Deephaven by Ethan M. Aldridge

Available now

Ages 8-12, 288 pages

I was first introduced to Aldridge’s work with his graphic novel Estranged. The Kid selected that one during one of our many bookstore runs and I fell instantly in love with his art style. When I saw the news about Deephaven, I immeadiately went to all the usual ARC request sites and placed my request. Yes, I was sent an advanced digital copy and yes, life got in the way and I’m late getting the review out.

From the Publisher:

When Guinevere "Nev’" Tallow receives an acceptance letter to Deephaven Academy, an exclusive and secluded school, they know it’s the fresh start that they’ve been looking for.

But things are strange from the moment they arrive—the house itself seems to breathe, students whisper secrets in dark corridors, and the entire east wing of the academy is locked away for reasons no one wants to explain. And Nev knows something strange and ragged stalks the shadowy corridors, something that sobs quietly and scratches at the walls, waiting to be released.

With the help of another first-year student, Nev takes it upon themself to unravel the mysteries hidden in Deephaven's halls. But will they risk their fresh start to bring the academy’s secret to light?

Deephaven is a beautifully written coming of age story set in a magical boarding school. If you have a young fantasy reader in your life, this book is a perfect addition to their bookshelf. It's the perfect balance of compelling story, quiet character development, and a gentle spookiness perfect for young readers. There are several parts that involve some fantasy violence and scariness, but it’s all age appropriate and written with care for the readers.

You can feel the love and care Aldridge has put into his characters and their story. Nev is struggling with a complicated home life and knows that Deephaven could be their way to a happier life. But with a fresh start comes other complications that many readers will readily identify with: finding new friends, the stress of a new environment, and wanting to fit in. Anyone who has been the new kid knows how scary that can be.

I loved this book and if you want to add it your shelf, you can click on the cover above, or here, for ordering information.

Thanks to Edelweiss and the Publisher for the opportunity to read and review this title. All opinions and mistakes are my own. This post may also contain associate links, including Amazon Associate links, and I may earn from qualifying purchases.

The St. Ambrose School for Girls by Jessica Ward

Available now

CW: mental illness, suicidal ideation, gaslighting, murder, child abuse, sexual abuse, self harm, homophobia, bullying. Read with care.

Reader Friends, my favorite author has released a new book that doesn’t include my all-time, hands down, favorite group of fictional people in Caldwell! It left me a little wary but a whole lot of intrigued.

And she left me emotionally wrecked. This book is going to twist you up in so many ways and take you right on back to the emotional roller coaster that is high school. This book tackles some extremely heavy topics like suicide and mental illness and Ward lays out her writing process in her Author’s Note and I felt the care and love she has for her characters. Definitely check the content warnings on this one and I realize how wild it is to love a book that is this dark and heavy.

Oh, and Jessica Ward is J.R. Ward, aka The Warden, author of the Black Dagger Brotherhood series.

From the Publisher:

When Sarah Taylor arrives at the exclusive St. Ambrose School, she’s carrying more baggage than just what fits in her suitcase. She knows she’s not like the other girls—if the shabby, all-black, non-designer clothes don’t give that away, the bottle of lithium hidden in her desk drawer sure does.

St. Ambrose’s queen bee, Greta Stanhope, picks Sarah as a target from day one and the most popular, powerful, horrible girl at school is relentless in making sure Sarah knows what the pecking order is. Thankfully, Sarah makes an ally out of her roommate Ellen “Strots” Strotsberry, a cigarette-huffing, devil-may-care athlete who takes no bullshit. Also down the hall is Nick Hollis, the devastatingly handsome RA, and the object of more than one St. Ambrose student’s fantasies. Between Strots and Nick, Sarah hopes she can make it through the semester, dealing with not only her schoolwork and a recent bipolar diagnosis, but Greta’s increasingly malicious pranks.

Sarah is determined not to give Greta the satisfaction of breaking her. But when scandal unfolds, and someone ends up dead, her world threatens to unravel in ways she could never have imagined. The St. Ambrose School for Girls is a dangerous, delicious, twisty coming-of-age tale that will stay with you long after you turn the last page.

