166 Pages
Synopsis: Though decades apart, two young girls are connected in a way that is both fantastical and surreal. When twelve year old Louise Erickson finds out that she holds the key to saving a nine year old who disappeared twenty years earlier, she decides to accept the challenge. Will Louise be able to rescue the girl and the others locked away with her before it’s too late?
Rest in Piece is the debut novel by one of our fellow WordPress bloggers, B.W. Ginsburg, which made me even more excited to read and review it. After finishing, I’d say this is written for tweens. While I didn’t find it a perfect read, it was still fun and enjoyable. The action begins on the very first page and keeps the story moving forward at a pretty fast pace right up until its exciting ending. The storyline is highly imaginative and intriguing with two girls being connected over decades to each other through a mysterious and sinister puzzle. To be honest, the story is actually much better than the synopsis suggests. There were just two main issues I had reading this. The first concerned the characters’ voices, which I didn’t feel were distinctive enough from each other enough. The second concerned the actual world-building which took on more of a “telling” element rather than “showing”. Because of this I had difficulty feeling as though I was “in” the story. Overall though, I think Rest in Piece is a promising debut and it’s one that if I were still a children’s librarian, I’d be recommending to my young patrons who love a good paranormal mystery/adventure. I want to give kudos to B.W. on her debut and I’m definitely looking forward to seeing what she comes out with next!
*B.W. has two fun and informative blogs that I highly recommend visiting if you haven’t already.
http://restinpieceblog.wordpress.com
http://gettingthroughanxiety.wordpress.com
JJAzar said:
It’s big of you to feature books written by fellow bloggers. I really appreciate that.
LikeLiked by 1 person
By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Aww. Thanks J.J.! Honestly, I love doing it. New and emerging writers like yourself always have my deepest respect!💁🏻
LikeLiked by 1 person
JJAzar said:
^^
LikeLiked by 1 person
JJAzar said:
Whoops haha! I’m working on it. We’re getting there 😀 Emerging indeed.
LikeLiked by 1 person
By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
You’re so much farther along than I am J.J. I haven’t picked up my WIP in two years!😕
LikeLiked by 1 person
JJAzar said:
I didn’t know you had one! Perhaps when inspiration strikes, the WIP will be a W!
LikeLiked by 1 person
By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
I hope so J.J.! Someday.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ariel Lynn said:
I feel kinda bad for stealing your comment you left on my page, but it’s still true: Excellent review!
I think you & I agreed about who it was geared towards & the “showing, not telling” issue (which is so hard to pinpoint unless you’re reading it!). I might even say it was early YA, about pre-teen, since there was a real theme of independence from one’s parents.
(This is a really long comment to say we’re essentially in total agreement. XD)
LikeLiked by 1 person
By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Thanks Ariel! When I said upper-elementary I was thinking 4th & 5th graders. It does seem like we’re in agreement on Rest in Pieces!😊💁🏻
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ariel Lynn said:
I’ve been out of school so long, I didn’t really think about grade-level vs. age ranges. Now that you’ve explained it, it makes a lot of sense. Thank you! XD
LikeLiked by 1 person
By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
The only reason why I remembered Ariel is from 26 years as a children’s librarian. I actually updated my post to call them Tweens. I think that covers everything.😊😊
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ariel Lynn said:
Librarians & teachers are my heroes/heroines. 🙂
Aw! Tween is such a great word! XD
LikeLiked by 1 person
By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Okay. Hugs for you Missy!🤗🤗🤗🤗
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ariel Lynn said:
Yay! Internet hugs!! 😀
*hugs back*
LikeLiked by 1 person
Jay said:
Love hearing about what the community is up to. Nice review.
LikeLiked by 1 person
By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Thanks Jay!💁🏻
LikeLike
beetleypete said:
It’s a shame I am probably far too old for this, as I like the sound of the plot. I also don’t bother too much about ‘showing’ as opposed to ‘telling. The cover could do with some work, but good luck to another blogger who has managed to complete a book.
Best wishes, Pete.
LikeLiked by 2 people
By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
It’s definitely geared for that 9-12,year old crowd Pete. I do think it’s a promising start for B.W.💁🏻
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ariel Lynn said:
If I may (& I’m sorry By Hook Or By Book, if I’m over-stepping!!), I think that, while the book is geared towards a certain age range, it doesn’t mean you can’t read it & enjoy it. It really has a lot of great imagery & a very interesting storyline – people of any age can enjoy that!
However, this is coming from someone who still enjoys reading Garfield comic books. My opinion may be biased. XD
LikeLiked by 2 people
By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Of course you’re not over-stepping Ariel! I’m going to be 52 in a couple of weeks, and I still love reading juvenile and YA fiction!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ariel Lynn said:
I like reading YA literature too, & I’m in my 30s. I think the story is what’s important.
I’m glad I wasn’t over-stepping. I like to err on the side of caution in conversations with new blogger connections. But, I also like to give unsolicited opinions, so it’s a delicate balance. XD
Pete – I hope you never let an “intended reader audience age range” deter you from reading! After all, some really great books have been geared toward younger audiences recently. I’d hate for anyone to miss out! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
beetleypete said:
No problem. I will certainly take your comment on board. I am almost 65 years old though!
I very much appreciate your taking the time to let me know
Regards, Pete.
LikeLiked by 2 people
gettingthroughanxiety said:
Reblogged this on Getting Through Anxiety and commented:
Another review from a great blogger! Special thanks to By Hook or by Book for writing a review for my book, Rest in Piece!
LikeLiked by 2 people
By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
It was my pleasure B.W. Congratulations on writing an enjoyable debut!🤗
LikeLiked by 2 people
gettingthroughanxiety said:
Thanks!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Books, Vertigo and Tea said:
Pretty exciting to read another’s blogger’s debut work! I love that you were able to do this. The concept sounds promising. maybe just a little more work on the world building and dialect? Overall, it sounds like with a steady pace and nice ending, the execution was pretty solid 🙂
LikeLiked by 2 people
By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Thank you! It was exciting! I really do think this was a solid debut except for those tweaks.💁🏻
LikeLiked by 1 person
Books, Vertigo and Tea said:
Oh I meant to ask, is the cover art her own work?
LikeLiked by 1 person
By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
I believe so.😊
LikeLiked by 1 person
gettingthroughanxiety said:
Hi, ‘Books,vertigo and tea’. To answer your question, my mom did the art work!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Books, Vertigo and Tea said:
Thank you so much for responding! Let her know that I am a fan 🙂
LikeLiked by 2 people
gettingthroughanxiety said:
No problem! Will do!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Lashaan and Trang (Bookidote) said:
Pretty cool to see you reviewing a fellow blogger’s creation. *praise applause*
– Lashaan
LikeLiked by 2 people
By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Aww. Thank you. I love doing this! Anything I can do to help a new author gives me the warm fuzzies!🤗
LikeLiked by 2 people