as a queer person, do find validating. She also does a good job with the mental health rep. She shows how grief can affect each person differently through different characters, their thoughts, their words, and their actions since grief and loss aren’t a “one-size-fits-all” type of thing.
For the general formatting of the book, I didn’t really think too much of it. It was written in third-person present tense which didn’t add nor subtract anything from the book and actually fit the book since it was pretty plot heavy.
Rating: 3.5/5
Final Rating
Characters: 3.5/5
Plot: 5/5
Formatting: 3.5/5
Final Rating: 4/5
Personal Rating: 3.5/5
Date Read: May 30th, 2023
Date Reviewed: May 31st, 2023