Tahleen reviews: Audiobook "Ghosts of Tupelo Landing" by Sheila Turnage

Title: Ghosts of Tupelo Landing
Author: Sheila Turnage
Publisher: Listening Library, 2014 (print available from Puffin Books)
Narrator: Lauren Fortgang

Rating: 4 stars

Mo and Dale, along with all of our other favorite characters from Three Times Lucky, Newbery Honor winner in 2014, are back with another mystery to solve. A decidedly ghostlike mystery. Miss Lana, along with Grandmother Miss Lacy Thornton, find themselves the new owners of an old inn and, as it turns out, a ghost that was in the fine print. Determined to get the inn back up and running in order to sell it to someone nice (gotta have nice neighbors, after all), Miss Lana and the gang sets to work—only to find out that ghost might not just be a footnote after all. Mo, along with a reluctant Dale, seize upon the opportunity to interview said ghost for their history assignment. But can they 1) get her to talk to them, 2) figure out what old Red Baker is doing and why he's sneaking around everywhere, and 3) possibly figure out what happened to their ghost all those years ago? Mo is no coward, and along with Dale and new friend Harm Crenshaw, set out to do it all.

I really, really love this series. And I'm so glad it's a series. I was very impressed with Three Times Lucky, as some of you might remember, and this is a great continuation. Turnage still deals with the tough realities of life in a gentle subtle way, without sugarcoating anything. There is an illegal moonshine still, poverty, bullying, and hints of past abuse and neglect, yet it's all very age-appropriate and well done. And Turnage adds in a hefty dose of humor. Mo is never fazed and generally seems to be a fantastic human being, though she does of course make mistakes and poor judgment calls now and then. It is nearly impossible to ruffle the girl, even when arch-nemesis Anna Celeste (aka Attila) continually brings up Mo's unknown origins to be spiteful (Mo was adopted by Miss Lana and the Colonel when she was washed downstream during a storm).

**Possible spoilers for book 1 follow**

Dale's father is now in jail, and Mo is pretty vocal about her opinion of him. She can't understand the complicated feelings Dale and his mother Miss Rose have about him; because at the end of the day, he's still Dale's father, and as Dale says, "you only get one Daddy." It is very clear that the whole situation is very hard for Miss Rose, who is trying to get on with her life despite not having much experience in not being in an abusive relationship. The whole situation was portrayed very well, and I thought Mo's child's understanding of it added much. Lots of showing instead of telling.

I did think it was slightly strange that this volume went into the paranormal realm, but I like a ghost story now and then. This one was good; just surprised it veered into this genre after the first book was strictly realistic fiction/mystery.


As for the narration, Lauren Fortgang was great. I was sad that Michal Freidman passed away shortly after narrating the first, but Fortgang was a worthy choice. Her matter-of-fact tone brought out the humor of Mo's inner dialogue and conversations with others, not to mention the vocal differences between characters was very well done.

Anyway, would I recommend this book? You bet I would. It's a great middle-grade mystery series with a quirky cast of characters in a small-town setting.

Disclosure: I got a copy of this audiobook from OverDrive through my local library.

Tahleen reviews: "The Diviners" by Libba Bray

Title: The Diviners
Author: Libba Bray
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Rating: 5 stars

It's the Roaring Twenties, and Evie is positutely ready to trade her boring hometown in Ohio for the exciting New York City, even though she is in a sort of exile after revealing the less savory side of the town golden boy through a special gift she has. When she arrives at her uncle's Museum of Folklore, Superstition, and the Occult, she's thrilled to be in a city of glamour and a swinging night life with her friend Mabel at her side and few new friends she meets along the way; but her uncle's profession ends up giving her more excitement than she bargained for. Soon she finds herself right in the middle of an investigation into a series of occult-based murders throughout the city. But when they get a bit too close to discovering the truth, Evie finds that she might be next.

