May the Dead Keep You / Jill Baguchinsky / Book Review
MAY THE DEAD KEEP YOU
There's nowhere Catie East would rather be than in her forest. Beneath the redwoods, she feels perfectly at home. Even more so than when she's in her family's historic (and unusual) mansion, the Heights.
But now there are intruders on her land. Well, not intruders, exactly. Her mother did invite the scientist and his son to stay on their land, out at the estate's cottage. But that doesn't mean Catie wants them lingering. Not in her forest, disturbing her peace.
Despite her initial misgivings, Catie finds herself drawn to the strangers on her land, especially the son who is about her age. Her mother insists that Catie and the boy knew each other as kids, but Catie doesn't remember any of that. She does know that when they're together, strange things start happening. Impossible things. Like a dead woodpecker waking up and flying away. Like the specters that seem to have woken in the historic halls of the Heights. Like the unsettling way her brother has started to change...
But now there are intruders on her land. Well, not intruders, exactly. Her mother did invite the scientist and his son to stay on their land, out at the estate's cottage. But that doesn't mean Catie wants them lingering. Not in her forest, disturbing her peace.
Despite her initial misgivings, Catie finds herself drawn to the strangers on her land, especially the son who is about her age. Her mother insists that Catie and the boy knew each other as kids, but Catie doesn't remember any of that. She does know that when they're together, strange things start happening. Impossible things. Like a dead woodpecker waking up and flying away. Like the specters that seem to have woken in the historic halls of the Heights. Like the unsettling way her brother has started to change...
THOUGHTS
This book is perfectly Gothic, drippy and rotten in the best way. While it didn't quite capture me as much as I would have wanted, I don't have any complaints. It's atmospheric. It's creepy. It's good.
This book is perfectly Gothic, drippy and rotten in the best way. While it didn't quite capture me as much as I would have wanted, I don't have any complaints. It's atmospheric. It's creepy. It's good.
PROS
| Ghostly | I don't know if it has just been my reading selection or it is an actual lack of content, but I feel like I haven't been finding many new ghost stories out there. The only ghosts I've seen in YA have been tragic, romantic ghosts (not the kind that haunt your nightmares). I don't want to spoil this plot too much, and I will say that what we get here extends beyond general paranormal antics. But seeing some ghostly activity was a nice change of pace, something different. |
| Ephemera | The Heights is a historic residence built by a famous, reclusive architect. It's a place of note, a place with a very present past as characters walk through its halls. Not much has changed since it was built, and nobody but the architect and his family got to see the insides in its heyday. Echoes of this mysterious past haunt the narrative, and "ephemera" are littered throughout these pages, the scattered detritus of the lives lived here. Newspaper clippings, old photographs, snippets of diary entries: these are the little, lost bits that can fall into the nooks and crannies of old houses, and the way they stud this narrative really adds depth to the plot unfolding in the current day and age. |
| Embodied | I wouldn't necessarily call this book a body horror, so those who are especially squeamish, have no fear. But there are a few scenes that are definitely shiver-inducing. It's the perfect balance of visceral and grotesque without going too far, without being too much for its marketing category. |
CONS
| Hey, so, the red flags in this love interest are definitely intentional. They're plot-relevant. They're there on purpose. But that doesn't mean I have to like reading it. That doesn't mean I have to enjoy the justifications that Catie puts herself through, the infatuation that lets her blind herself toward these warning signs. Was it intentional, relevant, and even age-appropriate? Absolutely. But it wasn't my cup of tea. | Red Flags |
| My blog is a spoiler-free zone, so I won't be diving into this much. But at a certain point, you lack a little bit of nuance. That is all. | Not All Men |
| Look, I'm usually all for necromancers. And I think they do fit in the Gothic atmosphere of this book. But I don't know that the execution here quite worked for me. It felt more random than not. It was an element of the plot but not one that was embedded in it, justified by the world or the characters or the grisly history unfolding here. It was just a random element thrown in, and it didn't quite work for me. Unfortunately. | Necromancy, I Guess |
Rating
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
7/10
Those who liked the grisly, overgrown atmosphere of C.G. Drews's Hazelthorn will love this new forgotten mansion in the trees. Anyone who liked the echoey past Isabel Strychacz's House of Thorns will like wading through the ephemera of this haunted plotline.
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Details
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Note: I was provided with an ARC by the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions here are my own. |
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