What Stays Buried

January 16, 2023
In her middle grade debut, Young (the Girls with Sharp Sticks series) spins a high-stakes, fast-moving ghost story emphasizing intergenerational family connections. Twelve-year-old medium Calista Wynn inherited both her family’s gift for communing with the dead and the family curse that will cause her to lose that power on her 13th birthday, the age her aunt Virginia died. Dreading the approaching birthday, which will also strip her of the ability to maintain a relationship with her late father and grandmother, Calista encounters a new terror when Edwina Swift, the ghost of Virginia’s murderer, returns to exact revenge on the descendants of the town vigilantes who executed her. As Edwina abducts children and churns up a powerful dark spell, Calista races against her fading gift to stop Edwina before she can claim her next intended victim, Calista’s younger sister—the youngest Wynn girl with the family powers. Young employs spine-tingling horror tropes to drum up suspense, pitting a stock villain against a heroic magical family to drive the plot toward its reckoning. A consequential magic system facilitates explorations of grief and closure after loss. Characters default to white. Ages 8–12. Agent: Lane Heymont, Tobias Agency.

February 1, 2023
A young medium comes into her power. Calista does not want to turn 13. For now she can see and talk to ghosts and help them find peace. But as per family tradition, once her 13th birthday comes (in just one week's time), that sight will disappear, leaving her with far less powerful medium abilities. What's worse, she will no longer be able to talk to her beloved father and grandmother, whose spirits are sticking around to help. Little sister Molly hasn't come into her abilities yet, but she is suddenly pestered by an evil force. First ominously referred to as the Tall Lady, the spiteful ghost Edwina Swift cursed the Wynn family (who are cued as White) and has been using their souls to gain unimaginable power. When young people in Calista's small New York town of Meadowmere start disappearing, it's up to her to race against time to find them and defeat Edwina for good. An exciting, well-paced, and well-structured plot coexists with clunky, awkward prose and inconsistent worldbuilding, taming some truly terrifying scenes of demonic possession and ghostly malice. Close third-person narration drags down the storytelling with constant explanations rather than revelations, but some young readers will still enjoy the frights and triumphs. Clunky but creepy. (Paranormal. 10-14)

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February 15, 2023
Grades 5-8 Twelve-year-old Calista Wynn is a latchkey kid living in the marshy town of Meadowmere, New York. So far, so normal--right? But Calista can see dead people. She comes from a long line of mediums on her father's side; however, once they turn 13, their supernatural abilities dissipate. Her fear of losing her helpful gifts intensifies in the week prior to her birthday. To add icing to the cake, a "tall lady" begins to murder children and haunt Calista's little sister, Molly. Calista works to stop the demonic being from terrorizing her town and loved ones while also discovering family secrets. From the author of the YA series Program, this horror-saturated fantasy delivers a heart-palpitating adventure. Additionally, Young focuses on the intense pressures adults can put on children: Calista is depicted raising her sister and making extra money while Mom is at work. Readers will observe how fear can make people behave strangely, to the point of bearing burdens alone, and will recognize how problems can be remedied with the help of family and friends.

COPYRIGHT(2023) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

September 29, 2023

Gr 6 Up-Calista Wynn sees dead people. But she won't much longer. Once she turns 13 (in a week), her ability to communicate with ghosts will disappear. In this middle grade debut, Calista must rush to use her powers to save the disappearing children in her town of Meadowmere, NY, before it's too late. Calista comes from a long line of mediums who can speak to ghosts but lose their powers on their 13th birthdays. With the help of the ghosts of her father and grandmother, Calista works to stop Edwina Swift, the evil "Tall Woman" who has taken numerous children, including Calista's sister Molly, to make herself more powerful. Young's suspenseful novel is dark; with seances, curses, mediums, and possessions, some readers may find aspects of the book terrifying. Yet, the novel also shows strong family bonds across generations and worlds, while overarching themes of the power of love, family, and friendship make this a solid entry into horror for adventurous readers. VERDICT Those with an interest in the occult will enjoy this book for the well-developed protagonist and solid plotting.-Rebekah J. Buchanan

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