Tag Archives: grief

Holloway by Elana K. Arnold

Review: Holloway by Elana K. Arnold

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

Holloway
Elana K. Arnold
Clarion Books
Published May 5, 2026

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About Holloway

“Elana K. Arnold paints prose like a master. A fascinating journey through time, love, and forgiveness.” – A.S. King, Printz Award-winning author of Dig

Award-winning author Elana K. Arnold returns with a boldly visionary, deeply felt story that crosses space and time to examine loss and love in a world on the brink.

It is the late summer of 2021, and a girl named Nora is on the Paris Metro.

Nora, whose mother loved her, even though Nora was broken.

Nora, who couldn’t help her mother when her mother needed her most.

Nora, from whom the pandemic has taken nearly everything, save the object she clings to: a cylinder containing her mother’s ashes.

With no family left, no friends to speak of, and no way to turn back time, Nora has come to France to keep a promise she never got to make: to spread the ashes in a place her mother never got to see. But instead, Nora finds herself on the run through a forest in the night, taking refuge in a dark holloway. And when she wakes, and tries to make her way back to something she recognizes, she realizes that is impossible. 

Because it is no longer 2021.

Questioning everything—including her own sanity—Nora sets out on a journey through a time and place completely foreign to her, and yet one that, much like the time and place she came from, is defined by death, loss, fear, and uncertainty. A journey in which she must find a way to honor her mother—and heal herself—in a world that feels irrevocably broken.

My Review

I read a short piece by Elana K. Arnold in the anthology, Banned Together. I’ve seen her name on banned book lists as well. Holloway is the first novel that I’ve read by her, though.

I think, weirdly, one of my favorite parts of the book is what happens after Nora is no longer in 2021. She reacts pretty reasonably to the news, first deciding someone is tricking her, then trying to evaluate whether she’s having some kind of breakdown, and ultimately wondering when to accept that the impossible has truly happened and she is somehow in another time.

I just really appreciated that Arnold put that whole mental progression on the page. More often, characters experience something unbelievable, like slipping through a portal to elsewhere, and they simply must accept it because the plot is moving forward. I am willing to suspend my disbelief and carry on, but I loved that this book made space for the protagonist to explore those questions and feelings.

Holloway is a bit dark, and it wrestles with some hard realities. Nora grieves both the loss of her mother, with whom she has a complicated relationship, and her grandmother, who cared for her in her mom’s absence and pressed Nora’s mom to make space for Nora’s neurodivergence. Nora’s mom says some ugly things about Nora’s need for extra processing or her stimming behavior. She also blames vaccines for causing Nora to have autism and frames the diagnosis as a negative thing.

Another thing I thought was really cool about this book is that having Nora experience two separate time periods gave the narrative room to explore how the broader cultural understanding of, and treatment of, neurodivergent people differs in each timeline. That exploration contains a lot of nuance and layers. Nora knows people in her present and the past who seem to accept her as she is without question. Other people in each timeline judge or restrict her in varying ways.

Initially, I wasn’t going to try to read this book this year because of the parental loss the story includes. It wasn’t actually too hard for me once I got into it. Nora’s experience with her mom was so different from my experience with my dad that I didn’t feel the same kind of connection to the book.

Conclusion

Holloway is a compelling, thoughtful read that I think fans of stories exploring complex relationships will enjoy. I’m really glad I read it, and I’ll definitely look for more books by Elana K. Arnold.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 16 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used somewhat frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
References to sexual assault. Kissing. Nora unexpectedly notices two people making love.

Spiritual Content
Nora leaves one time period and steps into another.

Violent Content
Nora encounters prejudice for her autism. She compares the ways she was treated in 2021 to how people perceive and treat people with autism in the earlier time period.

Drug Content
At one point, Nora is sedated and taken to a facility.

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: Just the Good Parts by Robbie Couch

Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Magical Realism, Paranormal, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , ,

Just the Good Parts
Robbie Couch
Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Published September 29, 2026

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Just the Good Parts

From the New York Times bestselling author of If I See You Again Tomorrow comes a stunningly romantic, speculative novel about a teen looking for his missing dad, who keeps getting pulled into others’ memories and crossing paths with a handsome stranger who also doesn’t belong there.

Caspen Coolsby’s dad is missing. But even though it’s only been a few months, everyone has given up on finding him. Except for Caspen.

