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About Kasey

Reads things. Writes things. Fluent in sarcasm. Willful optimist. Cat companion, chocolate connoisseur, coffee drinker. There are some who call me Mom.

November 2025 Reading Recap

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November 2025 Reading Recap

November 2025 Reading Recap

LOOK AT THIS. It’s the last day of November, and I’m posting a monthly reading recap. Cue the choir and toss the confetti because this is probably never going to happen again. Ha!

I feel pretty proud of my reading this month. While I did not come close to October’s 28 books, I read 20 titles, which still feels pretty good. I read over 4000 pages and listened to almost 36 hours of audiobooks. It was a great month.

I started the month really behind on books I’d committed to review. As of my writing this, I’ve got one more book to review that came out in October and one more from November, and then I’m on to my December list, which is only three books! If all goes well, by this time next week, I’ll be starting to read January releases. It took me ALL YEAR to get there, but progress is progress.

Let’s get into what I read this month.

Note: This post contains affiliate links that do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. Thanks for using them to do your shopping.

November 2025 Reading Recap

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor (Logan Family Saga #4)

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

My Thoughts: I’d been meaning to reread this book for such a long time, and this year, it finally happened. Cassie’s story stands out as one of the formative novels I read in elementary school. Her courage, her curiosity, and her love for her family make her an unforgettable heroine. I love that this is a story totally accessible to young readers that presents truths about American life for a Black family in the 1930s.

Published January 5, 2016 (Orig. 1976) | My Review to Come

The House Saphir by Marissa Meyer

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

My Thoughts: Another reader noted how different this book is from Meyer’s other reimagined fairytales, and I totally agree. The main character is a survivor. She’s bristly and slippery at once. I spent quite a few chapters worrying about the person she was taking advantage of, only for the story to flip in ways I didn’t expect. Loved it.

Published November 4, 2025 | My Review

Dead Ends!: Flukes, Flops & Failures That Sparked Medical Marvels by Lindsey Fitzharris and Adrian Teal

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

My Thoughts: I’d read another book by this author/illustrator team that was wildly entertaining, so when this showed up in my mailbox, I had to check it out. Squeamish readers will probably not want a piece of this hilarious look at some of the medical failures that led to treatments we depend on today. Readers who enjoy books about the human body or science will be completely engrossed.

Published October 14, 2025 | My Review

The Tear Collector by R. M. Romero

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

My Thoughts: This is an unusual fantasy story set in a world heavily impacted by rising sea levels. I love how it shows the ways an isolated community’s ideas can get stagnant or warped by those in power and how a new perspective can clear the air.

Published October 14, 2025 | My Review

These Bodies Ain’t Broken edited by Madeline Dyer

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

My Thoughts: I love that this anthology pairs together horror short stories featuring disabled characters as heroes and essays from the authors offering context about the disabilities portrayed in the work. If you enjoyed Disfigured by Amanda LeDuc, definitely grab a copy of this one.

Published October 7, 2025 | My Review

Out of Darkness by Ashley Hope Pérez

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

My Thoughts: I read an anthology edited by Ashley Hope Pérez earlier this year, and added this book to my reading list out of that experience. It’s a reimagining of Romeo and Juliet set in Texas in the 1930s in a town where racial tensions ran high and a school exploded. It’s heartbreaking, brutal, intense, and also somehow threaded through with joy and beauty.

Published September 10, 2019 | My Review to Come

A Matter of Murder (Lizzie & Darcy Mystery #2) by Tirzah Price

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

My Thoughts: I’ve enjoyed this spinoff of “The Jane Austen Murder Mysteries” for its cozy mystery and regency era vibes. I don’t know how true to the original Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy these characters are, but I find that less important to me than the fun of imagining those characters in this universe solving a mystery together.

Published November 11, 2025 | My Review

Angelica and the Bear Prince by Trung le Nguyen

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

My Thoughts: As a huge fan of The Magic Fish, I knew I wanted to read this. In some ways (celebrating fairytales alongside a contemporary story) it reminded me a lot of TMF, but in some ways it’s so different. The storytelling here is a bit sassy, which I enjoyed, and it shows a lot of interactions in which the characters communicate what they need and what isn’t working, which I found very welcome!

