The Breathless

September 1, 2017

Gr 8 Up-It's been almost a year since Roxanne Cole died, and her boyfriend, Cage, who has been missing since her death, is presumed responsible. But when he shows up on the Coles' doorstep one year later with no memory, Roxanne's sister Mae begins to question whether he's guilty. In an effort to uncover the truth, Mae hides Cage in their family barn, and the two make a few attempts to figure out what happened; most of the story, however, is centered around Roxanne's little green book that contains instructions for raising people from the dead. Many of the characters are two-dimensional and everyone is still deeply obsessed with Roxanne's death one year later. Almost all of the characters are solely focused on raising people from the dead, and although a number of them try to resurrect her, their attempts all fail. Flashbacks from 1859 are woven in, but still, the writing is flat, and the book's many attempts at suspense fall short. VERDICT Only the most dedicated gothic fiction fans will be motivated to make it to the big reveal at the end of the book.-Candyce Pruitt-Goddard, Sno-Isle Libraries, Marysville, WA

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 15, 2017
A Southern gothic about family secrets and a dead sister.Nearly a year ago Cage Shaw fled after being spotted over the dead body of his girlfriend, Ro Cole. Ro's artistic younger sister, Mae, still doesn't know what really happened--though she suspects it was more than it appeared to be after finding an old family-heirloom journal that was most recently Ro's. In it is such disturbing content as the "Ritual for a Raising," other apparent spells, and cryptic notes, some written by Ro herself. Meanwhile, Cage wakes in a hospital with vague memories of a motorcycle crash and makes his way back to the decaying Cole home, Blue Gate, where he's shocked to learn that a year has passed, Ro is dead, and he is a pariah. He says he's innocent, and Mae finds herself believing him. In between Mae's investigation of Ro's secrets and Cage's attempts to figure out what's happened over the past year, the text jumps back into Cole family history, to 1859, when Grady Cole falls for a magic-using outsider with the ability to raise the dead. The modern-time romance is light, as both of Mae's potential love interests are hung up on Ro, and the setting--the derelict estate on the Alabama coast--suits the creepy, ritualistic, magical elements of a plot that confuses at times but mostly weaves together by the ending twists. All characters are white. A plot-heavy saga. (Paranormal romance. 12-18)

COPYRIGHT(2017) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

July 1, 2018
A year after Mae's sister Ro's mysterious death, Ro's boyfriend shows up at their coastal Alabama estate--apparently with no memory of the past year or Ro's death, for which he's been blamed. Spurred into investigating, Mae discovers Ro's occult journal and centuries-old family secrets. A drawn-out plot and flat writing mar this spooky, atmospheric Southern Gothic tale.

(Copyright 2018 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)