A review by linaria
Sparrow Hill Road by Seanan McGuire
3.0
So, I want to note that the rating is a reflection partially of the subject matter.
I LOVED the concept - building the mythology behind all those ghost stories you heard as a kid. The book follows Rose, who died on the way to her prom. After she died, she became a hitchhiking ghost, helping other souls who died on the road get to where they were going. Rose doesn't age - even 60 years later, she is still sixteen and still travelling the roads looking for a ride.
The problem I had was twofold - the book is apparently set in-universe to one of Seanan's other works and it's HEAVY on the Americana. I haven't read many of Seanan's other works, so this made a lot of the book a little bit of a guessing game for what some of the terms meant. It also meant that I likely missed a lot of references and cameos. The book was also so into cars, small towns, diesel, trucks, and small diners. Classic Americana stuff. I'm not American so I don't think it translated so well for me.
It is very well written, and I think that there will definitely be people who will appreciate it more, I just don't think that this was the right book for me.
I LOVED the concept - building the mythology behind all those ghost stories you heard as a kid. The book follows Rose, who died on the way to her prom. After she died, she became a hitchhiking ghost, helping other souls who died on the road get to where they were going. Rose doesn't age - even 60 years later, she is still sixteen and still travelling the roads looking for a ride.
The problem I had was twofold - the book is apparently set in-universe to one of Seanan's other works and it's HEAVY on the Americana. I haven't read many of Seanan's other works, so this made a lot of the book a little bit of a guessing game for what some of the terms meant. It also meant that I likely missed a lot of references and cameos. The book was also so into cars, small towns, diesel, trucks, and small diners. Classic Americana stuff. I'm not American so I don't think it translated so well for me.
It is very well written, and I think that there will definitely be people who will appreciate it more, I just don't think that this was the right book for me.