In a nutshell, this book turns the readers' expectations down, but on a positive note, the book depicts an enduring journey of a young distressed yet intelligent girl looking a little girl. Celia wakes up in a house that’s supposed to be hers. There’s a little girl who claims to be her daughter and a man who claims to be her husband, but Celia knows this family—and this life—is not hers… Anyway, Lauren was glad she’d gone home that night, because it was the last time she’d watch Ichabod and Mr. Toad with her dad. Less than a month later he was dead. Elizabeth,” Papa had said, and folded the paper hurriedly, pushing it to one side. “What is it, my darling?” Sander ran toward me, laughing as loud as he could. It was all right but he didn’t really sound like my opa. Nobody sounded like Brom, if truth be told. Brom’s laugh was a rumble of thunder that rolled closer and closer until it broke over you.

No, that isn’t true, she thought to herself. She could remember the last time Mama laughed. It was before That Day. These names may be familiar, but favourite characters become terrifyingly monstrous in the author's hands. I don't want to sugar coat it in the slightest - this book is an adult, gory and sometimes upsetting fairytale. If you are disturbed by Brom's The Child Thief or Margo Lanagan's Tender Morsels, then you will not like this book. Take this quote about a girl who has been "bought", tortured, and displayed for amusement: I thought you were going to watch Halloween with me,” Miranda said. “It’s the perfect night for it!” If her mother caught her she would make that hissing snake noise between her teeth and tell Elizabeth if she kept eating like that she would become rounder than she was already. Elizabeth didn’t mind much that she was round. She thought it made her look soft and sweet, and she’d rather be soft and sweet than hard and clipped, like her mother. You can’t stop me from speaking,” Smit said, and though his words were brave and his arms were nearly as muscled as Brom’s, I heard a little quaver in his voice. “Just because you’re the biggest landowner in the Hollow doesn’t give you the right to run everyone’s lives.”The news is now official so I can announce that I’ll be writing two more books for Berkley – NEAR THE BONE, a horror novel about a woman who lives on a mountain with her abusive husband and discovers there’s more than one kind of monster in the woods, and HORSEMAN, a dark reimagining of “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”. Release dates, covers and more info to come! Lauren didn’t really care about arcade games except maybe pinball, and she especially didn’t like going to the Dream Machine because lately it meant that she and Miranda would stand around watching boys that Miranda thought were cute.

Just beyond the circle of men was a boy—or rather, what was left of a boy. He lay on his side, like a rag doll that’s been tossed in a corner by a careless child, one leg half-folded. A deep sadness welled up in me at the sight of him lying there, forgotten rubbish instead of a boy. A maroon station wagon was coming down Main Street and Lauren pretended to be absorbed in Miranda’s face as it went by. The one person Lauren never had any trouble pretending not to see was her mother. Just to clarify, though – this is not a young adult novel; it’s intended for an adult audience (like all of my work). Additionally, if you’ve read ALICE or LOST BOY you may be expecting a reimagining of an existing story – THE GHOST TREE is not a reimagining of any kind. Another major difference is that Red Queen is a book mainly about Alice. Contrast that to book one, which featured a lot more of Hatcher, who played the role of her protector and was always there by her side offering his physical and mental support. However, the two of them spend much of the time apart in this sequel, and it’s Alice who does most of the rescuing, rather than the other way around. I truly enjoyed the way she stepped up in this story, taking the lead on facing off against the villain, never letting her doubts get in the way of what is right. Even after all the terrible things that have been done to her, Alice still sees the good in the world, and it’s this goodness in her that ultimately saves her life. On the whole, I also gained a better understanding of Alice and Hatcher’s relationship. It’s not romance, exactly. The two of them care for each other deeply, there’s no doubt about that. But their love is one born of pain and suffering, of surviving through terrors together. The bond between them is complex, and—paradoxically and ironically, perhaps—their separation in this book is what finally allows this intimacy to be explored. I also need to offer a huge trigger warning. Wendy already mentioned this, but there is a lot of rape in this book. At the end, I felt like I understood why the author chose to include it and why it had importance in the story, but that didn't make it any less disturbing to read.Her older sister Margaret had even come from across the City in a carriage to confer with their parents in the parlor and Elizabeth had been told in no uncertain terms to go to her room and stay there while this interesting conference occurred.