This book contains so many of my favorite tropes: boarding school, scandal, mean girls getting what they deserve (not that anyone really deserves murder,) dark secrets, and strong female friendships. All of the characters felt real and fully developed, especially Sarah. You could feel how desperately she wanted away from her home, but also how much she knew she didn’t fit in with the rich girls at the elite St. Ambrose. She was so aware of her mental illness and how tightly she had to keep it in control to guard her secret from everyone. When all of that stress, exacerbated by the horrible bullying from Greta and her girlfriends, leads to Sarah making some very dark and misguided decisions, my heart broke. You could feel how lonely and isolated she felt, even when she was constantly surrounded by her teachers, roommate, and advisors.

This is one of those novels where every character has a dark secret to hide. It seemed like every secret was darker and more disturbing than the last. (Like I said, it’s real doozy of a book!) All of those layers of secrets really added to the impact of the plot twist and made the ending one of the most explosive I’ve read. I absolutely loved it and flew through it in just one sitting.

If you want to add this dark and explosive thriller to your shelf, you can click on the cover above, or here, for ordering information.

This post may contain affiliate links, including Amazon Associate links, and I may earn from qualifying purchases. All opinions and mistakes are my own. Like those commas. I never get those right.

Plain Bad Heroines by Emily M. Danforth (Re-Post)

It’s Spooky Season! Enjoy some of my favorite horror novels from the past few years.

Originally posted December 2020

Available Now

I have been on a creepy book kick lately and I’ve been lucky to have read a string of excellent books. Plain Bad Heroines kicks it up even further by being a creepy book about a book. Actually, it’s a book about a movie being made that is based on a book all about an obsession with another book. 

I swear. 

So, in the early 1900’s, at the Brookhant’s School for Girls, two girls became obsessed with a memoir written by Mary MacLane. Their obsession led to not only their own tragic and horrific deaths, but the deaths of three more people tied to the school. A century later, the abandoned school is now the center of a novel written by the brilliant and precocious author, Merrit Emmons, who was only 16 at the time. Her novel about the young women obsessed with not only each other, but the writings of Mary MacLane, is going to be adapted into a gothic horror film. As production begins on the movie, tensions between Merrit and the two young movie stars rise and mysterious events put everyone in danger. 

This book is a chunker - the hardcover edition clocks in at 617 pages and there is a lot of story to be found in those pages. I’m not exaggerating on the book about a movie about a book about a book. A lot of story. The book is constantly changing. In one chapter, you will be reading about the brutal murder of a young woman decades in the past, and in the next, read about a romantic and chaotic first date between two enigmatic young women in the present. There are so many elements of a classic gothic horror. There’s the dark and dilapidated boarding school where young women are sent to become ladies, but really discover that women are great at kissing. There are tragic and mysterious deaths that could be explained away as male violence, or, a curse. Layered on top of our gothic horror story is a coming of age novel about a young actress who needs to break away from her mother and make her own way in Hollywood. But how do you keep your wits about you when it seems that a curse is following you, you’re possibly in love with your co-star, and you know that writer thinks you’re unqualified? Like I said, there’s a lot of story.

I absolutely loved the writing style in this book. It read like you were listening to one of your best friends tell their famous local legend, while sitting by a fire and enjoying a boozy cocktail. It’s very conversational and snarky, with such compelling and campy writing that you are instantly swept up in the soap opera feel of what is really, a quite tragic story. The book is it full of black and white illustrations of our young, plain, bad heroines in all their tragic glory and has some of the best footnotes ever included in a book. Many provide historical context, many are just the narrator being sarcastic and hilarious and I’m pretty sure I sent screenshots of at least 10 pages to my boss within the first 20 pages of reading the book.

The characters are very well developed and incredibly interesting. Merrit is very prickly and slightly obnoxious while Harper Harper, yes that’s her name, is a glamorous and gorgeous chameleon of a character. To me, Harper was the hardest to figure out. Was she just an excellent actress and we never saw the real woman within? Was she just such a quick thinker that she could turn the acting on and off? She’s a puzzle. Meanwhile, Audrey is in a little bit over her head but really wants to make it as an actress and is far stronger than she believes. All three women are smart, interesting, and driven. They’re also all gorgeous, queer, and know that there is something going on at Brookhants. 

