Olivia Foster Hasn T Felt Alive Since Her Little Brother Drowned In The Backyard Pool Three Years Ago Then Kara Hallas Moves In Across The Street With Her Mother And Grandmother, And Olivia Is Immediately Drawn To These Three Generations Of Women Kara Is Particularly Intoxicating, So Much So That Olivia Not Only Comes To Accept Kara S Morbid Habit Of Writing To Men On Death Row, She Helps Her Do It They Sign Their Letters As The Resurrection Girls But As Kara S Friendship Pulls Olivia Out Of The Dark Fog She S Been Living In, Olivia Realizes That A Different Kind Of Darkness Taints The Otherwise Lively Hallas Women An Impulse That Is Strange, Magical, And Possibly Deadly
Ava Morgyn is a long time avid reader and writer of young adult fiction She studied English Writing Rhetoric at St Edward s University in Austin, TX, and now lives in Houston city with the most rain, best food, and worst traffic with her family When she isn t at her laptop spinning darkly hypnotic tales, she can be found making fairy houses, talking to her crystals and plants, hunting for
- Hardcover
- 272 pages
- Resurrection Girls
- Ava Morgyn
- English
- 18 June 2018 Ava Morgyn
- 9780807569429
No No Hell No Take my 2.5 stars rounded up to 3 just for the beautiful cover and go somewhere else I need to find another gothic, disturbing book for sake of my darkest taste Intriguing, chilling cover Check Capturing, interesting, riveting blurb Check Being a die hard fan of magical realism and creepy, spooky stories Check Introduction of Olivia s story, drowned little brother, absent mother, drug induced ghostly mother and a new neighbors moving to next door creepy grandma, creepier daughter, creepiest granddaughter, witchy women from three generation Check But SOMETHING went wrong I m correcting EVERYTHING SEEMED WRONG As I resumed my reading question marks on my mind getting bigger, bolder and they finally turned into thought balloons screaming at me DNF this one It s not good for your intellectual soul and taste of creepy thrillers Writing style of this book DATTTT Failed Number of likable characters DATTT None Slapping urge to worse characters DATTT Author already killed my itching instinct so I hit to the gym for punching my trainers Ending of the story DATTT Not satisfying SUMMARY Nanananana FULL FRUSTRATION AND DISAPPOINTMENT Of course I liked to read works of this author because the plot was good but progression and development didn t work for me this time Thanks to Netgalley and AW Teen for sharing this intriguing ARC COPY with me in exchange my honest review.
4.5 starsI was death s sister She was murderer s daughter.Olivia Foster, a high school student and the main character in this novel has lost her little brother in a drowning accident in the family pool three years earlier Ever since she hasn t left the house much and the backyard has been off limits.In the working class town where the Fosters live, everyone knows everyone and they all know that Olivia s mom stopped working and now relies on opiates to cope, that her dad is a workaholic and hardly ever is home and that across the street from the Fosters a man committed suicide and hung himself from the rafters.Family dinners and tv nights are a thing of the past in the Foster home Take out food and solemn quiet grief of palpable thickness have crept and settled in Best not to talk at all to avoid any triggers Certain words are off limits and communication is about dead.Out of nowhere, new neighbors move in across the street into the house of the rafters suicide Purely by social necessity, Olivia is sent across the street to welcome the new family, a peculiar bunch of three women of three generations.Kara Hallas is around Olivia s age but unabashedly different from her They actually couldn t be different, from their physique on the outside to the unseen on the inside Yet, a friendship develops that keeps challenging Olivia to inch completely out of her comfort zone Every moment with Kara is an adventure of some sort or a challenge of integrity and trust As Olivia joins Kara in writing letters to death row inmates, they call themselves the Resurrection Girls.Prescott, a childhood friend of Olivia s enters the picture early on as well in their adventures The three of them make a pretty good team, yet some tensions are rising Things are fine until Kara misuses Olivia s trust and it puts her back into a hole after the trio just solved a mystery together.Edging closer and closer to trouble, a dangerous situation is about to jeopardize their lives and friendship until one of them makes a brave move Hair raising This novel was amazingly engaging and one of my favorites of the year Recommended for ages 13 , it delves into themes of family, friendships, depression, substance abuse, promiscuity and the experience of loss.You may think it to be a dull read, but it absolutely was the opposite of it What made this exceptional novel so readable was the author s use of magical realism to guide the main character along, hence awakening her senses by inserting Kara s bewitching character alongside Olivia.The grieving process after loss to the experience of joy and love again isn t easy or a speedy one There are stages at which one stumbles, falls, gives up, hides out, etc before getting any better Everyone grieves differently too, which is another point this novel shows very clearly in the case of Olivia s parents.The message though is clear under all the layers of grief, there still is hope, love, and unity that can be found, rescued and tended too.Kara s character was the driving force for Olivia to move on and acknowledge that her entire family is broken by loss In several passages, the author s ability to draw from the toolbox inventory to describe loss rendered me speechless It was right on and I could not have put any of it into words.This novel is rated for ages 13 though I d say it s suited for a mature teenager I am being cautiously conservative with that.If you have the chance to read this novel, go for it It is really, really good, fast paced, engaging and heartfelt I received a physical copy of this novel from the author in exchange for an honest review Thank you so much, Ava Morgyn All opinions are my own
