The Overflowing Bookshelf
  • Home
  • About
  • Reviews
  • Interviews
  • Blog Posts, Book Hauls, & more!
  • Contact
  • Home
  • About
  • Reviews
  • Interviews
  • Blog Posts, Book Hauls, & more!
  • Contact
G. Bianco, 2019


Modern ghost story depicts loneliness and hope

9/15/2020

0 Comments

 
Picture
     After the success of her novel We Are Okay, Nina LaCour returns to the YA world with her newest title, Watch Over Me. Set to be released September 15th, this haunting modern ghost story becomes an emotional and poignant read. 
     Mila is used to being alone. Maybe that’s why she said yes to the opportunity: living in this remote place, among the flowers and the fog and the crash of waves far below. But she hadn’t known about the ghosts. Newly graduated from high school, Mila has aged out of the foster care system. So when she’s offered a job and a place to stay at a farm on an isolated part of the Northern California Coast, she immediately accepts. Maybe she will finally find a new home, a real home. The farm is a refuge, but also haunted by the past traumas its young residents have come to escape. And Mila’s own terrible memories are starting to rise to the surface.
     This novel is beautifully written and so deeply evoking of what it means to deal with the things that haunt you. The ghosts in the book seem to represent the physical embodiments of Mila’s past and bit by bit the truth of what happened to Mila and why she is at the farm come to light. This book takes the notion of a ghost story and then puts on its head. Instead of ghosts needing something from humans, the humans need something from the ghosts in this book. It’s not a horror story; just a supernatural one with mentions of PTSD and dealing with the foster care system.
     The way LaCour parallels past and present is fantastical and beautiful and showcases how it might be to feel truly alone in this world. The way Mila builds new relationships with the people on the farm shows how even the loneliest of people with the darkest of pasts can still find comfort in others. She is resilient in her wanting to help others and be a part of something, but Mila soon learns that she must first learn to help herself.
     One could easily finish this book in one sitting (as I did!) and feel a deep sense of peace after concluding the book. Metaphoric and ethereal, Watch Over Me is a truly remarkable book that is both unique and easy to fall in love with.

*I received an ARC from Penguin Teen in exchange for my honest opinion.

Picture
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Hi! My name is Elisa and my bookshelf is quite literally overflowing! Join me in my journey of reading as many books as humanly possible!

    Archives

    February 2023
    January 2023
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019

    Categories

    All
    Romance

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly