When Rebekkah returns to her small-town home for her beloved Grandmother's funeral, little does she suspect that she is about to inherit a darkly dangerous family duty on behalf of Claysville's most demanding residents -- the dead. Everyone in Claysville knows that the Barrows are no ordinary family, but no one can really explain why. When respected matriarch Maylene Barrow dies suddenly her granddaughter Rebekkah returns to the small town she grew up in, where she must face the demons of her past -- the suicide of her half-sister Ella, the person she was closest to in the world, and the subsequent break-up of her parents' marriage. And she also re-encounters Byron, Ella's old boyfriend, someone to whom she has always felt a deep and mysterious connection. But the demons of the past are nothing compared with what the future has in store for Rebekkah. Her grandmother has left her an inheritance both wonderful and terrible. An onerous responsibility now rests on her shoulders -- one for which she is ill-prepared to say the least. For behind Claysville's community-spirited, small-town facade lies a dark secret.
One that ties Rebekkah and Byron together in an inextricable bond, and that will require them both to sacrifice everything to keep their friends and neighbours from harm.
Graveminder is the first novel I’ve read of Melissa Marr’s. I know she writes a YA series, but since I’m not big on faeries, I’ve never thought to try her YA books. However I spotted Graveminder on Amazon UK and the cover was immense and the synopsis sounded really good, too. So I went to Amazon US (the only place I can buy Kindle titles being in Spain, boo) and bought myself the Kindle version, with the equally lovely US cover. See, aren’t they gorgeous covers? As you might expect, I started it straight away and wow, what a thoroughly enjoyable novel.
Graveminder is one of the most unique novels I think I’ve ever read. I’ve never read a novel about someone who has to ‘mind’ the dead’s graves and I found it fascinating. I found the whole concept fascinating, that the dead have a contract with Claysville that means that should any of the dead not be properly minded, they can awaken and the Graveminder and the Undertaker have to stop them before they cause irreparable damage. It’s an easy enough novel to follow and everything’s explained really well, so that I was never confused over what was happening. The whole concept of the novel was brilliant, and I enjoyed every single page!
The way in which Byron and Rebekkah become the Undertaker and Graveminder was well thought out and I thought, as characters, they were great. Although Rebekkah’s inability to be honest with Byron about her feelings was a bit annoying, I could also see why she felt that way despite the fact I was desperate to hear them tell each other they loved each other. Their relationship, despite Rebekkah’s hesitancy, was so easy and I just lost myself in both of them, in the way they interacted and the way they talked to each other so easily.
I thoroughly enjoyed being introduced to the new world Melissa Marr has created and I found the land of the dead to be fascinating. Although the novel ended well enough, Melissa could write a sequel if she was that way inclined (personally, I’d vouch for a sequel, because I loved Byron and Rebekkah). I loved Graveminder – it was everything I wanted, it was an easy read, it had wonderful characters and a brilliant concept and I thought Marr executed it all brilliantly and I look forward to her next novel.
