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The Ghost Tree
Goodreads Choice Award
Nominee for Readers' Favorite Horror (2020)When people go missing in the sleepy town of Smith’s Hollow, the only clue to their fate comes when a teenager starts having terrifying visions, in a chilling horror novel from national bestselling author Christina Henry.
When the bodies of two girls are found torn apart in the town of Smith's Hollow, Lauren is surprised, but she also expects that the police won't find the killer. After all, the year before her father's body was found with his heart missing, and since then everyone has moved on. Even her best friend, Miranda, has become more interested in boys than in spending time at the old ghost tree, the way they used to when they were kids.
So when Lauren has a vision of a monster dragging the remains of the girls through the woods, she knows she can't just do nothing. Not like the rest of her town. But as she draws closer to answers, she realizes that the foundation of her seemingly normal town might be rotten at the center. And that if nobody else stands for the missing, she will.
When the bodies of two girls are found torn apart in the town of Smith's Hollow, Lauren is surprised, but she also expects that the police won't find the killer. After all, the year before her father's body was found with his heart missing, and since then everyone has moved on. Even her best friend, Miranda, has become more interested in boys than in spending time at the old ghost tree, the way they used to when they were kids.
So when Lauren has a vision of a monster dragging the remains of the girls through the woods, she knows she can't just do nothing. Not like the rest of her town. But as she draws closer to answers, she realizes that the foundation of her seemingly normal town might be rotten at the center. And that if nobody else stands for the missing, she will.
415 pages, Paperback
First published September 8, 2020
About the author
Christina Henry
59 books7,963 followersChristina Henry is a horror and dark fantasy author whose works include GOOD GIRLS DON'T DIE, HORSEMAN, NEAR THE BONE, THE GHOST TREE, LOOKING GLASS, THE GIRL IN RED, THE MERMAID, LOST BOY, RED QUEEN, ALICE, and the seven book urban fantasy BLACK WINGS series.
Her short stories have been featured in the anthologies ELEMENTAL FORCES, CURSED, TWICE CURSED, GIVING THE DEVIL HIS DUE and KICKING IT.
She enjoys running long distances, reading anything she can get her hands on and watching movies with samurai, zombies and/or subtitles in her spare time. She lives in Chicago with her husband and son.
You can visit her on the web at
www.christinahenry.net
Facebook: authorChristinaHenry
Threads: authorChristinaHenry
Instagram: authorChristinaHenry
Goodreads: goodreads.com/CHenryAuthor
Her short stories have been featured in the anthologies ELEMENTAL FORCES, CURSED, TWICE CURSED, GIVING THE DEVIL HIS DUE and KICKING IT.
She enjoys running long distances, reading anything she can get her hands on and watching movies with samurai, zombies and/or subtitles in her spare time. She lives in Chicago with her husband and son.
You can visit her on the web at
www.christinahenry.net
Facebook: authorChristinaHenry
Threads: authorChristinaHenry
Instagram: authorChristinaHenry
Goodreads: goodreads.com/CHenryAuthor
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,186 reviews
April 29, 2022
OMG! The witchy powers, haunted woods concept always my favorite themes and when I dive into a book which reminds me of Shea Ernshaw’s Wicked Deep meets Emily Lloyd Jones’ Bone Houses and Stephen Kong’s epic book Outsider with Sleepy Hollow vibes, I may only scream “yess” and fill my brain with the marvelous taste of literature and feel the tingling shiver of thrilling sense on my shoulders.
This book is captivating, exciting page turner, attracting your attention and hooks your soul from the first page. You cannot put it down. You have to cancel everything in your life to focus on your reading which you already get used to do in your new normal state( Sometimes I wish I don’t read any news and deal with new realities of our changing Pandemic universe by burying my head into a book and keep on reading till everything goes back to normal. At least this kind of great books give you the great escape opportunity you terribly need right now!)
So let’s take a look at the synopsis:
Welcome to Smith Hollows. A secluded town with the people suffer from short term memory loss about the murders occur there. They look like daytime sleepwalkers when somebody opens his mouth to ask questions what is going on there.
Is there something sinister in the woods to tear the bones apart of the young girls? They lately find two girls’s brutally murdered pieces at the front yard of a racist old bigot lady but new police officer Alex Lopez who moved with his family from Chicago realizes the murders occurred in the woods and somebody carried the pieces of the corpses to the backyard of his racist neighbor who thinks Mexican people already cursed the place with their existence and they may be connected with the killings.
In the meantime Lauren, 15 years old, recently lost her father who was brutally killed in the woods just like two girls feels a painful headache and sees visions about how the girls get killed. And she realizes there is something supernatural about the killings of those girls.
And her four year old brother David reminds us of the combination of eerie, weird kids in the standard horror movies, tells to their mother his premonition about murders( he will keep telling weird prophecies during the book which will come true) And as soon as Lauren talks with her Nana, she learns the ugly secret about their family ancestors, her mind gets more confused and her new normal reality gets more distorted. Could the things her Nana tell be true?
Even though the identity of the killer was so foreseeable from the beginning and reading so many POVs included into the story may be confusing : instead of Lauren, her best friend Miranda, we read Karen, Alex, racist neighbor ( I don’t want to mention her name because from the beginning I hate the guts of the character), Riley (Journalist from Chicago), Touhy ( interestingly Ben Mendelsohn’s face appeared on my mind when I read the chapters about him), I liked the incredibly capturing pacing, 80’s vibes with Goonies, Jackson songs, punk rock, Stallone, Stephen King book references including Firestarter and of course the rabbit references in the book reminds us of the author’s Alice series.
Overall: I’m so open to read a sequel. Lauren, David and Alejandro( Alex)are my favorite characters. I liked the moving, mind numbing, exhilarating chapters.
I highly recommend it to the genre lovers and Christina Henry fans!
Special thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for this addictive ARC with me in exchange my honest opinions. I had really enjoyable time!
This book is captivating, exciting page turner, attracting your attention and hooks your soul from the first page. You cannot put it down. You have to cancel everything in your life to focus on your reading which you already get used to do in your new normal state( Sometimes I wish I don’t read any news and deal with new realities of our changing Pandemic universe by burying my head into a book and keep on reading till everything goes back to normal. At least this kind of great books give you the great escape opportunity you terribly need right now!)
So let’s take a look at the synopsis:
Welcome to Smith Hollows. A secluded town with the people suffer from short term memory loss about the murders occur there. They look like daytime sleepwalkers when somebody opens his mouth to ask questions what is going on there.
Is there something sinister in the woods to tear the bones apart of the young girls? They lately find two girls’s brutally murdered pieces at the front yard of a racist old bigot lady but new police officer Alex Lopez who moved with his family from Chicago realizes the murders occurred in the woods and somebody carried the pieces of the corpses to the backyard of his racist neighbor who thinks Mexican people already cursed the place with their existence and they may be connected with the killings.
In the meantime Lauren, 15 years old, recently lost her father who was brutally killed in the woods just like two girls feels a painful headache and sees visions about how the girls get killed. And she realizes there is something supernatural about the killings of those girls.
And her four year old brother David reminds us of the combination of eerie, weird kids in the standard horror movies, tells to their mother his premonition about murders( he will keep telling weird prophecies during the book which will come true) And as soon as Lauren talks with her Nana, she learns the ugly secret about their family ancestors, her mind gets more confused and her new normal reality gets more distorted. Could the things her Nana tell be true?
Even though the identity of the killer was so foreseeable from the beginning and reading so many POVs included into the story may be confusing : instead of Lauren, her best friend Miranda, we read Karen, Alex, racist neighbor ( I don’t want to mention her name because from the beginning I hate the guts of the character), Riley (Journalist from Chicago), Touhy ( interestingly Ben Mendelsohn’s face appeared on my mind when I read the chapters about him), I liked the incredibly capturing pacing, 80’s vibes with Goonies, Jackson songs, punk rock, Stallone, Stephen King book references including Firestarter and of course the rabbit references in the book reminds us of the author’s Alice series.
Overall: I’m so open to read a sequel. Lauren, David and Alejandro( Alex)are my favorite characters. I liked the moving, mind numbing, exhilarating chapters.
I highly recommend it to the genre lovers and Christina Henry fans!
Special thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for this addictive ARC with me in exchange my honest opinions. I had really enjoyable time!
August 11, 2021
UPDATE: $1.99 Kindle US 8/11/21
A sweet and satisfyingly, creepy little book!
What is lurking in the woods.... What is tearing the young one’s into itty bitty pieces... shredded...
Lauren is determined to find out what’s doing the killing. She’s been having a few visions but her little brother, David, is having a lot of visions that are leading Lauren down a scary path.
What do the visions mean.... And what did grand ma ma mean about the story she told Lauren ...
Something isn’t right in the little town of Smith’s Hollow. Will they find the answers... Read it and see!
I enjoyed the characters, but I did want to smack a few people 6,000 ways to Sunday. But I digress!
Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾
*Thank you to Netgalley and Berkley publishing for a digital copy of this book.
BLOG: https://melissa413readsalot.blogspot....
A sweet and satisfyingly, creepy little book!
What is lurking in the woods.... What is tearing the young one’s into itty bitty pieces... shredded...
Lauren is determined to find out what’s doing the killing. She’s been having a few visions but her little brother, David, is having a lot of visions that are leading Lauren down a scary path.
What do the visions mean.... And what did grand ma ma mean about the story she told Lauren ...
Something isn’t right in the little town of Smith’s Hollow. Will they find the answers... Read it and see!
I enjoyed the characters, but I did want to smack a few people 6,000 ways to Sunday. But I digress!
Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾
*Thank you to Netgalley and Berkley publishing for a digital copy of this book.
BLOG: https://melissa413readsalot.blogspot....
November 22, 2023
**3.5-stars**
The small town of Smith's Hollow has seen their fair share of tragedies. The eerie part is, none of the residents seem to remember them once the initial shock has worn off.
When two girls from out of town are found slain in a local backyard, literally cut to pieces, it does grab everyone's attention; at least temporarily.
Lauren has grown up in Smith's Hollow and now, just shy of her Freshman year in high school, she begins to sense something is severely wrong in their quiet town.
For one thing, her father was murdered in the woods just last year. His heart cut out of his body.
When she hears about the murdered girls, Lauren doesn't hold much hope for the police finding the culprit. They never solved her Dad's murder.
Everyone just seemed to move on, but Lauren remembers and she wants to get to the bottom of it.
The thing I loved the most about this story was the atmosphere. The setting of Smith's Hollow, that eerie small town vibe where you can instantly tell that something is off.
Additionally, I found Lauren to be a likable character and the relationships within her family were interesting.
Since her father passed, her mother has been struggling and seems to take a lot of her frustrations out on Lauren. Nothing Lauren ever does is right, her mom is constantly nagging at her.
Then there is Lauren's little brother, Danny, who she loves dearly, but he's a strange kid. He seems to know things he shouldn't and he says the oddest things.
When Lauren begins to have visions as well, of a horrible monster and the murdered girls, she investigates further.
What is going on in Smith's Hollow and what is her connection to it? Her first stop is her Grandmother's house and oh boy, does Grandma have a tale to tell!
There's witches, there's curses, there are sacrifices that need to be made to keep the town in balance.
Lauren sees it as her job to put an end to the madness. Along with a friendly policeman, a cute next-door neighbor and a roving reporter, Smith's Hollow had better watch its back.
Throughout this story I was reminded of other stories. I felt Sawkill Girls, Strange Grace, The Devouring Gray and The Wicked Deep all rolled into one.
It was fun, I'm glad I read it. I love how Christina Henry's mind works, but this isn't my favorite of her books.
Lauren's best friend, Miranda, drove me batty. I was hoping she would be the first victim, but unfortunately that desire wasn't realized.
Also, there were some subplots I wasn't as interested in and I found those portions dragging for me. I think I could have enjoyed it a lot more if those had been shaved back a bit, including the racist neighbor.
Overall, this is a solid story. I would recommend it to Readers who enjoy a dark atmosphere with some gruesome deaths steeped in mystery.
Thank you so much to the publisher, Berkley Publishing, for providing me with a copy of this to read and review. I adore Christina Henry and will continue to pick up anything else she writes!
The small town of Smith's Hollow has seen their fair share of tragedies. The eerie part is, none of the residents seem to remember them once the initial shock has worn off.
When two girls from out of town are found slain in a local backyard, literally cut to pieces, it does grab everyone's attention; at least temporarily.
Lauren has grown up in Smith's Hollow and now, just shy of her Freshman year in high school, she begins to sense something is severely wrong in their quiet town.
For one thing, her father was murdered in the woods just last year. His heart cut out of his body.
When she hears about the murdered girls, Lauren doesn't hold much hope for the police finding the culprit. They never solved her Dad's murder.
Everyone just seemed to move on, but Lauren remembers and she wants to get to the bottom of it.
The thing I loved the most about this story was the atmosphere. The setting of Smith's Hollow, that eerie small town vibe where you can instantly tell that something is off.
Additionally, I found Lauren to be a likable character and the relationships within her family were interesting.
Since her father passed, her mother has been struggling and seems to take a lot of her frustrations out on Lauren. Nothing Lauren ever does is right, her mom is constantly nagging at her.
Then there is Lauren's little brother, Danny, who she loves dearly, but he's a strange kid. He seems to know things he shouldn't and he says the oddest things.
When Lauren begins to have visions as well, of a horrible monster and the murdered girls, she investigates further.
What is going on in Smith's Hollow and what is her connection to it? Her first stop is her Grandmother's house and oh boy, does Grandma have a tale to tell!
There's witches, there's curses, there are sacrifices that need to be made to keep the town in balance.
Lauren sees it as her job to put an end to the madness. Along with a friendly policeman, a cute next-door neighbor and a roving reporter, Smith's Hollow had better watch its back.
Throughout this story I was reminded of other stories. I felt Sawkill Girls, Strange Grace, The Devouring Gray and The Wicked Deep all rolled into one.
It was fun, I'm glad I read it. I love how Christina Henry's mind works, but this isn't my favorite of her books.
Lauren's best friend, Miranda, drove me batty. I was hoping she would be the first victim, but unfortunately that desire wasn't realized.
Also, there were some subplots I wasn't as interested in and I found those portions dragging for me. I think I could have enjoyed it a lot more if those had been shaved back a bit, including the racist neighbor.
Overall, this is a solid story. I would recommend it to Readers who enjoy a dark atmosphere with some gruesome deaths steeped in mystery.
Thank you so much to the publisher, Berkley Publishing, for providing me with a copy of this to read and review. I adore Christina Henry and will continue to pick up anything else she writes!
September 16, 2020
“There was one particular tree...with branches that curled like sharp claws looking for skin to scrape. All the townsfolk had avoided that tree, for it wasn’t right that a tree seemed to whisper and stare and reach out when a person passed by.”
There is something very wrong in this town.
Lauren has grown up in Smiths Hollow, spending most of her childhood in the woods with her best friend Miranda. Their meeting place ‘the old ghost tree.’
Even after her father is found dead, with his heart ripped out, she still feels most at home in the woods. But she can’t shake this feeling of deja vu - that something like this has happened before?
Smiths Hollow is full of dark secrets, long buried and hidden away. It isn’t long before those secrets are discovered and monsters are unleashed, both human and not.
I don’t want to give away too much because of spoilers but if you like curses, supernatural powers and monsters that go bump in the night then this is for you!
*******************
Just collected this bad boy from Waterstones. I’m so excited!!
********************
I don’t usually do horror but I love Christina Henry so I will expand my horizons!
There is something very wrong in this town.
Lauren has grown up in Smiths Hollow, spending most of her childhood in the woods with her best friend Miranda. Their meeting place ