Grunge Gods and Graveyards

by Kimberly G Giarratano

[shannonmiz]

Where do I even begin with this book? Here's the things you need to know upfront: I am not particularly interested in music, and I don't believe in ghosts. Also, this book is awesome. Yes, I read a book about things that normally wouldn't even interest me, but it was so incredibly well written that I did not care. In fact, by the time it was over, I wanted to listen to some Nirvana while channeling Kurt Cobain. (Okay, I took it too far, I don't want to do those things.)

Anyway. I am about to age myself right here, but I loved that this book was set in the 90s. More of that in books, please! Truth be told, I was even more excited when I realized that I was actually about four years younger than Lainey and friends. But the music, the fashions, the lack of technology all brought back memories for me. The best part about it all was though, you don't have to be a teen of the 90s to appreciate any of it. It wasn't an overwhelming dropping of cultural references that a teen or young adult now wouldn't understand, it just gave a very vivid picture of the world Lainey was living in at the time of the story.

The main thing that was incredible about this book was that it had a bit of everything: Romance, mystery, suspense, lots of feels, and great character development. I felt so connected to Lainey that it was easy to immerse myself into her life. I have absolutely nothing in common with this character, but it didn't matter, which to me is a mark of truly amazing character development and writing. I couldn't help but feel my heart break when Lainey's did, feel scared when she was scared, and infuriated when someone was treating her poorly. The supporting characters were no less fleshed out, I found myself cheering for the characters who stuck by Lainey's side, and wanting to assault the "mean girls" who were causing her trouble. I adored Nutley, and loved the way Lainey's relationship with Liz progressed during the course of the book. The main villain of the book was just a bit unbelievable for my taste, but he really is an awful guy. There are parts that are (sadly) utterly believable, but his main motivation baffled me a bit.

The added mystery and ghost elements kept me scrolling through my Kindle way too long into the night. I wanted to know what was happening and why, and of course, hoping for peace for Danny. There were a lot of interesting twists, even minor ones, that I didn't see coming and was definitely surprised about.

Overall, this is just a really fantastic book that I would recommend to anyone. I think this is the kind of book that will appeal to audiences of a wide age range. Nostalgia may reel some readers in, but the characters, story, and writing will make them stay.