The Ghosts of Rose Hill follows a young teen, Ilana, as she spends the summer in Prague with her Aunt Zofie. Her parents hope that she'll take the time away to become more serious about her studies, and let go of her dream of being a musician. They even hope Zofie's lifestyle will make an impression on Ilana. After all, Zofie is a working artist with a modest lifestyle. But Ilana can't forget what it feels like to play the violin, and as she spends her summer tending to the cemetery on Rose Hill, she meets a boy and a man who change her life. The boy is a ghost, and Ilana is drawn to him from their first meeting. The man is more mysterious, but he insists that there's a way for Ilana to have the life she wants, if she trusts him. As she unravels the mystery around these people, and Prauge itself, she finds her courage and sense of self.

The Ghosts of Rose Hill was a delightfully lyrical walk down memory lane for me. I know that the description says the book is in verse, but I truly wasn't expecting it, and I thought it was a beautiful way of telling this particular story. This book returned me to a time when I myself lived in Prague, and I could see the city so vividly in Romero's descriptions. I was studying art and writing at the time, and I can't think of a more fitting style to write about Prague and the ghosts that inhabit it. I could see in my mind's eye the locations and things mentioned, and I loved the relationships built in this story.

I feel like this book so effortlessly and naturally captured what it is like to live in Prague. I also love how Romero wove in details about Old Town and WWII and tied them to this book's antagonist. It was an expertly told story about Jewish history and identity.

While this is a "quick" read, I recommend really spending time with this one :)

Thank you to NetGalley and Peachtree Teen for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Elsewhere is about a small, unnamed town that stays secluded from the rest of the world. In this town, things are just a bit off. The seasons don't change, the clouds stay low to the ground and keep the town damp, and outsiders never visit. This "idyllic" town is one where motherhood is prized above all else, thanks to the town's unique affliction. That is, that all mothers someday disappear into the clouds. No one knows why, exactly, just that it is the greatest sacrifice one can make.

However, when a woman goes, the town doesn't honor her memory. They simply remove the pieces of her that made her unique, absorbed into the amalgam of motherhood in this town. In this odd ritual, they speculate what may have caused her to go, for no one truly knows why. Is it because a mother loved too much? Too little? Did she lose herself or find herself?

Elsewhere is an odd, offbeat work of speculative fiction that invites the reader to examine the role of motherhood and how mothers are at once treated, and treat themselves. As a non-parent (but someone closely affected by what's happening in the real world with Roe v. Wade), this hit close to home.

The book is a character study, and we follow Vera as she grows up in this town and is confronted with the affliction herself. We watch Vera move through her life as a child, teen, and eventual mother, and it's fascinating to watch her growth through the story. If you like a character-driven book, this is a fairly quick read, and one I think is worth reading.

By the third act of the book (out of five, I believe) I was fully engrossed and couldn't put the book down. It took an interesting turn that I didn't expect, and reading those final 100 pages was like piecing together a very elaborate and creepy puzzle. Not all of my questions were answered, but I don't think that was the point. This is a book you're meant to ponder long after you put it down, and a few of the things I read will haunt me for a time to come. I want more, somehow, but I'll probably reread and see what I can glean from that.

This book isn't going to be for everyone. It's not plot-heavy, nor particularly plot-driven. It remains a bit detached from the characters, while still managing to provide insight with unsettling clarity. It leaves you with more questions than answers, in the best way (and all the necessary questions are answered...depending on who you ask). It borders on unsettling without being remotely horror. But I genuinely loved the book, even so.

TW: non-graphic murder, mentions (in passing) of animal death, sexual assault (unsettling), infant death, dental harm/neglect. All of this is mentioned in a sort of detached way, which is the narrative voice.

I absolutely LOVED this. Everything from the color palette to the friendships, to the narrative devices (written and illustrated) was exceptional.

Wash Day Diaries follows four friends and the different aspects of their lives, through the lens of their wash days (for their hair). I love the way the authors showcase each woman's life through the context of hair—relationships, mental health, and more. In a very short time we get a really deep look at the friendship these women share, as well as who they are and what they are dealing with.

I love seeing how the women all uplift each other and offer their support, and how their individual stories connect to the larger narrative at play. All the characters are incredible, and I would love to read more about all of them individually and together. (I especially want more of Nisha's story. The way the authors told her story through group text was perfection. Hands down the best execution of texting in a graphic novel that I've seen.)

This is a slice of life story about Black women that is, at its core, about community care and connection.

Im waffling between a two and a three star rating, to be honest.

River of Shadows promises to be a dark fantasy romance, and I feel like it struggles to be any of those three things in a compelling way. Like the elements are there, but the execution could be better.

That being said, I enjoyed the general story. I thought the plot points were compelling, even when the writing could have been better executed. I liked Hanna, especially because she’s a tall, curvy badass who’s into martial arts and fashion. She also has a moment in the book where she essentially says, actually I AM like other girls, which I thought was refreshing. She’s a girl’s girl, and I’m here for it.

The rest of the cast of characters were also generally fun. I really loved the other women in the story, and wish there had been even more of them, to be honest. Maybe in he next book. And Death, although he generally only had one personality trait, was pretty hot. So there’s that.

The creatures, the travel through the land of the dead, and the Finnish mythology were very cool, and really made the story for me.

Unfortunately, there were just too many things standing in the way of me loving this book. For starters, the book is written in first person present tense, which just usually isn’t for me. I think that while it worked narratively in some places, it just fell flat in others, and pulled me out of the story.

There was also an overwhelming number of pop culture references that didn’t land for me. They were rampant in the first half of the book (it felt like every few pages), and then they just stopped halfway through. Innuendo got the same treatment, and while I love a good innuendo, the narrator often pointed out every single one just to make sure the reader got it. At one point, there’s even a fourth wall break of sorts, where Hanna addresses the reader directly about one, even though there’s no precedent for this.

Lastly, there were SO MANY TYPOS. I usually forgive a book having one or two, because even the most professional team is still human. But the errors in this book were just disappointing. One or two sentences didn’t have final punctuation. A quotation mark randomly appeared in the middle of a sentence. Two words were used in the wrong order. An instance of double negatives occurred twice, which also makes me think it was a case of poor grammar/editing, rather than a typo. (Both sentences were essentially “no *blank*, no *blank*, nor no *blank*.” NOR and NO cancel each other out.)

I just wish there was a little more attention to detail. Especially since this is a special edition (and it’s NOT the first Bookish Box edition I’ve found egregious typos in).

I really thought this story was interesting, and the series has promise. I just hope to see things tightened up as the story is told. I want more character development!!!