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A review by daramillz
The Cherished by Patricia Sarrafian Ward
3.0
Sixteen-year-old Jo doesn’t feel like she fits in with her straight-laced family, and hasn’t ever since her father’s death. Her memories of him, though, while filled with love and fun, are also full of holes — things almost remembered. Things that feel dangerous. When her estranged grandmother dies, leaving her the family home alongside a mysterious letter, Jo may finally have a chance to solve the mystery of her memories and find where she truly belongs.
I liked the concept of this book and what it did with faerie lore quite a lot. It was interesting, and I liked the way it was clearly tied in to the history of the town and the family. However, this is currently being billed as a “visceral horror thriller in the vein of Midsommar” and it was decidedly NOT that. It’s more like a slightly darker version of the Spiderwick Chronicles. I wouldn’t categorize it as horror at all, although it could probably get there if some of the “scary” aspects were explored more thoroughly. The character relationships also seemed a bit stilted to me, and I particularly would have like more complexity and growth in the relationship between Jo and her mother.
This is still a good ways out from publication, so there could still be rewrites (and hopefully a sensitivity read) happening that would get this book closer to its vision. I still enjoyed it overall — it’s a quick read that should appeal to anyone who likes a good dark fairy tale.
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!
I liked the concept of this book and what it did with faerie lore quite a lot. It was interesting, and I liked the way it was clearly tied in to the history of the town and the family. However, this is currently being billed as a “visceral horror thriller in the vein of Midsommar” and it was decidedly NOT that. It’s more like a slightly darker version of the Spiderwick Chronicles. I wouldn’t categorize it as horror at all, although it could probably get there if some of the “scary” aspects were explored more thoroughly. The character relationships also seemed a bit stilted to me, and I particularly would have like more complexity and growth in the relationship between Jo and her mother.
This is still a good ways out from publication, so there could still be rewrites (and hopefully a sensitivity read) happening that would get this book closer to its vision. I still enjoyed it overall — it’s a quick read that should appeal to anyone who likes a good dark fairy tale.
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!