Published October 7, 2025 | My Review to Come

The Beasts Beneath the Winds: Tales of Southeast Asia’s Mythical Creatures edited by Hanna Alkaf

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

My Thoughts: This playful anthology shows modern kids interacting with cryptids and creatures from Asian folklore and mythology. Such a fun read. Introducing each story is a spread that looks like a cryptid journal with photos and facts about the creature.

Published October 21, 2025 | My Review

Lord of Blade and Bone (Waking Hearts #2) by Erica Ivy Rodgers

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

My Thoughts: This was one of my most anticipated books for 2025. At nearly 500 pages, this book has a LOT to say. I kind of wish it had been two books so the story had room to slow down a little and recap or go deeper with some of the characters a little more. It has a huge cast of characters, and one of my favorite magic systems out in fantasy right now. It took me about 100 pages to get back into the story because I couldn’t always remember who was who, but once I got that far, I remembered why I love this series (duology?) so much.

Published November 11, 2025 | My Review

Skipshock by Caroline O’Donoghue

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

My Thoughts: Bring your willing suspension of disbelief and dive into this world-jumping story about a girl from Ireland who’s just trying to get to school and a boy from a marginalized nomadic people trying to survive in hostile worlds. It’s part love story, part multiverse exploration, and part revolution. I loved it.

Published June 3, 2025 | My Review

How Girls Are Made by Mindy McGinnis

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

My Thoughts: This is a hard read, but felt like such a necessary story. The writing is so compelling. It shows the importance of comprehensive sex ed and how anyone can be vulnerable to abuse, even people who think they’re safe.

Published November 18, 2025 | My Review

The Whale’s Song: Discover the Giants of Our Oceans by Rossana Bossù

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

My Thoughts: This is such a cool book. Short paragraphs and passages offer great information on a variety of topics about marine mammals, like the different regional groups of orcas, the phases of decomposition of a whalefall, how whales support a healthy, diverse ocean environment, etc.

Published June 24, 2025 | My Review to Come

North for the Winter by Bobby Podesta

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

My Thoughts: This debut graphic novel by a Pixar animator offers a lot of Christmas cheer. I’d been looking for an uplifting holiday story when this one landed in my mailbox, so it was a very welcome read.

Published September 2, 2025 | My Review

Finally, Something Mysterious (The One and Onlys #1) by Doug Cornett

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

What you need to know: I was scrambling to find something to read to my seven-year-old, and I hit the jackpot with this one. I’d read this book back in 2020, and loved the quirky humor and small town setting. This is a perfect mystery for a younger MG audience, and it had my girl laughing out loud. Total win.

Published April 14, 2020 | My Review

I’ll Find You Where the Timeline Ends by Kylie Lee Baker

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

My Thoughts: This one started out a little rough for me, but once some elements of the plot came into focus, I found it much easier to invest in the characters and their romance. I wish the love interest wasn’t so heavy-handed in the early chapters of the book, but I enjoyed the way the author used some common time travel tropes.

Published November 18, 2025 | My Review

Graciela in the Abyss by Meg Medina

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

My Thoughts: I’m totally unsurprised that this book received a starred review from Kirkus. It’s such a unique story world. The characters pulled me in right away. If you love weird, ethereal novels, you want this on your list.

Published July 1, 2025 | My Review to Come

Hollow by Taylor Grothe

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

My Thoughts: This book is every bit as weird and eerie as its cover image. Estranged friends go for a hike in the woods to reconnect only to become separated and lost. One winds up in a remote village that seems too good to be true. This book too me on a wild ride.

Published September 30, 2025 | My Review

Silenced Voices by Pablo Leon

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

My Thoughts: A graphic novel inspired by real events. I am embarrassingly unfamiliar with North American history outside of American history, so I wanted to read this book as part of an effort to broaden my understanding. I also love seeing how graphic novelists use this form to educate young readers through history or novels inspired by real events. I’m so glad I read this one.

Published September 2, 2025 | My Review

Setting the Stage (Cast vs Crew) by Lindsay Champion

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

My Thoughts: Theater kids and theater-curious readers will enjoy the behind-the-scenes look at a stage crew in this short MG novel. I like the variety of viewpoints presented and how that helps clue readers into what’s driving some of the conflicts and misunderstandings.

