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A review by tysbooks
White Horse by Erika T. Wurth
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This started off creepy and I was engrossed in the story, but by the end I was left feeling just okay about it. We follow Kari, an indigenous woman, that works at the White Horse bar. Kari is approached one day by her cousin Debby with a bracelet that belonged to her mother and Kari is suddenly haunted by her mother's ghost. We follow her as she slowly learns what happened to her mother to cause her to disappear and abandon her at two years old. Kari also discovers all of the other family secrets she was not aware her mother's family was hiding.
I enjoyed learning about the culture and the folklore in this book. Also the first half of the story was really strong with Kari being visited by the ghost of her mother and her learning about her mother's activism within the community. We then see the trauma this family has gone through, how it has been passed down and how Kari is still dealing with it but having a hard time admitting it to herself. At times I found this book to be repetitive with the horror elements, it seemed like towards the end of the book sort it sort of lost its steam. The character of Kari seemed like she read a bit younger than 35 years old. We continuously heard about how much she just loved her favorite band and how she just wanted another cigarette, but at a point it became annoying. This book does touch on some heavier themes such as drug and alcohol abuse, domestic abuse, child abuse and gun violence. Even though this didn't completely win me over, I would still recommend.
I enjoyed learning about the culture and the folklore in this book. Also the first half of the story was really strong with Kari being visited by the ghost of her mother and her learning about her mother's activism within the community. We then see the trauma this family has gone through, how it has been passed down and how Kari is still dealing with it but having a hard time admitting it to herself. At times I found this book to be repetitive with the horror elements, it seemed like towards the end of the book sort it sort of lost its steam. The character of Kari seemed like she read a bit younger than 35 years old. We continuously heard about how much she just loved her favorite band and how she just wanted another cigarette, but at a point it became annoying. This book does touch on some heavier themes such as drug and alcohol abuse, domestic abuse, child abuse and gun violence. Even though this didn't completely win me over, I would still recommend.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Child abuse, Alcoholism, and Gun violence