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A review by indieandajean
What Stays Buried by Suzanne Young
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Audio for this Voice Galley of What Stays Buried.
This book has everything that I enjoy about Middle Grade horror and none of the pitfalls I find in the genre. Despite being written for children, it does not wear "kid gloves" and pulls no punches when it comes to terror. As a reader, I felt just as frightened and powerless as Calista did throughout the story, but the sources walked the line of "too scary" and "not scary" perfectly providing the scares through sensations of being watched and outmatched by the big bad instead of relying on the gross and gorey.
The elements of child deaths, demonic possession and angry ghosts offer much of the punch that adult horror, and provide the scares I see children requesting with increasing frequency at the library, but in a package that is age appropriate.
Of course I also have to say that I deeply love it when a scary story is set in New York. I find that the South and Midwest are often the settings of much juvenile horror, and I love some North East representation! I'm planning on pairing this book with some nonfiction on the Spiritualist movement and the Fox sisters to encourage some New York historical education along with the story!
Overall I really enjoyed this book! The characters were all lovable, even when they made mistakes, and the villain didn't feel flat (one of the issues I have with children's horror). I'll absolutely be recommending this book to young horror fans at my library!
This book has everything that I enjoy about Middle Grade horror and none of the pitfalls I find in the genre. Despite being written for children, it does not wear "kid gloves" and pulls no punches when it comes to terror. As a reader, I felt just as frightened and powerless as Calista did throughout the story, but the sources walked the line of "too scary" and "not scary" perfectly providing the scares through sensations of being watched and outmatched by the big bad instead of relying on the gross and gorey.
The elements of child deaths, demonic possession and angry ghosts offer much of the punch that adult horror, and provide the scares I see children requesting with increasing frequency at the library, but in a package that is age appropriate.
Of course I also have to say that I deeply love it when a scary story is set in New York. I find that the South and Midwest are often the settings of much juvenile horror, and I love some North East representation! I'm planning on pairing this book with some nonfiction on the Spiritualist movement and the Fox sisters to encourage some New York historical education along with the story!
Overall I really enjoyed this book! The characters were all lovable, even when they made mistakes, and the villain didn't feel flat (one of the issues I have with children's horror). I'll absolutely be recommending this book to young horror fans at my library!
Content Warnings
Minor: Child death, Death, Grief, Death of parent, Kidnapping, and Violence