This book checked off a lot of my reader wheelhouse boxes-there’s a creepy school full of rich girls and their rich girl problems. It’s fast paced and the multiple timelines slowly reveal all the deliciously creepy scariness that follows everyone involved with Mary MacLane’s book. The characters are interesting and compelling and I was quickly invested in everyone’s survival. This book is also incredibly fun. It never takes itself too seriously, is very campy, and was an absolute delight to get lost in. I highly, highly recommend this for anyone who loves gothic horror, star crossed lovers, and a ton of snark. 

If you would like a copy for yourself, or to buy as a gift for your favorite book lover, you can find ordering information here: 

This post contains affiliate links and I earn from qualifying purchases.

Plain Bad Heroines by Emily M. Danforth

Available Now

I have been on a creepy book kick lately and I’ve been lucky to have read a string of excellent books. Plain Bad Heroines kicks it up even further by being a creepy book about a book. Actually, it’s a book about a movie being made that is based on a book all about an obsession with another book. 

I swear. 

So, in the early 1900’s, at the Brookhant’s School for Girls, two girls became obsessed with a memoir written by Mary MacLane. Their obsession led to not only their own tragic and horrific deaths, but the deaths of three more people tied to the school. A century later, the abandoned school is now the center of a novel written by the brilliant and precocious author, Merrit Emmons, who was only 16 at the time. Her novel about the young women obsessed with not only each other, but the writings of Mary MacLane, is going to be adapted into a gothic horror film. As production begins on the movie, tensions between Merrit and the two young movie stars rise and mysterious events put everyone in danger. 

This book is a chunker - the hardcover edition clocks in at 617 pages and there is a lot of story to be found in those pages. I’m not exaggerating on the book about a movie about a book about a book. A lot of story. The book is constantly changing. In one chapter, you will be reading about the brutal murder of a young woman decades in the past, and in the next, read about a romantic and chaotic first date between two enigmatic young women in the present. There are so many elements of a classic gothic horror. There’s the dark and dilapidated boarding school where young women are sent to become ladies, but really discover that women are great at kissing. There are tragic and mysterious deaths that could be explained away as male violence, or, a curse. Layered on top of our gothic horror story is a coming of age novel about a young actress who needs to break away from her mother and make her own way in Hollywood. But how do you keep your wits about you when it seems that a curse is following you, you’re possibly in love with your co-star, and you know that writer thinks you’re unqualified? Like I said, there’s a lot of story.

I absolutely loved the writing style in this book. It read like you were listening to one of your best friends tell their famous local legend, while sitting by a fire and enjoying a boozy cocktail. It’s very conversational and snarky, with such compelling and campy writing that you are instantly swept up in the soap opera feel of what is really, a quite tragic story. The book is it full of black and white illustrations of our young, plain, bad heroines in all their tragic glory and has some of the best footnotes ever included in a book. Many provide historical context, many are just the narrator being sarcastic and hilarious and I’m pretty sure I sent screenshots of at least 10 pages to my boss within the first 20 pages of reading the book.

The characters are very well developed and incredibly interesting. Merrit is very prickly and slightly obnoxious while Harper Harper, yes that’s her name, is a glamorous and gorgeous chameleon of a character. To me, Harper was the hardest to figure out. Was she just an excellent actress and we never saw the real woman within? Was she just such a quick thinker that she could turn the acting on and off? She’s a puzzle. Meanwhile, Audrey is in a little bit over her head but really wants to make it as an actress and is far stronger than she believes. All three women are smart, interesting, and driven. They’re also all gorgeous, queer, and know that there is something going on at Brookhants. 

This book checked off a lot of my reader wheelhouse boxes-there’s a creepy school full of rich girls and their rich girl problems. It’s fast paced and the multiple timelines slowly reveal all the deliciously creepy scariness that follows everyone involved with Mary MacLane’s book. The characters are interesting and compelling and I was quickly invested in everyone’s survival. This book is also incredibly fun. It never takes itself too seriously, is very campy, and was an absolute delight to get lost in. I highly, highly recommend this for anyone who loves gothic horror, star crossed lovers, and a ton of snark. 

If you would like a copy for yourself, or to buy as a gift for your favorite book lover, you can find ordering information here: 

This post contains affiliate links and I earn from qualifying purchases.