Thank you to NetGalley and Albert Whitman & Company for providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
Goodreads Synopsis:
Olivia Foster hasn’t felt alive since her little brother drowned in the backyard pool three years ago. Then Kara Hallas moves in across the street with her mother and grandmother, and Olivia is immediately drawn to these three generations of women. Kara is particularly intoxicating, so much so that Olivia not only comes to accept Kara's morbid habit of writing to men on death row, she helps her do it. They sign their letters as the Resurrection Girls.
But as Kara’s friendship pulls Olivia out of the dark fog she’s been living in, Olivia realizes that a different kind of darkness taints the otherwise lively Hallas women—an impulse that is strange, magical, and possibly deadly. Olivia Foster hasn’t felt alive since her little brother drowned in the backyard pool three years ago. Then Kara Hallas moves in across the street with her mother and grandmother, and Olivia is immediately drawn to these three generations of women. Kara is particularly intoxicating, so much so that Olivia not only comes to accept Kara's morbid habit of writing to men on death row, she helps her do it. They sign their letters as the Resurrection Girls.
But as Kara’s friendship pulls Olivia out of the dark fog she’s been living in, Olivia realizes that a different kind of darkness taints the otherwise lively Hallas women—an impulse that is strange, magical, and possibly deadly.
Review:
The cover and the synopsis of this book completely drew me in. It’s a book that focuses on grief and how much life is affected after it. Ava Morgyn has an amazing way with words and I found myself unable to put this book down, reading it in one sitting.
This book follows Olivia and her process of dealing with the lost of her little brother. It’s an emotional journey and one I found myself tearing up at. Olivia is a very relatable character and I liked watching her character develop throughout the book.
This book had a lot of potential. With dealing with such a heavy-handed topic and including a hint of magical realism I thought that I was going to find a new favourite book of 2019. However, this book just did not hit the mark.
Whilst this is a beautifully written book I found myself wanting more from it. You meet this new family and get no full backstory about their lives. I wanted to know more about what makes them different and I feel like this was widely overlooked.
The end was also incredibly rushed. I felt like I had blinked and we were right at the end and there was no real conclusion. I still don’t know they true reason behind Kara writing letters to men on death row. There was just a lot of unanswered questions for a standalone novel.
This book was very average for me and honestly I’m disappointed I didn’t enjoy it as much as I had hyped it in my head. However, I will definitely be keeping an eye out for more of Ava Morgyn’s books in the future.
Rating: 3/5 Stars
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