He finally gets a break in the case when he meets his new upstairs neighbors and discovers he can somehow transport himself into each of the college students’ memories using candle scents that remind them of important moments. No one loved candles more than his dad, so Caspen is sure there must be clues pointing toward where to find him hidden in the memories.

His thinking hits a snag, though, when a handsome boy named Lars keeps popping up in memories where he also doesn’t belong. As the lines between memory and reality begin to blur, Caspen can’t help but fall for the mysterious boy who keeps chipping away at the rose-colored lens he’s always seen life through. But will Caspen be able to find his dad and his crush outside of these stolen moments if it means reliving the hard truths of his past and not just the good parts?

My Review

This book manages to be both playful and serious at the same time. I loved the wacky whimsy of a boy disappearing into his friends’ memories when they light a candle. Why Lars appears in the memories is never explained, but that didn’t bother me too much. I think it would have been cool if there was a connection that Caspen hadn’t realized until the end, but I was okay with the open-ended storyline there.

The fact that his family owns a candle store is super cute. Between that and the paranormal elements of the tale, I think this book works really well as a cozy fall read with slight Halloween vibes. Nothing truly spooky happens during the story, but the fact that this strange situation is happening and all the references to fall leaves and candles made me really glad I was reading this book during the fall season.

A lot of pieces of the story do get explained, and Caspen learns a lot about himself and his family along the way. I enjoyed seeing those connections, even though the conclusion of the story is pretty emotional. I wasn’t prepared for that considering how goofy and lighthearted the rest of the book is. I think the story works; I just probably wouldn’t have read the last five chapters in a Starbucks if I’d known where things were heading.

Just the Good Parts is the first book by Robbie Couch that I’ve read, and I enjoyed it. I think fans of Lance Rubin will want to check this one out.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Brief profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing.

Spiritual Content
Caspen experiences the memories of three other people when they light candles and he touches them. Someone else appears in the memories, too.

Violent Content
Caspen’s dad is missing. References to the death of a girlfriend and unresolved grief. Reference to an injury from falling.

SPOILER: (Select the text below to view.)

Death of a parent.

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: How to Talk to Your Succulent by Zoe Persico

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How to Talk to Your Succulent
Zoe Persico
Tundra Books
Published April 1, 2025

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About How to Talk to Your Succulent

After the loss of her mother, Adara struggles to communicate with her family about her grief. When a sympathetic ear arises in an unlikely place, Adara can finally find her words — but can she find the time to listen? A stunning graphic novel for middle-grade readers about family, friendship and magic in unlikely places, for fans of The Witches of Brooklyn and Raina Telgemeier.

Eleven-year-old Adara and her dad are moving from California to the cold and flat lands of Michigan . . . and it sucks. After Mom’s recent passing, it seems way too soon. Talking to Dad has always been harder than with Mom, but now it’s like walking on eggshells. And why did Dad bring so many of Mom’s houseplants across the country? Her mother might have been called the Plant Whisperer back home, but Adara is beginning to wonder if there is something more to it. But when she meets a little succulent named Perle, she unlocks the same magical ability her mother had: talking to plants!

But taking care of Perle isn’t as easy as it seems — the environment isn’t suited for her, and Adara doesn’t know how to meet her needs. Kind of like the situation Adara herself is in. If only Perle could ask Adara for help . . . and Adara could ask her dad.

With a touch of magic, this debut middle-grade graphic novel explores loneliness, mental health and empathy, and shows how communication, openness and a willingness to listen can help young people — and older people — and plants! — navigate their mental well-being and heal from loss, individually and together.

My Review

I started reading this book before I experienced the death of a parent firsthand. As the person who has taken on caring for my dad’s plants and the plants around our house, I found that the book resonated more with me. For me, it was a soothing, cathartic read, honestly.

Adara and Perle’s relationship is really sweet. Perle is the small succulent that Adara begins caring for. The story draws a strong parallel between what you need to do to ensure your plants are thriving and what you need to do to ensure you and your relationships are thriving. I liked that connection, and it works very well in the context of the story.

I also appreciated that Adara and her dad are grieving differently, and it takes them some time to figure out how to share their grief with one another in a way that’s healing and not more painful.

The color palette is also lovely. The warm, bright colors are so cheerful. When someone is upset, they are shown as being surrounded by darker, thorny vines, indicating they’re not okay. It’s a great visual cue and helps connect the dots between the different characters and their emotions.

