Ghost Wood Song

May 15, 2020
A fiddler with a magical instrument and a haunted family history unleashes her music to solve a mystery and free her brother from jail. Sixteen-year-old Shady Grove grieves for the sound of her dead father's fiddle, a family heirloom with the power to raise ghosts. She yearns to play bluegrass with the same darkness and emotion. However, Sarah, Shady's best friend, crush, and band mate, only wants to play new music, folk-rock songs that Shady doesn't feel a connection to. When Shady's stepdad gets murdered and her brother is arrested for the crime, she digs up her father's old instrument and uncovers the secrets of her family's past. Debut author Waters weaves an intense and spectral atmosphere with vivid prose. A love triangle complicates bisexual Shady's feelings as mutual attraction and interests draw her to mandolin-playing cowboy Cedar. The romantic conflict heightens the suspense while also exploring relationship compatibility. The high stakes of an impending trial and a looming supernatural threat drive a sense of urgency into the narrative. The resolution of this stand-alone thriller ties up loose ends in both Shady's past and present, offering healing for her family and ending on a positive, hopeful note. Apart from Shady's friend and band mate Orlando, a Cuban American boy who loves guajira music and is a budding entomologist, the cast is predominantly white. Haunting and alluring. (Paranormal mystery. 14-18)

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May 1, 2020
Grades 8-11 Shady Grove inherited a lot of things from her father, who died in an accident years ago: her fiddle-playing skills, her love for traditional bluegrass music, and her ability to see the ghosts who linger just out of sight of the living. With his fiddle, Shady's father could actually summon the spirits of the dead. Everyone says that fiddle was lost when Shady's father crashed his truck into a lake and died, but she hears it calling to her from the Florida woods where she lives, and she believes she can find it. When her stepfather is murdered and her brother is arrested, only the ghosts of the past and present have answers. But to make the dead speak, Shady must delve into the darkest parts of herself. Waters' debut features a bisexual lead with both male and female love interests, an atmospheric southern gothic setting, and, for the musically inclined, lots of folk and bluegrass references. For teens with a penchant for eerie ghost stories, this lyrical tale will hit the spot.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)

August 14, 2020

Gr 8 Up-Shady Grove is used to ghosts; her childhood home was full of them, since her Daddy's fiddle could raise them from the grave. But her Daddy died a few years ago, and her mom has since remarried. Shady misses her Daddy terribly, but her world is consumed with her day-to-day activities: Will her bluegrass band win the local open mic night? Will her best friend, Sarah, finally talk about the romantic spark between them? Does Shady really trust the hot young rodeo king who looks at her longingly at school? All of that is quickly pushed aside when Shady's brother is accused of murder, and the only way to clear his name is to raise the ghost of the person he might have killed. Debut author Waters masterfully weaves together a gothic setting and a vivid, eerie atmosphere, pulling the reader into Shady's specter-filled world. Music is a central part of this story, and Waters's lyrical prose reflects the delightfully spooky overture on every page. A fleshed-out romantic triangle between bisexual Shady, her gay best friend, and a young mandolin-playing cowboy adds extra dimension to this thriller. While the creepy atmosphere keeps the reader turning pages, the pacing is a bit jarring, with chapters dedicated to character development before multiple important events happen in rapid succession. Most characters are white and one of Shady's friends is Cuban American. VERDICT This gothic queer romance will be enjoyed by fans of Claire Legrand's Sawkill Girls and Melissa Albert's The Hazel Wood. Recommend for purchase.-Annamarie Carlson, Westerville P.L., OH

Copyright 2020 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Jesse Vilinsky captures listeners immediately with her unique narration style. Her soft and eerie tone enhances this scary YA novel featuring LBGTQ characters. Vilinsky's vocal energy depicts the main character, Shady Grove, perfectly. Shady has a special talent: She can call ghosts from the grave with the use of her fiddle. When Shady's brother is accused of murder, she aims to clear his name by calling on the ghosts. Vilinsky's acting skills and vocal range hit the target for Shady and every character in this audiobook. Vilinsky captures all the characters' emotions and brings this unusual audiobook to life. M.L.S. � AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine