Author: Tiffany D. Jackson
Genre: horror
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Rating:
Summary (provided by publisher): Marigold is running from ghosts. The phantoms of her old life keep haunting her, but a move with her newly blended family from their small California beach town to the embattled Midwestern city of Cedarville might be the fresh start she needs. Her mom has accepted a new job with the Sterling Foundation that comes with a free house, one that Mari now has to share with her bratty ten-year-old stepsister, Piper.
The renovated picture-perfect home on Maple Street, sitting between dilapidated houses, surrounded by wary neighbors has its . . . secrets. That’s only half the problem: household items vanish, doors open on their own, lights turn off, shadows walk past rooms, voices can be heard in the walls, and there’s a foul smell seeping through the vents only Mari seems to notice. Worse: Piper keeps talking about a friend who wants Mari gone.
But “running from ghosts” is just a metaphor, right?
As the house closes in, Mari learns that the danger isn’t limited to Maple Street. Cedarville has its secrets, too. And secrets always find their way through the cracks.
My opinion: Fear in a novel comes from two elements: atmosphere and danger. Jackson handles both of these elements well. From the moment the family arrives in town, to a house surrounded by abandoned buildings and a basement they are explicitly told not to enter, we can tell that something is wrong. This wrongness is aided by the neighbors that avoid them and the all white board gentrifying an historically black city with riots and secrets in its past. We have the standard creepy elements - threatening messages, things moved when no one is around - and real threats to their physical well being. There are some subplots that are never fully resolved. Overall, though, it's genuinely scary and socially aware.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley
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