Published October 21, 2025 | My Review Coming Tomorrow

What did you read in November?

What is your favorite book that you read in November? Leave a comment letting me know about your favorites, and let me know if you read anything on my list.

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry is probably my favorite from this recap. Of the books that came out this year, I’d say Graciela in the Abyss is my favorite. If you post a November reading recap on your blog or social media, leave me a link in the comments! I’d love to check it out.

Review: I’ll Find You Where the Timeline Ends by Kylie Lee Baker

Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Romance, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , ,

I’ll Find You Where the Timeline Ends
Kylie Lee Baker
Feiwel & Friends
Published November 18, 2025

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About I’ll Find You Where the Timeline Ends

A teen descendant of a Japanese dragon god must team up with a cute rogue agent to subvert a corrupt time travel organization and find out the truth of what happened to her missing sister in acclaimed author Kylie Lee Baker’s magical new YA romance, I’ll Find You Where the Timeline Ends.

When you’re ready, come find me. I will keep you safe. -Hana

Descended from a Japanese dragon god, Yang Mina was born with the power to travel through time, and has spent her life training to take her place in the Descendants, a secret organization whose purpose is to protect the timeline. Then Mina’s world is uprooted when she moves to Seoul and finds a note from her sister–a sister who no one remembers, as if she had been erased. The only people who could have made her sister vanish so completely are part of the very agency that she’s been working so hard to join. So now Mina has a new mission, infiltrate the agency as quickly as possible to find her lost sister.

And, as if things weren’t complicated enough, a strikingly handsome rogue agent has determined that Mina is the only person who can help him put an end to the Descendants’ corruption. Placed in an impossible situation, Mina must decide how much she’s willing to risk to find the truth.

My Review

At first, this story might look like a love triangle between Mina, Jihoon, the boy she’s supposed to seduce into a kiss, and Yejun, the rogue agent desperate for her help righting a wrong in the timeline. It becomes clear pretty quickly, though, that poor, sweet Jihoon really doesn’t stand a chance against the unpredictable Yejun.

It took me a long time to invest in the Mina-Yejun connection. He seemed too pushy, and too determined that she should just take orders from him, no questions asked. That didn’t sit well with me. It seemed like it was exactly the same way that her superiors within the organization treated her. He was asking her to go rogue, risk her life, and just trust him that it would all be okay. Seemed like a big ask to me.

I’m glad I stuck with the story, though. I don’t want to give spoilers. But I will say that by the time I reached the end of the story, I understood why certain things happened the way they did. It’s a pretzel-y story, which I enjoyed. For example, both Mina and Yejun encounter future versions of themselves in the present taking action to alter what happens. Later, we see those same scenes, and they make a lot more sense from the vantage point later in the story.

Time travel stories have got to be hard to write. I love that this one plays with some of the common tropes and elements of time travel. I also grew to appreciate the love story as the full landscape of what was going on became clear.

If you’re looking for a time travel romance, check this one out.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing.

Spiritual Content
Some characters are descended from the gods and have magic abilities. They use these abilities to navigate to different parts of the timeline and make changes.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Brief gun violence. References to tragedies that caused deaths, such as a bridge collapse. One character witnesses allies punishing a woman by “erasing” her from the timeline. (They force her to eat her own magic and she disappears.)

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Review: When Stars Are Scattered by Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed

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When Stars Are Scattered
Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed
Dial Books
Published April 14, 2020

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About When Stars Are Scattered

A National Book Award Finalist, this remarkable graphic novel is about growing up in a refugee camp, as told by a former Somali refugee to the Newbery Honor-winning creator of Roller Girl.

Omar and his younger brother, Hassan, have spent most of their lives in Dadaab, a refugee camp in Kenya. Life is hard there: never enough food, achingly dull, and without access to the medical care Omar knows his nonverbal brother needs. So when Omar has the opportunity to go to school, he knows it might be a chance to change their future . . . but it would also mean leaving his brother, the only family member he has left, every day.

