**Thank you to NetGalley, author Juliana Brandt, and Source books Kids for the eArc of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.**

This story is kind of a wild ride. I really enjoyed the setting and overarching ghost story that Brandt built, however, there were definitely some slow parts thoughout. 

What worked well was the building of Isle Phillapeaux. Throughout the entire story, I felt was though I had a clear image painted in my head of the island with its spooky mist, mysterious noises, and mixed cast of characters. I also applaud Brandt for incorporating the extremely tough topic of verbal and emotional abuse. For a middle-grade story, the content was not too heavy, however, it was able too show the lasting impact of such traumas. 

The part that could have worked better for me was the overall pacing of the story. It was a little slow to get into and didn't really hold my attention, and because of this, I feel that some parts also felt repetitive. 

Overall, I think this is an adventurous ghost story that tackles both supernatural hauntings as well was real-life trauma  in an introductory way.