Name: The Devil's Tree
ISBN: 9781951069025

Susan McCauley

Kaitlyn didn't believe in ghosts-not until one killed her boyfriend and her best friend. Now she must stop the spirit haunting the Devil's Tree, or she could be next. Set in small-town Texas, this YA supernatural/horror explores themes of racism, class, friendship, and the unexpected challenges we hide from ourselves and the world.

The Devil's Tree

Tatiana Alvarez 

The Devil's Tree is your typical teenage horror story. Kaitlyn has been dating her boyfriend Hunter for 2 years now. One night, they decide, along with Kaitlyn's best friend Kesha and Hunter's best friend Dylan, to check out "The Devil's Tree," a local legend. After hearing some strange noises, the friends are quick to leave, but Hunter no longer has control of the car and ends up crashing. Only Kaitlyn and Dylan survive.

Attending the funeral together, Kaitlyn and Dylan see the ghosts of their former lovers and realize that their spirits are trapped. In order to free them, they have to solve the mystery surround The Devil's Tree.

It took me a long time to realize what time period this was supposed to take place in because of the obsession with race and they backwards ways people talked and thought in this small town. Kaitlyn herself also struggled with race, even if she "did not see color" which is harmful in itself. That aspect of the story really bothered me.

Actually, Kaitlyn in general bothered me. She kept saying how bad she had it and no one else had it as bad as her. She never understood the struggles her black friend was going through in the racist town and always thought her own problems where bigger. This is not to that Kaitlyn did not have problems, she did, but to compare her struggles to that of a black girl in a small town is highly inappropriate.

This book is a quick read, despite that. It had every typical trope a horror book like this would have and continued it's problematic ways with a certain gay character. There was on touching moment that I thought was written well and that was when Hunter and Kaitlyn were saying goodbye for the last time.

Other than that, I probably would not recommend this book to anyone.