Heartbreak, hope, and gentle humor exist together in this graphic novel about a childhood spent waiting, and a young man who is able to create a sense of family and home in the most difficult of settings. It’s an intimate, important, unforgettable look at the day-to-day life of a refugee, as told to New York Times Bestselling author/artist Victoria Jamieson by Omar Mohamed, the Somali man who lived the story.

My Review

After reading this graphic novel, I’m completely unsurprised that this book was a finalist for the National Book Award. What an incredible story. It’s definitely one of those books that is more than the sum of its parts, too. While the storytelling follows Omar’s experience from his childhood living in a refugee camp in Kenya to his adulthood, the relationships in the book shine like its true stars.

Omar takes care of his brother Hassan, who is mostly nonverbal and has seizures. As Omar attends school, he worries about Hassan being on his own. He realizes, though, that Hassan has a whole community of people who know and love him. And he helps everyone around him, as well.

At school, Omar makes friends with Maryam and Nimo, two girls who study hard, hoping to one day earn a scholarship that would take them to college in Canada. His best friend, Jeri, keeps Omar grounded when his emotions get the best of him.

Omar’s life experiences are so different than a lot of kids face. An up-close account showing what it’s like to live day after day with so little and no promise that life will ever change helps readers develop empathy and understanding for refugees who might join their classrooms.

The backmatter shows some photos of Omar and Hassan as well as a continuation of Omar’s life story.

I’m a huge fan of When Stars Are Scattered, and I hope to share it with lots of young readers.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 10 to 14.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Reference to marriage. One of Omar’s friends, a girl who is around fifteen years old, marries an older man.

Spiritual Content
References to morning prayer, studing the Quran, and celebrating holidays like Ramadan and Eid.

Violent Content
Omar revisits his life in Somalia in fragmented memories (he fled when he was around three years old). One panel shows that Omar heard shots fired after soldiers approached his dad. The text doesn’t specify what he saw, but we understand that he witnessed his dad’s death, and that remembering it was deeply upsetting to him. One line references a suicide (not shown on scene). References to domestic abuse.

People in the camp call Omar’s friend Jeri “Limpy” to make fun of him for his disability. Omar and Jeri talk specifically about this and how it’s wrong and bothers Jeri. Omar sticks up for his friend.

Drug Content
One character’s dad sits with other men chewing Khat leaves, which act like a stimulant.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I purchased a copy of this book from Scholastic Book Fairs. All opinions are my own.

Review: Skipshock by Caroline O’Donoghue

Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , ,

Skipshock
Caroline O’Donoghue
Walker Books
Published June 3, 2025

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Skipshock

Set in a universe where time is key to power and privilege, this dazzlingly inventive, genre-defying fantasy romance is the first in a duology by best-selling author Caroline O’Donoghue.

Margo is a troubled schoolgirl. After the death of her father, she’s on her way to a new boarding school in a new city.

Moon is a salesman. He makes his living traveling through a series of interconnected worlds on a network of barely used train lines.

They never should have met. But when Margo suddenly appears one day on Moon’s train, their fates become inextricably linked. If Margo wants to survive, she has to pass as a traveling salesman, too—except it’s not that easy.

Move north on the train line and time speeds up, a day passing in mere hours. Move south and time slows down—a day can last several weeks. Slow worlds are the richest you live longer, your youth lasting decades. Fast worlds are sharp, cruel, and don’t have time for pleasantries. Death is frequent. Salesmen die young of skipshock. That is, if they’re not shot down by the Southern Guard first.

As Margo moves between worlds and her attachment to Moon intensifies, she feels her youth start to slip between her fingers. But is Moon everything he seems? Is Margo?

Told through the eyes of both naive Margo and desperate Moon, the unforgettable realm of Skipshock will shake the way you think about love, time, and the fabric of the universe. The first in a planned duology from the best-selling author of the Gifts series, this utterly original epic is a must-read.

My Review

I really like how different this book is than a lot of the other YA fantasy that’s out right now. This is almost sci-fi adjacent. There’s a train that can jump from one world to another, and it’s tightly controlled by a coalition government. There’s another important piece of tech. The story doesn’t deeply explore how the train works; its really something the characters take for granted, and I didn’t mind that. I think if the story had centered that element more, that would have pulled into more of a sci-fi direction, and I’m not sure whether that would have been a good thing.