Libba Bray has delivered with this one. It's a great period book, and the way she infuses the supernatural aspects are riveting. It's historical fiction steeped in American folklore and magic, leading to a thrilling chase of a dead killer around the city. It's told in third person, so we see various points of view, including the murder victims', though the story mainly revolves around Evie and another guy named Memphis, who lives in the heart of Harlem and deals with a special gift of his own (and the consequences of having it). Every character has his or her own history, clearly well thought out on Bray's part, though not everything is revealed in this volume. I'm eager to learn more about everyone and their pasts.

Bray dips into every part of New York City during Prohibition, into each group of people and many kinds of neighborhoods. We have African Americans in Harlem, immigrants in Hell's Kitchen, dancers who are stars, and pickpockets who are trying to just get by.

The plot itself will drive you to keep turning the pages until you know how it all ends, and even by the time you get to the end of the book you know there will be more. This book certainly has its own story arc, but throughout there is a setup for big things to come. I'm really looking forward to where it might be going.

Disclosure: Received from review via Netgalley in exchange for a fair review.

Jessi Reviews The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters

Title/Author: The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters
Publisher/Year: Riverhead Trade, 2009
Where I Got It: I picked up a copy from my library's used book sale
Why I Read It: Any book blurbed by Stephen King is a must-read for me!


Synopsis (from Goodreads): 



With The Little Stranger, Waters revisits the fertile setting of Britain in the 1940s - and gives us a sinister tale of a haunted house, brimming with the rich atmosphere and psychological complexity that have become hallmarks of Waters's work.

The Little Stranger follows the strange adventures of Dr. Faraday, the son of a maid who has built a life of quiet respectability as a country doctor. One dusty postwar summer in his home of rural Warwickshire, he is called to a patient at Hundreds Hall. Home to the Ayres family for more than two centuries, the Georgian house, once grand and handsome, is now in decline - its masonry crumbling, its gardens choked with weeds, the clock in its stable yard permanently fixed at twenty to nine. But are the Ayreses haunted by something more ominous than a dying way of life? Little does Dr. Faraday know how closely, and how terrifyingly, their story is about to become entwined with his.

Abundantly atmospheric and elegantly told, The Little Stranger is Sarah Waters's most thrilling and ambitious novel yet.


Review: 


This book came as a surprise to me in many ways.

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it.

I was surprised by how quickly the pages flew by.

I was surprised by how good it was.

I mean, Sarah Waters can really write. When I first picked this up and saw that it was 500 pages long, I was wary. I thought it would take me forever to get through. After the first 40-ish pages, though, I was hooked. I felt like I was hypnotized. I'd sit down for what felt like ten minutes, and here it'd be hours later and I'd be hundreds of pages down the road. Even when I wanted to be doing other things, like blogging or whatever, I couldn't bring myself to put the book down. And like I said, Sarah Waters writes really well. Her prose is beautiful, but at the same time, I wasn't even really aware that I was reading. I was able to picture everything perfectly clear, and her story is one of the most atmospheric I've ever read. Hundreds Hall was so sinister, it was like I could feel it oozing off the pages. I was genuinely creeped out at parts, particularly that nursery scene.

I did have a few frustrations, though. By the end, Doctor Faraday made me want to scream, which I'm guessing was Sarah Water's intention. I get it. You have to play the rational card. But seriously--how much has to happen for you to start thinking that maybe something weird is happening that can't be explained rationally? Also, without wanting to give anything away, I found him to be too forward and definitely too persistent without having any reason to be so. Crazy obsessive stalker, much?

And finally, the ending just didn't really do it for me. I thought it was terribly anti-climactic. It was like, "Oh man, all this stuff is happening!" and then all of a sudden: "Oh...well...okay, I suppose that's it." Part of my frustration with the ending, too, is that Sarah Waters leaves it with one of those open-ended endings for the reader to decide what happened. Personally, I'm not a big fan of those, so it didn't work for me.

All things considered, though, it was an awesome read. Gothic, subtle, creepy, atmospheric, hypnotizing. I would definitely recommend it.

