by
Caroline Flarity
Caroline Flarity
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GENRE: YA Supernatural/Paranormal
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BLURB:
Sixteen-year-old Anna sees things from another world, the
spiritual world, a skill that isn’t exactly useful in high school. It’s bad
enough that her mother, possessed by a demon, took her own life when Anna was a
child, a loss she remains tortured by. Now her father makes his living
“clearing” haunted objects, and Anna’s job as his assistant makes her a social
misfit. Most kids in her suburban New Jersey town refer to her just as “Goblin
Girl.”
Only Freddy and Dor remain loyal friends. But Anna’s so focused on her own problems, she’s missed that her connection with Freddy is moving beyond the friend zone.
As junior year approaches, a rare solar storm lights up the night skies and the citizens of Bloomtown begin to act strangely: Anna’s teachers lash out, her best friends withdraw, and the school bullies go from mean to murderous. When Anna realizes she can harness this evil power, she sets out to save Bloomtown and the only family she has left.
But to do so, she must keep her own increasingly dark urges at bay.
Only Freddy and Dor remain loyal friends. But Anna’s so focused on her own problems, she’s missed that her connection with Freddy is moving beyond the friend zone.
As junior year approaches, a rare solar storm lights up the night skies and the citizens of Bloomtown begin to act strangely: Anna’s teachers lash out, her best friends withdraw, and the school bullies go from mean to murderous. When Anna realizes she can harness this evil power, she sets out to save Bloomtown and the only family she has left.
But to do so, she must keep her own increasingly dark urges at bay.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EXCERPT
It was possible to zoom in
on one of the girl’s closed eyelids until her eyelashes resembled a network of
massive black bridges that curved over a far horizon. But why stop there?
Tunneling further down to a cavernous follicle at the base of a single lash,
there was a cluster of microscopic mites. They had long, sectioned,
eight-legged bodies covered with blue scales. One mite was half submerged
inside the follicle, feeding, while the others huddled in the shadow of the
giant eyelash, avoiding the moonlight. The mites had a hissing focus on mating
and territory. Although their language was alien, their joys, rivalries and
fierce protectiveness of their young were palpable. Was it possible to zoom in
further onto their armored skin and discover even more layers of life? Where
would it end? Was there an end? Ha! It was like the what-if game.
Wait. The what-if game? In a
great swoosh of images and sensations, the memories came of her and Freddy as
kids, lying on the slant of roof outside her bedroom window. That’s right! She
had an identity. She was Anna Fagan, also known as Goblin Girl. What was she
doing staring at a bunch of microscopic mites on someone’s eyelash? Her
awareness expanded outward in great swaths of rushing space, further and
further from the mites to the cluster of giant bridge-like eyelashes, until she
once again hovered above the body of the girl. A realization rippled through
Anna—the girl on the floor was her.
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AUTHOR Bio and
Links:
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My review:
My review:
4 out of 5stars
The Ghost Hunter’s Daughter by Caroline Flarity centers
around sixteen-year-old Anna Fagan, who has to deal with multiple levels of
bullying at her high school, but fortunately has her buddies Doreen and Freddie
to help keep her grounded. The tragedy of her mother’s death, the unusual
profession her father has adopted, and the negativity that constantly bombards
her all combine to make her life even more complicated than ever, then things
get worse.
This mature young adult paranormal story provides an
enthralling and often creepy glimpse of a world that contains many evils, some
otherworldly and others mundane. Unfortunately, Anna seems to have very few
positive adult role models, and she has been forced to mature and cope with
things that most of us would run screaming from.
I really liked the beginning and hoped there would be more
examples of the supernatural interactions that she deals with so nonchalantly,
but I felt weighted down by all of the negativity that continues to escalate.
I’m not quite clear about what the newcomer and her invention were meant to
accomplish but there are some delightfully creepy events that kept me on the
edge of my seat and wincing as the evils of the humans also were increasing.
There are multiple very serious issues. including bullying, mild sexting, suicide,
and molestation, that are touched upon, so those with triggers should use
caution. I also think some things are resolved a bit too nonchalantly after the
major fight scene, especially since some folks definitely need counseling!
This is a vivid and thought-provoking story that artfully
blends real-life problems with supernatural ones in an exciting combination. I
can’t wait to see what comes next from this author’s vivid imagination.
A copy of this title was provided for review
