Ava Morgyn

A new neighbor awakens Olivia from a fog of grief--but this coud hurt her as much as it heals her.

Resurrection Girls

Leticia Leal

I am baffled and mildly peeved at how such eloquent and beautiful writing could end up being so dull.

Sheena

"Resurrection Girls" is a heartbreaking tale about a family grieving the loss of their son and brother, and what led them to spiral out of control. The author was able to write the realism of death and what transpires after the fact, and that left me wanting more. To be honest I think I would've enjoyed the novel more if it was primarily focused on Olivia and and Kara (as a minor character obviously because she did irk me more times than I could count) story, and Prescott out of the equation. Otherwise a worthwhile read.

Sarahi Flores

This story is about losing and moving forward. The main character, Olivia is just trying to move forward after the death of her baby brother. It’s pretty much a slow process of how her and her family move forward and how they all grieve differently. It’s sad and also fascinating on how Olivia befriends with a girl who she then helps the new girl, Kara, write letter to men on death row. Pretty morbid if you ask me yet that’s one of the main things that got me so interested from the book.

I found it easy to like Olivia. She seems like down to earth girl who you can easily become friends with. Kara on the other hand, she was hard to figure out. Can’t quite out my finger on 🤔 

There were some things that got me confused and wanna know what’s up. But I cannot say for it will spoil the just left me with why and how. I did enjoy reading this book. I was intrigued and in awed in the end. 

I give this book 3.5 stars. It’s a fast pace book and easy to read and understand. Would recommend this if you wanna read something easy. I would have given it 4 stars but like I said, it left me with some unanswered questions on how and why.

Jessica Williamson

3.75 Stars

I received an eARC of this book via Netgalley and the publishers in exchange for an honest review.
Full disclosure - I did some research on the author afterward and I'm trying my best not to let that research cloud my judgment of the book itself. 

Characters *** I wasn't the biggest fan of Kara, but I get why she is the way she is. I do like Olivia and her journey throughout the novel.

Cover **** I mean come oooooon, there's a skeleton hand! How could I not love it?!?!

Pace **** I felt like this moved pretty well. I read it fairly quickly over a couple of free evenings. 

Plot *** Ok here's where it gets a bit sticky. There are some amazing parts to this. The view of grief and loss and how it affects people differently and what death can mean for those left behind. It was just, so hauntingly, beautifully done. But the paranormal aspects were just off a bit (view spoiler)[ I feel like if you're familiar with the Neopagan idea of the Maiden/Mother/Crone the dynamic between Kara's family is just so blatantly obvious that it doesn't hold any mystery. If you're uneducated in the triple goddess, however, I don't think there's ENOUGH information for you to get a grasp of what actually happened here.  (hide spoiler)] 

Writing **** I love the way Morgyn weaved her words together. Again, just hauntingly beautiful.

It wasn't the pills she was addicted to. It was the grief, the simultaneous struggle to clutch her pain to her chest as she once had my brother and to push it as far away as possible, as though by gaining distance from his loss she could make it less real.

Enjoyment **** While there were parts of this that I was just like "What the actual F*** is happening right now" I enjoyed it as a whole. 

Cry * I sobbed. But that was more from the research portion but I'm giving Morgyn the point anyway because I think she deserves it.

Zoe Smolen

I'm not 100% sure what I thought of this book. I felt like maybe it was trying to be too many different things at once, and thus wasn't able to fully become one thing. The plot is interesting, I wanted to see how it all played out, but something still fell a little flat for me by the time I reached the end. None of the characters were particularly likable, though I often understood why, and the magical realism felt like a bit of an after thought. It had promise, but for me it just didn't play out. 

Thanks to NetGalley for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Megan Leprich

Thank you so much to Albert Whitman & Company and NetGalley for providing me with a free copy in exchange for my review. 

This book pulled at so many of my emotions, I’m not even sure what to feel right now. I laughed, cried, got mad, and felt so much empathy for the characters I thought my heart might explode. 

It deals with so much death and grief and a girl learning how to live again and let people in. I absolutely adored the character Olivia and my heart honestly broke for everything she had to go through. The friendships in this book were amazing as well as the romance and I’m so sad that it’s over with. 

Definitely one of my favorite books of the year, hands down.

Geneviève Rouleau

Disclaimer: I received an ARC of this book through the author, in exchange for an honest review.

 *potential trigger warnings for suicide, child loss, serial killers/descriptions of their crimes, substance abuse, overdose, depression, suicide*

I absolutely loved this book - it is such a morbid, strange story, rich in character growth, overcoming grief, and reconciliating past friendships, as well as parent-child relationships. I mean… WHAT’S NOT TO LOVE? Even though it’s set during the summer, it’s the perfect creepy Halloween read.

So, first, I’ll say how much I appreciate the deeply layered main character, Olivia. I appreciated reading about her struggles overcoming the blame she feels for her baby brother’s death, three years ago. She lives as a shell of herself, barely surviving (but surviving more than her parents are) until Kara moves in the house across the street. I loved reading about their unfurling relationship, and eventually romance. The author managed to include a love triangle, in a way that I actually enjoyed. Because they were just “[…] two girls, who loved each other, also loved him.” I will always be HERE for LGBTQ+ rep in literature. Especially if it’s about two bisexual girls. I mean. I’m not biased at all hahaha.

Since Olivia and Kara’s friendship is based on writing letters to inmates on death row as the Resurrection Girls, I thought these letters would be more present in their story. But that’s okay. The author cleverly included Death as its own character, but not in a cliché way. I loved the idea of a curse on Kara’s family, and the ending made perfect sense with how she’s first introduced in the book, as well as with her curse. “I’ve already seen death. I have no reason to hide from it anymore. My eyes are open now. They always will be.” Kara accompanies inmates on death row through her letters, as a mother accompanies her child through birth. If that’s not deliciously morbid, I don’t know what is. Being a palliative care nurse, I absolutely LOVE this line.

This book is also a great reminder on how it’s okay to reach out for help when struggling with loss, depression, or any kind of mental health issue. Because our issues always affect those closest to us. This means so much to me, as I’ve been struggling (and finally overcoming) depression for the past year. And also, I did lose a child. An unborn, tiny mass of cells, but a child nonetheless. As the author wrote in the acknowledgements: “We do not walk alone. To every family who has felt the crush of child loss – I see you”.

Erin 

** spoiler alert **
           "I was death's sister.

She was murder's daughter."

I'm not...sure how to write about this book. It was weird. It was really weird. It has a bit of a morbid premise, to be complete fair. In a nutshell, this book is about Olivia, whose 3-year-old brother died three years ago. Her family has never recovered and are shells of their previous selves. Then a girl and her family move in across the street. She's a bit weird, a bit too knowing, and gives no shits, as they say. Olivia (a name that doesn't match the MC's personality at all, but whatever) becomes enthralled and even though she literally never has a good time with Kara when they are together, she keeps seeking out her presence. Weird things happen, Kara somehow makes Olivia come out of the shell she'd been living in, they start writing really personal letters to serial killers and rapists on death row. You know, your average YA book.
 
I don't really have any major problems with the writing. It's a bit basic, but not distractingly so. It's just kind of there- although there is this one part when Olivia is watching Kara from across the street into another house and she starts describing her eyeliner, which is ridiculous, but anyway. The structure of the book moves at many different speeds, which is a bit confusing at times. It feels pretty slow at the beginning as Olivia's backstory and tragic family history is being told. She doesn't even meet Kara until a couple of chapters in. Even when they do meet, it feels like they are just living, hanging out, day by day. And the plot about the letters doesn't even come in until a significant way into the book. But then when it does, the plot races. All of a sudden, Olivia is doing all of these things she wasn't doing a week ago. It's been three years since her brother died, but then she meets this girl and can suddenly do everything again. Say his name. Go swimming. Sit in her backyard. And it's not even like she's doing this of her own accord - Kara is simply telling her to do it. She's intoxicated by this girl's presence. And then there's Prescott, the boy next door who used to be Olivia's best friend, but then her brother died and he got hot and now things are awkward. But Kara walks in and suddenly they're hanging out again. It's a weird progression of events, because we are led to assume that Olivia is going to try and pursue Prescott (by Kara's encouragement) and that Prescott is interested (just as he was three years ago, before he got hot and before Olivia's brother's death), but he's also suggesting he's into Kara?? And then there are parts that suggest Olivia is in love in Kara too. Honestly, I think she is. Even though there's no indication or suggestion of this earlier on (other than a mention of lesbian cheerleaders).

I don't really like Kara, to be honest. She's manipulative, and frankly quite creepy. She's intrusive, and acts like everything is hers to have and to take and to experience. She walks into Olivia's life and thinks she has a right to all this information. She somehow knows about Robby. She essentially forces Olivia through emotional manipulation to tell her how it happened. It's almost like a weird Stockholm syndrome-y thing? Except then there are these moments when Olivia shows hesitation about the death row letters, and Kara says she can stop doing it if she wants. I wish it was written in a way as if Kara was trying to show Olivia that it doesn't matter what kind of tragic past she has, she still wants to be friends. But it's more like because they are friends, she deserves to know, but also somehow has authority to give Olivia advice?? And it's just not her place?? And walking in on Olivia's relationship with Prescott and making it weird and confusing. It's like she's invading all these facets of Olivia's life without regard. I'm just...really hesitant to believe that Kara is supposed to be this carefree character who understands people's inner turmoils and doesn't care about their past. And her mysteriousness regarding her father and her family's "curse" was a bit dramatic and made it difficult to take her seriously beyond her just being a melodramatic teenager? And what was the significance of having her hook up with Prescott when the whole book was leaning towards having him and Olivia together? 

