paper_mache_reader 's review for:

Every Version Ends in Death by Aliya Chaudhry

5.0

mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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When Laana returns home for the funeral of her grandmother, she becomes obsessed with uncovering the truth behind the local ghost story. Town ghost/local fable Carolyn Haywood seems to have a completely different story depending on who you ask. Laana is swallowed up by memories upon returning to Clifton, though she unpacks both the mystery of "Creepy Carolyn" (and her own grief) with her friends Sairah and Faiz. Haunted by the idea of what her life would look like boiled down to the one sentence summary Carolyn is reduced to in most variations, Laana's journey is largely internal. Dealing with grief, memory, fate, and the double edged sword of loss, this book was beautiful in every way. While throughly Gothic and wonderfully haunting, I definitely wouldn't consider it horror.