divine529's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
I seem to have found a new thing I really enjoy - middle grade horror/suspense books because I really enjoyed this!
Fiona and her family have just moved to this town called Lost Lake because of her sister's skating. Fiona is angry and upset because it's upending her whole life. She finds refuge in the library there and discovers a book that doesn't exist and in the process uncovers a mystery that is plaguing the town and things go from there.
If you're like me, reading mysteries and books of that sort during the autumn months is perfect. This book fits that description. It was perfectly atmospheric and I didn't want to put it down. If you're a fan of Katherine Arden's "Small Spaces" series, you'd probably enjoy this because it had similar vibes and themes. I loved the sister relationships throughout as well, even if they weren't perfect and the had their issues, it was well written and kept me engaged. Fiona was a delight and I saw so much of myself in her. It was just all relatable. I didn't like how she was treated a lot of the time though, particularly by her family. It just made me incredibly sad. The story within the story was also great, and even though I've heard some people say they didn't like the in story parts as much, I did. The writing for it was different which set it apart and it had a good feeling of an in story. It just fit.
All in all, a great book that I'm glad I picked up.
Additional TW/CW's not listed: drowning, emotional neglect
Fiona and her family have just moved to this town called Lost Lake because of her sister's skating. Fiona is angry and upset because it's upending her whole life. She finds refuge in the library there and discovers a book that doesn't exist and in the process uncovers a mystery that is plaguing the town and things go from there.
If you're like me, reading mysteries and books of that sort during the autumn months is perfect. This book fits that description. It was perfectly atmospheric and I didn't want to put it down. If you're a fan of Katherine Arden's "Small Spaces" series, you'd probably enjoy this because it had similar vibes and themes. I loved the sister relationships throughout as well, even if they weren't perfect and the had their issues, it was well written and kept me engaged. Fiona was a delight and I saw so much of myself in her. It was just all relatable. I didn't like how she was treated a lot of the time though, particularly by her family. It just made me incredibly sad. The story within the story was also great, and even though I've heard some people say they didn't like the in story parts as much, I did. The writing for it was different which set it apart and it had a good feeling of an in story. It just fit.
All in all, a great book that I'm glad I picked up.
Additional TW/CW's not listed: drowning, emotional neglect
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, Abandonment, and Child death
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