Moon and Margo visit other worlds with days of different lengths, some as short as 2 hours and others longer. Jumping from world to world too often causes a condition called Skipshock, and once someone starts experiencing the symptoms, it progresses quickly. This created some intense stakes. As Moon got sicker, I worried so much that every jump to a new world would be his last.

I also like how young this story feels. There’s a lot of fantasy marketed as YA that doesn’t feel as anchored in the teen experience as this does. Margo is still in school. She keeps having these moments where she has to take a breath, because here she is faced with saving the world, and she’s still a child. She also confronts Moon about his youth, and especially about his feelings of guilt over something awful he did as a child. I felt like the book stayed aware of itself or its audience more than some of the other books marketed as YA fantasy that I’ve read this year. I really appreciated that.

Margo and Moon have such a sweet relationship, too. It’s a bit obvious from the setup that there will be romance blossoming between them, but I loved the way that played out and how sweet they were with each other.

Skipshock has at least one starred review, and I feel zero surprise about that. It’s a fresh, interesting story with high stakes and an adorable romance. I’m here for wherever this series goes next.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 15 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing. Brief nudity. One scene leads up to a sexual encounter, then fades to black.

Spiritual Content
The story world involves lots of different worlds connected through special, highly controlled train lines. Moon is part of a race of people called Lunati, who celebrate faith traditions relative to the full moon.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. A man hits another man with the butt of a gun. References to arson. One instance of arson killed a group of people. Moon begins experiencing symptoms of Skipshock, a progressive medical disorder that is fatal, unless caught early and treated. A battle between soldiers and rebels causes fatalities. A bomb kills several people and injures others. Someone appears to have been beaten by soldiers. Moon endures racist comments and prejudice about his identity as one of the Lunati.

Drug Content
Characters drink alcohol in a couple scenes.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Review: Silenced Voices by Pablo Leon

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Silenced Voices: Reclaiming Memories from the Guatemalan Genocide
Pablo Leon
HarperAlley
Published September 2, 2025

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Silenced Voices

In this moving intergenerational tale perfect for fans of Messy Roots and Illegal, Eisner-nominated creator Pablo Leon combines historical research of the Dos Erres Massacre with his own experiences as a Guatemalan immigrant to depict a powerful story of family, sacrifice, survival, and hope.

Langley Park, Maryland, 2013.

Brothers Jose and Charlie know very little about the life their mother lived before she came to Maryland. In fact, Clara avoids even telling people she’s from Guatemala. So when Jose grows curious about the ongoing genocide trial of former military leader Efrain Rios Montt, at first the questions he asks Clara are shut down—he and Charlie were born here, after all, and there’s no reason to worry about places they haven’t been. But as the trial progresses, Clara begins to slowly open up to her sons about a time in her life that she’s left buried for years.

Dos Erres, Guatemala, 1982.

Sisters Clara and Elena hear about the civil war every day, but the violence somehow seems far away from their small village of Dos Erres, a Q’eqchi Maya community tucked away in the mountains of Guatemala. They spend their days thinking of other things—Clara, of gifts to bring her neighbors and how to perfect her mother’s recipes, and Elena, of rock music and her friend Ana, whose family had to flee to the US the year before. But the day the Kaibiles come to Dos Erres and destroy everything in their path, the sisters are separated as they flee through the mountains, leaving them to wonder…Have their paths diverged forever?

My Review

Kudos to authors like Pablo Leon who draw attention to important parts of recent history. The story begins in 2013 and shows the two brothers and their mother living in Maryland. As Jose becomes curious about his mother’s life in Guatemala and the Montt’s trial for genocide, we begin to see scenes from Clara and Elena’s lives as young women fleeing the violence.

The graphic panels keep the story moving, showing the characters’ emotional reactions and allowing readers to fill in some of what’s left unsaid about the terror and injustice they face. The story shifts between the past and present timeline smoothly. I didn’t find it confusing.

The author includes facts about Montt’s trial and the frustrating outcome. It also helps to add context to reasons people immigrate from places like Guatemala and how the U.S. involvement sometimes exacerbates instability in the region. Both the discussion about the real history and the context of these events when considering current issues like immigration are important. I love that this book offers this story inspired by real events as a graphic novel, making it very accessible to teen readers.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
References to genocide and warfare. Racist statements against indigenous people.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I borrowed a copy of this book from the library. All opinions are my own.