Jessi Reviews "Anya's Ghost" by Vera Brosgol

Title/Author: Anya's Ghost by Vera Brosgol
Publisher/Year: First Second, 2011
How I Got This: Library copy 
Why I Read It: Totally grabbed my attention while I was searching the YA section 
Rating: 5 Stars 

Synopsis: Of all the things Anya expected to find at the bottom of an old well, a new friend wasn't one of them. Especially not a new friend who's been dead for a century. 

Falling down a well is bad enough, but Anya's normal life might actually be worse. She's embarrassed by her family, self-conscious about her body, and she's pretty much given up on fitting in at school. A new friend--even a dead one--is just what she needs. 


But Anya's new B.F.F. isn't kidding about the "forever" part...

Review: Wow. Where to start with this...

This is the first graphic novel I've ever read. It caught my eye as I was browsing through the library the other day, and I thought it was about time for me to try a graphic novel, so I picked it up.

And let me just say this--I LOVED it. It was SO flipping good. I have to admit (even though this is going to make me sound ridiculous), I never really had too much desire to read graphic novels, only because they seemed like glorified comic books to me. Well, silly me, now I want to read every one I can get my hands on.

This one was so good for a number of reasons. First of all, I really enjoyed the illustrations. C'mon now, the graphics are probably the most important part of a graphic novel, and these were phenomenal. They were nice and smooth; there was just enough detail without it being overwhelming. Not only that, but the emotions of the characters were crystal clear without having to come out and state "So-and-so was feeling whatever." Also, I LOVED the fact that this was done entirely in shades of black and white. I honestly didn't even notice that lack of color until about 3/4 of the way through. It was just that vivid for me.

The story itself was great, too. Here we have a teenage girl who is struggling to fit in at high school and trying to figure out just who she is in a cultural sense, as well. Anyone who has ever been a teenager or dealt with teenagers will be able to sympathize with Anya, but at the same time, you can't help but laugh at some of the stuff that comes out of her mouth. And can we talk about that ghost story? Holy twist I didn't see coming! I actually got pretty nervous there for a bit--that Emily chick is pretty scary! I flew through the pages. This is definitely a novel capable of being read in one sitting. You'll WANT to read it all in one sitting, it's THAT good.

--Jessi

Tahleen reviews: "Anya's Ghost" by Vera Brosgol

Title: Anya's Ghost
Author: Vera Brosgol
Publisher: First Second, 2011

Rating: 5 stars

Anya, daughter of a Russian immigrant, insecure in her body, and just trying to fit in at her private school, ends up finding a friend in the most unlikely of places. After falling down a well, Anya discovers a skeleton... and its ghost that's been hanging out down there for about 90 years.

At first, Anya is obviously freaked. But she escapes from the well, with help from Emily (the ghost). Who ends up following her out. Emily turns out to be a great friend, helping her with school and boys, but Anya soon figures out that Emily is here to stay... whether she likes it or not.

This graphic novel is beyond awesome. The illustrations are outstanding, all in black, white, gray and muted purple. The pacing of the story is excellent too—we jump into the story right away with Anya's fall, discovery of the skeleton, and subsequent befriending of Emily Reilly, who died 90 years ago after she fell down the well herself.

This is also a mystery. Anya promises to search for Emily's murderer, who she says killed her parents and then chased her through the woods the night of her fall. But Emily seems strangely uninterested and not very eager for Anya to start her search. She's much more interested in finding Anya a way into the heart of her crush, basketball star Sean. Even when Anya isn't interested anymore. Slowly we begin to see Emily's true personality and psychosis, and Anya tries to uncover Emily's history.

I had to keep going back after finishing this to just look at the illustrations and relive parts of the story. There is true terror within the pages, but a more subtle terror than you might expect in a ghost story.

There's also a lot in here about acceptance of yourself and your culture, with Anya's denial of her background and attempts to keep her family out of the line of sight of her schoolmates. She avoids another Russian student at her school because he acts too "fobby," without giving him a chance at any sort of friendship because of his social status. Throughout the plot, she has to come to terms with all of this.

Whether you read graphic novels or not, this is one you should go out and read immediately. The story and illustrations are in perfect harmony to make for one scary and mysterious ride.

Disclosure: I got this from my local library.