You know when you re awake really early in the morning and it s just before dawn And for a few moments, everything gets really, really still and really, really quiet, like the whole world is holding its breath for the sunrise It was like that Only the sun never rose Buy This Book Book Depository Series No Genre YA Paranormal ish Fantasy POV First person Cliffhanger No Content Warnings Grief Death of a family member with graphic descriptions Serial killers Drug Use and Alcohol Use by Minors Read if you are looking for a read that will interest you, then confuse you.I have to admit this I am a cover judger and that is the main reason why I requested to get an eARC of this read There s no denying that the blurb looked so interesting, too Two girls who write to men on death row Well, isn t that a little unusual But let s talk about what really happened.The first few pages of the book was amazing Setting the mood and the ambiance was such a delight I was creeped out and I was taken aback with how this book looked at grief and how heavy a death could be for a family The main character, Olivia, is faced with an almost absent father and a mother who is too intoxicated to function, and her guilt over her younger brother s death.Then, we are also introduced to the creepy family that is moving in next door A family of three women a grandmother, a mother, and daughter, who are all creepy yet weirdly interesting.When I was at the first 25 percent of this book, I was so sure that I am in for a crazy ride and a journey to a five star read But now that I have finished this read, I am just wondering where did we go wrong It was like I went to a roller coaster with an amazing build up and then spiraled downward to a confusing disconnect.I know that this book talks about dealing with grief and the journey of letting go Those things are what I really did feel throughout reading this book But there were missing components of the plot that made me feel surrounded by lots of question marks because I just felt lost The side plots were okay, like her relationship with Kara and her relationship with Prescott, but most of these side plots just left me with even questions.On the plus side, I have to commend the author for so many heartfelt lines scattered all around this book My Kindle copy ended up so colorful because of the lines that spoke to me.All in all, this was a good debut from the author and I am still looking forward to of her works THE CRITERIA Blurb Main Character Other Lead Character Support Characters Writing Style Character Development Thrill Factor Romance Pacing Ending Unputdownability Book Cover FINAL VERDICT 3.25 5 Much thanks to Edelweiss and AW Teen for this complimentary copy This review is voluntary and opinions are fully my own Also, all quotes are taken from the ARC and may or may not appear in the final published copy Blog Bookstagram Facebook Twitter
2.75 starsMagical realism mixed with grief and a dose of darkness, but ultimately not the read for me Atmosphere Pacing Writing Resurrection Girls is a study in grief and how it removes its subject from reality With a dash of dark atmosphere mixed in Olivia Foster watches her life pass by with ambivalence Her younger brother drowned several years ago, and the Foster family has never been the same since Her dad is absent, her mother is addicted to prescription drugs, and Olivia tells the story of her life to herself as a way to stay grounded On the anniversary of her brother s death, a new family moves in across the street It s a grandmother, a mother, and her daughter and there is something off about them Olivia finds herself drawn in to their secrets and sway, and finds herself getting closer and closer to the daughter, Kara Kara is entrancing She shoplifts, she entices Olivia s old crush, and she pokes Olivia into a sense of life A little bit ghostly, a little bit surreal, and a whole lot of grief exploration, Resurrection Girls was an interesting read Personally, I found the writing to be its biggest drawback I kept finding myself stumbling over the writing and sentence flow This might simply be a difference in writing preferences, or it could have been an attempt to convey Olivia s sense of displacement in her world Either way, it didn t work for me I also wanted from the story Each chapter left me with questions than answers, and when coupled with the writing style, I ended Resurrection Girls with a sense of puzzled frustration as opposed to completion I ll also admit to skimming a few of the chapters in the first half as they didn t seem interesting or relevant to the larger plot.I would be interested to read the next novel by Ava Morgyn, but ultimately would have to give this one a pass Darn you, spooky and beautiful cover Definitely go into this one with your expectations managed Thank you to Albert Whitman Company for an ARC of this title in exchange for an honest review.