Give this one to a plant lover in your life or to someone struggling to make new friends.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Adara sees anthropomorphic plants and can talk to them.

Violent Content
References to the death of a parent. (Happened before the start of the story.)

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 public library. All opinions are my own.

Review: The Siren’s Kiss by Leslie Vedder

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The Siren’s Kiss
Leslie Vedder
Abrams/Amulet
Published November 10, 2026

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About The Siren’s Kiss

Pirates of the Caribbean meets The Little Mermaid in this swashbuckling Sapphic fantasy!

Three years ago, Dead Shot Rayleigh laid hands on the legendary ruby the Siren’s Kiss andsuffered the wrath of the sea god, Red-Handed Roger.

Now bound as captain of his cursed ship, The Revenant, eighteen-year-old Rayleigh hatches a plan to win her freedom. Everyone knows that Red-Handed Roger’s heart was stolen by the Sea Witch. If she can get it back, she can barter her release.

But Rayleigh isn’t the only one with a score to settle. Fiery mermaid Maren lost her brother to the Sea Witch, and she’s come to the surface to get him back and save the last remaining mermaids at all costs.

When Maren runs afoul of the infuriating cursed pirate Rayleigh, sparks fly, and all her plans go up in flames. Now the only chance they have is each other.

Swashbuckling, sea monsters, pirate kings, siren songs, and stolen hearts!

Red-Handed Roger and the Sea Witch were once friends, before they both fell for the same mermaid and almost destroyed the world. Will Rayleigh and Maren’s love set things right, or just finish what the old gods started?​​​

Some hearts are meant to be stolen…

My Review

I’m just going to say it. I don’t think Leslie Vedder gets the recognition she deserves for her reimagined fairy-tale mashups. Her debut, The Bone Spindle, was my favorite book of the year when it was published, and the whole series is excellent. I feel the same about this book.

I love the way that she blended Pirates of the Caribbean and The Little Mermaid. The beats from the original stories are completely reimagined here, and yet they still made me think of key moments from the originals. I love it. I love the way that Vedder developed the story surrounding the rivalry between the god of the sea and the sea witch. The mermaids and their interaction with the human world was really nicely thought out.

Rayleigh as a pirate on a cursed ship, with all her backstory about her mother and her connection to the pirate community, was also really fascinating. I felt like there was so much going on in the book. So many interesting threads I wanted to follow, and it was so rewarding to find out every bit of backstory that the author included in the novel.

I read this book during a particularly hard week, and having the next chapter to look forward to at night really gave me a boost. I absolutely recommend this book for readers who enjoy books by Stephanie Garber or anyone who likes reimagined fairy tales. This is one I’m absolutely going to reread, and it’ll be on my top reads for this year without a doubt.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing.

Spiritual Content
The story contains lore about a god and goddess who fell in love with the same goddess and what happened when she chose one lover over the other. Rayleigh is cursed and bound to a cursed ship.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Battle scenes involving swords and guns.

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: Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech

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Walk Two Moons
Sharon Creech
HarperCollins
Published October 6, 2009

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About Walk Two Moons

“How about a story? Spin us a yarn.”
Instantly, Phoebe Winterbottom came to mind. “I could tell you an extensively strange story,” I warned.
“Oh, good!” Gram said. “Delicious!”
And that is how I happened to tell them about Phoebe, her disappearing mother, and the lunatic.

As Sal entertains her grandparents with Phoebe’s outrageous story, her own story begins to unfold — the story of a thirteen-year-old girl whose only wish is to be reunited with her missing mother.

In her own award-winning style, Sharon Creech intricately weaves together two tales, one funny, one bittersweet, to create a heartwarming, compelling, and utterly moving story of love, loss, and the complexity of human emotion.

My Review

This book has been on my reading list for YEARS. I’ve heard so many great things about it, and wanted to read it for so long. I recently went through some drama with my Amazon account, and couldn’t access any of my Kindle books, but I had this one as a Nook ebook, so I figured it must be time to read it.

The story starts very much in the middle of Sal’s life. After her mom’s death nearly a year earlier, she and her dad moved to a new town, and now she’s on a road trip with her paternal grandparents to visit her mom’s grave. It’s a long car trip, so she tells her grandparents the story of her best friend in her new town to pass the time.

