"I don't admit I came here searching for something. For someone. Or that I've been here before. I don't mean to Connecticut. I mean right here. To this exact spot. And I definitely don't tell them that this is where I died. "
Ginny Myers Sain is BACK with another haunting, visceral, romantic, and atmospheric tale that SWEPT me away like the outgoing tide!
The place is question is Whisper Cove, and Avril is returning for an important reason: well, TWO important reasons, actually. One is to attend a prestigious and impressive musical theater camp run by Willa, who has written VERY popular and important play. But more importantly, it's where her mother drowned 12 years ago, with Avril by her side...and all Avril knows is she was never the same after that.
Despite the unsettling feelings she gets at camp, Avril throws her heart and soul into her acting, making friends and forming an especially tight bond with Willa's son, Cole. The two connect on a level Avril has never experienced before. But the flashes Avril can remember of that horrific day, so many years ago, keep creeping into her mind. She sees figures in the fog at night...including a blonde woman...a FAMILIAR blonde woman.
Is it the spirit of her mother... or could it be a REFLECTION of herself?
This terrifying bit of Long Island Sound has long been 'calling' its victims to the sea with whispers for years. And as the locals warn..What the sea wants? The sea will take. Can Avril piece her memories together and find the answers she so desperately seeks before she too, becomes a permanent resident of the mysterious deep?
If there's one thing that consistently impresses me with Ginny Myers Sain's writing, it is her attention to detail and her FLAWLESS atmosphere. Perhaps it's her almost poetic style, perhaps it's the locations she chooses to use in her stories, or a perfect combination of both. However she gets there, I always feel immersed in her locations, so much so that I feel I can visualize them as though I'd personally been there before. I've never been to Long Island Sound, but you can TRUST that after this book, I would be terrified to ever go there!
I also just get lost in her prose. She is such a THOUGHTFUL writer in terms of her descriptions, and never wastes a word. You will never find long expository passages that are essentially pointless and feel like filler in her books. Normally, choppy writing and short sentences drive me bananas, but Myers Sain has such a way with them that even little sections where the same phrase might be repeated a few times for dramatic effect are not only NOT bothersome, but are actually welcomed. The rhythm of her narrative is lovely, and in this book, was as flowing and mesmerizing as the sea itself.
I loved getting wrapped up in this ghost story, and I also appreciate that Myers Sain does the theater proud. It's no surprise that this is her background, because all of the detail is not only authentic, but reads as a bit of a love note to the community and to acting itself. As a former theater kid myself, I just LOVED Myers Sain leaned into her passion area. There was a fantastic balance between the known present, Avril's memories and recollections of the past, and also the supernatural throughout the book.
My only quibble was that after a while and LOTS of buildup, the mystery itself was pretty thinly veiled and not as multi-faceted as I was hoping it might be. This could be because this is a YA mystery/thriller (with plenty of hints tossed in along the way) although I've read many with a more complex ending. This one sort of trails off after its big reveal and has a somewhat bizarre one paragraph epilogue I could have lived without because it added nothing to the overall story, so it did tamp down my enthusiasm a bit.
Once again, Myers Sain has delivered a terrifying locale, authentic and accessible characters, and sprinkles in just enough mystery to keep me glued to the pages and once AGAIN clamoring for a film adaptation of this fantastic story!
(But okay, given the subject matter of this one, I GUESS I can settle for the stage!) 😉
4 ⭐
Ginny Myers Sain is BACK with another haunting, visceral, romantic, and atmospheric tale that SWEPT me away like the outgoing tide!
The place is question is Whisper Cove, and Avril is returning for an important reason: well, TWO important reasons, actually. One is to attend a prestigious and impressive musical theater camp run by Willa, who has written VERY popular and important play. But more importantly, it's where her mother drowned 12 years ago, with Avril by her side...and all Avril knows is she was never the same after that.
Despite the unsettling feelings she gets at camp, Avril throws her heart and soul into her acting, making friends and forming an especially tight bond with Willa's son, Cole. The two connect on a level Avril has never experienced before. But the flashes Avril can remember of that horrific day, so many years ago, keep creeping into her mind. She sees figures in the fog at night...including a blonde woman...a FAMILIAR blonde woman.
Is it the spirit of her mother... or could it be a REFLECTION of herself?
This terrifying bit of Long Island Sound has long been 'calling' its victims to the sea with whispers for years. And as the locals warn..What the sea wants? The sea will take. Can Avril piece her memories together and find the answers she so desperately seeks before she too, becomes a permanent resident of the mysterious deep?
If there's one thing that consistently impresses me with Ginny Myers Sain's writing, it is her attention to detail and her FLAWLESS atmosphere. Perhaps it's her almost poetic style, perhaps it's the locations she chooses to use in her stories, or a perfect combination of both. However she gets there, I always feel immersed in her locations, so much so that I feel I can visualize them as though I'd personally been there before. I've never been to Long Island Sound, but you can TRUST that after this book, I would be terrified to ever go there!
I also just get lost in her prose. She is such a THOUGHTFUL writer in terms of her descriptions, and never wastes a word. You will never find long expository passages that are essentially pointless and feel like filler in her books. Normally, choppy writing and short sentences drive me bananas, but Myers Sain has such a way with them that even little sections where the same phrase might be repeated a few times for dramatic effect are not only NOT bothersome, but are actually welcomed. The rhythm of her narrative is lovely, and in this book, was as flowing and mesmerizing as the sea itself.
I loved getting wrapped up in this ghost story, and I also appreciate that Myers Sain does the theater proud. It's no surprise that this is her background, because all of the detail is not only authentic, but reads as a bit of a love note to the community and to acting itself. As a former theater kid myself, I just LOVED Myers Sain leaned into her passion area. There was a fantastic balance between the known present, Avril's memories and recollections of the past, and also the supernatural throughout the book.
My only quibble was that after a while and LOTS of buildup, the mystery itself was pretty thinly veiled and not as multi-faceted as I was hoping it might be. This could be because this is a YA mystery/thriller (with plenty of hints tossed in along the way) although I've read many with a more complex ending. This one sort of trails off after its big reveal and has a somewhat bizarre one paragraph epilogue I could have lived without because it added nothing to the overall story, so it did tamp down my enthusiasm a bit.
Once again, Myers Sain has delivered a terrifying locale, authentic and accessible characters, and sprinkles in just enough mystery to keep me glued to the pages and once AGAIN clamoring for a film adaptation of this fantastic story!
(But okay, given the subject matter of this one, I GUESS I can settle for the stage!) 😉
4 ⭐