I received this from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review CW death of a sibling past but described multiple times , descriptions of serial killers and what they do to victims, drug use, alcohol use, accidental overdose, and grief lossGuess what I did today Read this book in one day while I cleaned skates at work It was so damn enjoyable.But enjoyable is the wrong word for this book It s about a family who lost their youngest member of the family Robby was three when he drowned in the backyard pool That s three years ago now Olivia feels guilty about it Her mother uses pills to cope Her father is absent most of the time Olivia is just trying to keep everything together over the summer And the grief is fresh even after three years It was like it just happened.That s when a new family moves in Three generations of women Grandmother, mother, and daughter And Olivia decides to make friends with the daughter, Kara But, they re a cursed family.This was a very odd book I had no idea what to expect going into it I m so glad that I read it, but it was a different read The grief in it was palpable the whole time I understood Olivia s grief, although my family has had a very different way of dealing with it that s been healthier than what was in the book.As I said, I wasn t sure what to expect from this book I don t think everyone s going to like it, but some people will love it and others won t It s a hard book to explain, too It s about grief and loss, but also about healing And Kara is, oddly enough, the healing element That family is a wake up call that grief if you allow it to grow and to wallow and to encompass your whole life, will kill you eventually Grief kills And if you don t cope healthily, it will kill you You will die from your grief and holding on to what happened That message stuck out to me while I read this because it s so true I ve seen good coping and bad coping thanks to my profession There is no one way to cope it s so individualized but there are still maladaptive ways to do it And, eventually, those maladaptive behaviors will cause problems and grief, both for you and those around you.So, this is a different book I m glad that it s out there for readers because I think it s really going to connect with people While I didn t lose my sister from an accident at a young age, it was still sudden and so unexpected Sometimes, I still struggle to work through my grief in healthy ways And this book was a great reminder as to why I should keep healthy My behaviors impact many other people than just myself.
You can find the full review and all the fancy and or randomness that accompanies it at It Starts at Midnight I feel like everyone is sleeping on this book, and frankly, it s time to wake up This is one of the most lovely, heart wrenching books I have read in a long time There were tears, but there was also hope and healing.Olivia is losing herself in the grief and guilt over her little brother s death This was hard for me to read about, I won t lie Kids dying in books guts me, and this was no different Especially seeing Olivia s clear love for her brother, and how this is just destroying her made my heart ache even Really, her whole family is so completely buried in grief that I couldn t help but wonder if they d ever be able to find their way out Crap I am actually crying while typing this, that is how much this book impacted me I think my preconceived notions about this book were very different than what I got, but in a really good way I expected some quirky, creepy, morbid friendship I got that, sure, but there is so much to the book, frankly There s other characters who I really grew to care about There s family dynamics out the wazoo There is a lot of work to learn to live with the grief And there is even hope.Yes, there is also that very unique friendship Kara s not your typical new neighbor, but something about her pulls Olivia out of her self imposed exile from life just in time Olivia starts to venture out again, and sure, not always in the healthiest ways But she s living again, and facing things she s been all too easily not facing.This is definitely not a plot heavy book, but neither is it boring the story just focuses much heavily on relationships, characters, and the process of healing and finding oneself once Bottom Line Incredibly moving, Resurrection Girls won me over completely with its thoughtfulness and heart.
This was one of the hardest books I ve read in a long time and I really don t know how I managed to get through it without crying but every other line broke my heart and I felt the tragedy for the characters in a way that I don t think I ll be able to shake off for a long time.Resurrection Girls is about loss It s about family trauma and how the aftermath permanently fractures relationships to the point that people blind themselves with pills and with magic potions so they do not have to feel, or exist in the real world If there was a medication or shot to stop simply feeling I m sure most if not all of us would readily take it.Olivia is three years past the tragic drowning of her 3 year old brother Robby and her family still lives in a haze Olivia herself goes through life monotonously and it is only when new neighbors move in that that monotony ends The Hallas family are 3 generations of women grandmother, mother, daughter and right away they stand out Kara is Olivia s age and it is pretty much instantaneous when they begin to hang out This is when the Resurrection Girls comes to play The writing of prison pen pal letters sealed away with candy kissed hearts and illicit intention.The writing in this book is stunning, Ava Morgyn is a fantastic writer and draws you into the story and doesn t relinquish you until the very bitter end The characters are realistic and alluring There are many instances where I absolutely hated one character but also sympathized so much The plot is easy to follow but there are a few hiccups particularly the very end, I was left wondering out loud if that was really it but it did not ruin my love for this book It s well done and hauntingly beautiful It is the perfect read for the start of autumn when it is expected to come out A truly witchy, magical book that forces you to look death and grief in the face and take both head on.Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher all opinions are my own.
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.This was an odd and very dissatisfying book The cover is spooky and beautiful and lured me in, but I am highly disappointed The Resurrection Girls follows Olivia who is basically a shell of who she used to be since her little brother drowned in their backyard pool Olivia s parents both are grief stricken even years later and the whole family is just a thousand fractured pieces of what it used to be A family moves in across the street on Olivia s brother s death date and she befriends the new neighbor s daughter Kara Honestly, I am pretty ticked with this whole book, the synopsis is so promising and writing to people on death row Sounds pretty different and intriguing, but that was like 15% of what this book was about I still don t really know what I just read.Let s start off with Kara and her family Meeting the new neighbors was a weird encounter and I was excited to see where the magic would lead us, because the family is a little off and it sounds like they have a little magic in their blood, but I have no idea what their magic is or where it came from They are just a strange family, who I do not care about in the least Kara is one of the worst characters I have read, she just does not care about Olivia s grief at all She just wants Olivia to move on, which easier said than done Another huge turn off was Kara notices how Olivia has some feelings for her neighbor and childhood best friend and then flirts with him Uh what I just wanted to punch Kara honestly from the moment she met Olivia.Next, we have the letters going to the men on death row Was it weird Yes Was I anticipating such a fantastic and unique book focused on these letters Yes I did not get that, instead I got about 20 pages altogether talking about these letters and that was it, I feel like these letters had absolutely nothing to do with the story I am confused as to why the synopsis of this book focuses on them, when they had so little to do with the actual plot of this book.Lastly, we have Olivia s mom and dad who honestly, I understood and cared for the most They lost their son in a horrific accident and they are both dealing with grief The mother is addicted to pain pills, and is drugged up 95% of the time to deal with the grief and the dad is never home I actually wish this had to do with Olivia s family overcoming their grief and depression and being a family again, because those parts I had emotion and wanted them all to get better.All in all, this was not for me and I don t know if I read it the wrong way or I didn t get what the message of this book was supposed to be, but it just was not for me I just thought this was such a bizarre book and I don t really know what the point of it was, nor do I know what the ending even was.
1 5 stars ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.I m still not exactly sure what I read, but I know it was not for me Resurrection Girls was all over the place, with so many unlikeable characters and plot points that made me want to scream I was so frustrated by just the premise of the book I requested it with genuine curiosity to the reason these high school girls may be writing to prisoners on Death Row From the reviews, I expected to get the unexpected and really enjoy the route it took, but not I got the unexpected in the worst possible way Non spoiler things I can say is this writing needed some rounds of edits, even for an ARC Things happened so fast I had to go back and read paragraphs a few times to pin point when this new plot point happened and how I missed it I think this came from the overuse of abstract language and metaphors A story like this needs to have concrete writing to pair with the crazy things happening in the plot Most things I hated about this book I cannot put into a non spoiler review, but just know the plot of this book was absolutely absurd and disgusting at times I was sending a friend screenshots and we were both screaming I have just never been shocked by a plot, in a bad way.One note The lgbt themes and other romantic relationships in this.whew Overall, I would not recommend this book unless your into really unrealistic contemporary plots with some questionable morals and literally the worst characters I ve ever read about.
Not what I expected This was dark and depressing The story was simple, but it held the possibility to dive deeper, be raw and vulnerable.