Setting up the story this way means juggling a lot of different timelines and revealing a lot of information quickly. I thought the pacing of these reveals and the control of the different timelines (the car trip, Sal’s year in the new town, and her memories of her mom) was really nicely done. I didn’t feel confused or overwhelmed by the information, and it felt pretty close to how a kid of Sal’s age might talk about things.

It’s also kind of a weird story, which I loved. Sal’s grandparents are funny. They have their rituals and ways of doing things, which sometimes Sal finds endearing. Sometimes it’s clear their habits annoy her.

I also liked the way that the stories come full circle and connect. Sal begins to see beyond her grief over her mom’s death. She starts to see her father’s grief, and starts to understand her friend Phoebe’s feelings about her mom, too. I loved how the story pulled all those threads together. The story balances the humor and grief elements really well.

I will definitely be reading more books by Sharon Creech, and I do recommend this one for readers who enjoy emotional books.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 10 to 14.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Sal has a crush on a boy from her class. They have a few near misses with kissing.

Spiritual Content
Sal prays to the trees. Her logic is that sometimes God might be far away, but there’s always a tree nearby.

Violent Content
References to the death of a parent. (Death not shown on scene.)

Drug Content
None.

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. All opinions are my own.

Review: How to Lose Yourself Completely by Peter Bognanni

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How to Lose Yourself Completely
Peter Bognanni
Balzer + Bray
Published June 2, 2026

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About How to Lose Yourself Completely

An incredibly poignant story about a teen grappling with grief and anxiety who is sent to wilderness “adventure therapy,” where he meets a group of friends who will change his life forever. With its captivating voice and dry wit, this novel is perfect for fans of Jandy Nelson and John Green.

Ever since Sean’s death, Case’s anxiety has been spiraling. Sean wasn’t just his older brother—he was also Case’s best friend. The only person who really got him.

When his parents suggest “adventure therapy,” Case is desperate enough to agree. Maybe roughing it in the woods with a group of anxious strangers will help him find a way forward. After he boards the bus, he sees the one person he’s been trying to avoid: Diana. Sean’s girlfriend.

Once they set off, there is the expected cringey singing and forced sharing. But when their counselor mysteriously disappears, the trip suddenly turns into a journey of survival. This group of kids, with nothing in common but their prescriptions and lack of social skills, will have to band together to make it back home. In the process, they will change each other’s lives forever.

From award-winning author Peter Bognanni comes a profound, surprising, and hopeful novel about grief and love.

My Review

Most of this book appears in second-person point of view, using “you” pronouns, though it’s written from Case’s perspective. Once I got to the pronoun shift, it made so much sense why the first part of the book was written this way. I like the way that it connected to Case’s relationship with his brother and elements of their relationship.

The story’s premise is really interesting. The nature program is supposed to provide group therapy opportunities and immerse the campers in an outdoor adventure. The story doesn’t really focus on whether time spent in nature is a remedy for anxiety, but the characters do ask some interesting questions about it along the way.

One interesting thing for me while reading this book is that I sometimes felt at odds with Case’s interpretation of events. He idolizes his brother, both as part of his grief and as a younger sibling might look up to an older one. But in the descriptions of his brother’s behavior, I felt like there were a lot of clues that his brother didn’t always deserve Case’s adoration. This added a lot of tension to the story. I could feel the conflict between Case’s view of his brother and the true timeline of events building to a crescendo.

The wilderness adventure part of the book gets pretty intense, too, as the cover suggests, taking characters across dangerous rivers and through a raging forest fire. I can definitely see the comparison to John Green’s books. Readers looking for an intense story about grief and anxiety will get that, along with memorable characters and entertaining banter.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
One f-bomb. Other profanity used pretty infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing.

Spiritual Content
For a period of time, Sean embraced Buddhism.

Violent Content
References to a diving injury. One character’s risk-taking behavior increases over time. Descriptions of panic attacks and anxiety. Encounters with wildlife. Characters encounter a forest fire. Description of an accidental death.

Drug Content
Sean’s friends drink alcohol and smoke in his room. (Happens off-scene.) Case witnesses one friend leaving the house drunk. One character confesses that they have a drinking problem. One character steals others’ medication. One scene shows a character who has overdosed on medication. It’s unclear whether this was accidental or intentional.

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.