Name: The Ghost Tree
ISBN: 9781785659805

Christina Henry

Lauren and Miranda have been best friends forever. Every day one would say, “Meet me by the old ghost-tree” and they would have adventures together. But now Miranda only likes boys, and Lauren's father was found in the woods with his heart torn out, and no one was ever caught. So when Lauren has a vision of a monster dragging human remains through the woods, she knows she can't just do nothing.

The Ghost Tree

As always with Christina Henry’s books this was so eerie and wonderful!! I really loved this story and the lore in it, it was really spooky and interesting I enjoyed seeing it unfold! Only giving it 4* though because I feel like a little more time could have been spent resolving the ending than what was given to it, 40 pages to wrap up a 500 page book? Seems a little bit rushed to me but I still really liked it!!

Ilona Labská 

Chilling story till the end. Christina Henry wrote another amazing book.

When people go missing in the sleepy town of Smith's Hollow, the only clue to their fate comes when a teenager starts having terrifying visions, in a chilling horror novel from national bestselling author Christina Henry. When the bodies of two girls are found torn apart in the town of Smiths Hollow, Lauren is surprised, but she also expects that the police won't find the killer. After all, the year before her father's body was found with his heart missing, and since then everyone has moved on. Even her best friend, Miranda, has become more interested in boys than in spending time at the old ghost tree, the way they used to when they were kids. So when Lauren has a vision of a monster dragging the remains of the girls through the woods, she knows she can't just do nothing. Not like the rest of her town. But as she draws closer to answers, she realizes that the foundation of her seemingly normal town might be rotten at the center. And that if nobody else stands for the missing, she will.

Maggie Gordon

Yeah, a book with monsters and witches just in time for spooky month! If you are a fan of Stranger Things, this period piece may be right up your alley. It's a creepy read with jumping perspectives, allowing readers to see the true horror of the situation that individual characters cannot. I do wish some of the background was a bit more fleshed out, but the pacing was just so good, I'm not sure Henry would accomplish this easily.

Ruth Parker 

Interesting. Weird. Little bit creepy. Reminiscent of The Lottery by Shirley Jackson, one of the greatest short stories ever told. This was worth a read but the young adult protagonist didn’t make it easy to enjoy the story or surprisingly feel invested.

Heather Harrington

A year ago, Lauren's father was viciously murdered and the police in the small town of Smiths Hollow never found the killer. Instead, everyone just went about their lives as if nothing ever happened, as if her father wasn't found in the woods with his heart ripped out. So, when two missing girls are found completely mutilated in those same woods, Lauren doesn't have much faith the police will solve that one either. When Lauren has a violent vision of a monster stalking the girls, she takes it upon herself to get to the bottom of what happened, and also why no one in town seems to remember all the strange things going on. In her digging, Lauren discovers that something rotten is at the core of Smiths Hollow and it demands sacrifices to keep the balance, and only Lauren has what it takes to put an end to the deaths once and for all.

I didn't know too much about this going in, but I ended up really enjoying it. There's something inherently creepy about small towns, and Smiths Hollow is no exception. On the surface, everything seems quaint and the people friendly, but then as the story goes on you learn about this curse that's been around for generations and how girls must be sacrificed to appease a dark creature in the woods for the town to prosper. It was such an interesting premise and was executed well. I liked following Lauren as she discovers what's going on not just with the town but with this strange power her family possesses. The mystery itself was gripping and had just the right amount of supernatural elements to where it never felt cheesy or overdone. I had an inkling of how it was going to turn out, but it was still a satisfying ending. Overall, this was a solid thriller and the perfect read for the spooky season.

Casie Blevins

Well paced and interesting. I wanted more of this little town and it's inhabitants when I was done. Guess I'll have to pick up another of her books to suffice.

everlinet

What a delightfully creepy october book! I absolutely love Christina’s writing style. All her books are deliciously creepy and chilling, but so marvelously written you can’t stop reading at all. A very entertaining spooky read, which I devoured quite quickly and couldn’t stop til the end. I loved how real the characters felt, their personalities were well described. The atmosphere of small town that has many secrets was wonderful too. I highly recommend.

Becca Futrell

Buddy read with Destiny!

Thank you to Netgalley and Berkley for providing me with a copy of The Ghost Tree in exchange for an honest review!

Content Warnings: Racism, Blood, Gore

The Ghost Tree is my first time reading a book from Christina Henry & although I only rated this a three-star, I can tell you that I do enjoy their vibes. It's a female-protag coming of age story? Count me in. Also, I'm here for the spooky -- something that the author clearly delivers on.

Meet me by the old ghost tree.

In general, The Ghost Tree was fine, I don't have too many complaints and I definitely have some compliments. I started this book off strong & then, I just.. kinda.. fell off. 

There are a lot of characters in The Ghost Tree and the chapters alternate between exploring each of these characters. I really loved how Christina Henry did this; the multiple characters don't cause confusion and the chapters flow seamlessly together. Very cohesive, very good. Of course, there are some characters I cared about more than others, such as the main character's younger brother who seems to know everything that's going on in the town, even when he's nowhere near. 

The Ghost Tree has some pretty gruesome murders & holy wow, was I shook reading this. I'm honestly a gore fan so this was absolutely perfect for me. 

There's a heavy mystery aspect in The Ghost Tree & the author tries to throw you off by making another character look suspicious. There are plot twists galore. 

It was all fun & games in the beginning of the read, but as I continued flipping pages and started figuring out what was happening, the story started to feel like it was dragging. Although, major props for the last 20% of this book. We're down with a good SHOWDOWN.

Clearly, I found some good when it came to The Ghost Tree & I can see this being well-loved by many.

The Ghost Tree

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