Review: Hollow by Taylor Grothe

Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Young Adult/Teen 12-18

Hollow
Taylor Grothe
Peachtree Teen
Published September 30, 2025

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Hollow

Don’t Let the Forest In meets The Whispering Dark in a queer YA cult horror following a recently diagnosed autistic teen who becomes enmeshed in a community of outcasts harboring sinister secrets.

“One of the best horror novels of the year, full stop. Haunting, heartfelt, and downright creepy.” —Kamilah Cole, bestselling author of So Let Them Burn

After a meltdown in her school cafeteria prompts an unwanted autism diagnosis, Cassie Davis moves back to her hometown in upstate New York, where her mom hopes the familiarity will allow Cassie to feel normal again. Cassie’s never truly felt normal anywhere, but she does crave the ease she used to have with her old friends.

Problem is that her friends aren’t so eager to welcome her back into the fold. They extend an olive branch by inviting her on their backpacking trip to Hollow Ridge, in the upper reaches of the Adirondacks. But when a fight breaks out their first night, Cassie wakes to a barren campsite—her friends all gone.

With severe weather approaching and nearing sensory overload, Cassie is saved by a boy named Kaleb, who whisks her away to a compound of artists and outcasts he calls the Roost. As Kaleb tends to her injuries, Cassie begins to feel—for the first time in her life—that she can truly be herself. But as the days pass, strange happenings around the Roost make Cassie question her instincts. Noises in the trees grow louder, begging the question: Are the dangers in the forest, on the trail, or in the Roost itself?

In a world where autistic characters rarely get to be the hero of their own stories, Cassie Davis’s one-step-back, two-steps-forward journey to unmasking makes Hollow as much a love letter to neurodiversity as it is a haunting tale you’ll want to read with the lights on.

My Review

This book is such an intense read! I really appreciated how Cassie’s autism impacted how she navigated the story. She’s still reeling from some pretty intense bullying. She’s really nervous about reconnecting to old friends, yet really longs for those connections. She has questions about whether the friendships were real and whether she’ll have to mask her autism in order to have those people in her life. Her pain and her questions felt so real.

Sometimes when I read a story like this, about an old friend group someone is trying to reconnect with, I feel frustrated because I don’t think the friend group deserves them. In Hollow, I could see that Cassie’s friends weren’t perfect, but they also weren’t necessarily bad people. They’d been through their own hardships and really didn’t have a grid for why Cassie behaved the way she did. I didn’t blame them for not understanding, but I also didn’t blame Cassie for not trusting them. Threading that needle couldn’t have been easy, so kudos to Grothe (a debut author) for bringing that nuance.

The book also just oozes intensity. When Cassie finds the community in the mountains, it just feels… off. I kept waiting for the story’s monsters to reveal themselves. (They do! Just wait.)

The only thing that tripped me up at all is that one character basically has two lives, and I couldn’t work out how that would be sustainable for them. Was Cassie actually targeted? Was that just a wrong place, wrong time situation? It seemed like there was some targeting, but I guess I still had some questions at the end of the book.

None of that lessened my enjoyment, though. The emotional journey reading this book felt to me very much like the experience of watching an old Hitchcock film. Lots of eeriness. Lots of tension. It definitely has a moment where suddenly, you see the whole landscape of the story and you want to shout, “OMG, run!” to the main characters.

If you like suspense/horror/eerie stories in the woods, make sure you don’t miss this one.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 16 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing.

Spiritual Content
There is a paranormal element. Highlight the text below for spoilers.

One character makes puppets as replacements for people. This person has some control of the puppets, and there’s some connection from the puppet to their body, which is kept elsewhere.

Violent Content
References to bullying incidents that lead to a breakdown. Situations of peril. A ritual involves a cut across one’s palm. A storm creates dangerous conditions on a hiking trail. Two people are injured while hiking.

Drug Content
Someone gives injured people tea to help with pain relief. Highlight the text below for spoilers.

The tea also induces a kind of stupor and changes the person’s perception of things. The only thing available to drink is the tea.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.