I'm not really sure what genre this is supposed to be. It's YA, it's contemporary, it's maybe science fiction? Fantasy? It's eventually revealed that when Olivia went to rescue her brother, she saw a presence take his soul and called it death. She also talks a lot about the man who hanged himself in Kara's house, and how he is potentially haunting her (and possibly killed her brother, for some unknowing reason). And then there's Kara's family's curse. Is she immortal? Is she undead? Are they witches? Magical? I don't know?? Pretty early on Olivia makes a connection between Kara and her death row inmate correspondence, and assumes that the reason her father is no longer in the picture is because he's in prison for murder, and that's why Kara is so enthralled. And we are led to believe that is true. But then Kara talks about how there are no men in her family period, and then we get that really weird ending where Kara gives birth to what I think is supposed to be death's child, because that creepy presence that Olivia mentions seeing is there when Kara has her child/offspring. I mean, I'm not saying that wouldn't make a good story of some sort, but it was presented in a really confusing way here with little to no foreshadowing whatsoever. I just found myself quite a bit lost at the end, not really understanding what was happening.

I haven't even mentioned the weird side plot about Olivia's father and mother and Robby's things, or Olivia stealing her mother's pills, or even really gone into depth about the serial killer thing, to be honest (although, how much detail was really necessary when describing these fictional murders, Ava, I am a bit concerned for you). But oddly enough, I don't know how much of it I would change. Maybe a bit about Kara, or the weird scene with Prescott at the end, or add a bit more foreshadowing about Kara's deathchild or something. But I think if this is your kind of book (it's more on the outskirts of mine), I think it's a perfect read for the Halloween season which is great timing considering it comes out October 1. I did finish it, after all, which is worth something. And it does have something to say about grief and how grief materialises in different forms for different people. If only Kara didn't stick her nose where it doesn't really belong.

I received an advanced copy of this book from the publishers via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Jessica 

(4.5 stars) Blog | Twitter | Instagram | Review also found here at Booked J. 


  As always, a copy of this book was provided by the publisher or author in exchange for my honest review. This does not effect my opinion in any way. 


Phew. This book, you guys. C.G. Drews said it best in her review: Resurrection Girls is truly an aching story. I don't think I could ever pick a better word than aching when it comes to describing this one. Aching. 

The only runner up descriptive would be: Gothic. It feels like the perfect combination of classic Gothic literature and modern fiction. 

There's a lot that can be said about this book, most of which is rooted in the word 'chilling', but it's in its exploration of depression and grief where it is its strongest. Resurrection Girls has this intensity to it that is somehow sharp and dull all at once. Which makes it impossible to look away from--Ava Morgyn's writing is classic in its generally bleak atmosphere and it toys with us in a way that leaves us feeling uneasy at times. 

For me, I could feel my heart beating constantly whilst reading this one. This is due, in part, to the way that Morgyn writes grief and this hazy fog that comes with it. You feel deeply what has taken place. You feel deeply for our main character. You just feel deeply. On many occasions, did I feel my eyes well up with tears and that alone should tell you how deeply personal this novel may feel. 

Resurrection Girls taps into its strengths early on. It leads readers on an emotionally potent journey that you won't soon forget. There were many times when my heart felt heavy and my mind swam with this unsettling feeling of being in someone else's mind. The emotional aspects of this story were a lot to sort out--you can tell that so much of Morgyn's soul was poured into this novel and it makes the heart of it all the more present. 

Ultimately, this novel made me feel a world of emotions. Pain. Fear. Love. Loss. It chilled me to the very bone and lingered at the back of my mind upon its final pages. For me, Resurrection Girls felt like one of the most real explorations of loss. It was dark, yet vibrant. Magical, yet real-to-life. This novel is best read by the light of a fire, or under the covers in bed, in the dead of night. 

All and all, Resurrection Girls it is one of the highlights of my year. Armed with magical realism and human complexities, Morgyn's writing is every bit as chilling and uneasy as the cover leads you to believe. The way that she explores loss, coping mechanisms, is a gift that readers will be able to walk away with. 

Due to its writing, use of magical realism, and all that it tackles, Resurrection Girls won't be for everybody. For me, though, it was an emotional read that left me feeling like I'd just read something unforgettable--and I had.

Resurrection Girls

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