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A review by xangemthelibrarian
What Stays Buried by Suzanne Young
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
This was absolutely terrifying. The descriptions of the Tall Lady, the demon possession, the ghosts being turned to ash. Absolutely terrifying! What a ride!
While I really enjoyed this book, I kept getting pulled out of the story by the weird 3-person narration. It is incredibly jarring to see something like "Callie wanted to protect Molly. She didn't want to see the little girl get hurt." Same thing with the other supporting characters in this story. It would shift suddenly between "her father" and "Mac" or "Nora" and "her mother" idk it was just really weird for me. I really wanted to see this story from Callie's perspective, and hearing someone say "Mac" or "The little girl" instead of using the names Callie would have used felt a little unnatural.
I also felt like Callie didn't have a lot of her own agency. She spent most of the book relying on her dad, grandma, and aunt to save the town. She didn't once try to do anything on her own until she had no other option. It was frustrating.
While I really enjoyed this book, I kept getting pulled out of the story by the weird 3-person narration. It is incredibly jarring to see something like "Callie wanted to protect Molly. She didn't want to see the little girl get hurt." Same thing with the other supporting characters in this story. It would shift suddenly between "her father" and "Mac" or "Nora" and "her mother" idk it was just really weird for me. I really wanted to see this story from Callie's perspective, and hearing someone say "Mac" or "The little girl" instead of using the names Callie would have used felt a little unnatural.
I also felt like Callie didn't have a lot of her own agency. She spent most of the book relying on her dad, grandma, and aunt to save the town. She didn't once try to do anything on her own until she had no other option. It was frustrating.