Resurrection Girls

by Ava Morgyn

[shannonmiz]

You can find the full review and all the fancy and/or randomness that accompanies it at It Starts at Midnight

I feel like everyone is sleeping on this book, and frankly, it's time to wake up. This is one of the most lovely, heart-wrenching books I have read in a long time. There were tears, but there was also hope and healing.

Olivia is losing herself in the grief and guilt over her little brother's death. This was hard for me to read about, I won't lie. Kids dying in books guts me, and this was no different. Especially seeing Olivia's clear love for her brother, and how this is just destroying her made my heart ache even more. Really, her whole family is so completely buried in grief that I couldn't help but wonder if they'd ever be able to find their way out. (Crap I am actually crying while typing this, that is how much this book impacted me.)

I think my preconceived notions about this book were very different than what I got, but in a really good way. I expected some quirky, creepy, morbid friendship. I got that, sure, but there is so much more to the book, frankly. There's other characters who I really grew to care about. There's family dynamics out the wazoo. There is a lot of work to learn to live with the grief. And there is even hope.

Yes, there is also that very unique friendship. Kara's not your typical new neighbor, but something about her pulls Olivia out of her self-imposed exile from life just in time. Olivia starts to venture out again, and sure, not always in the healthiest ways. But she's living again, and facing things she's been all too easily not facing.

This is definitely not a plot-heavy book, but neither is it boring; the story just focuses much more heavily on relationships, characters, and the process of healing and finding oneself once more.

Bottom Line: Incredibly moving, Resurrection Girls won me over completely with its thoughtfulness and heart.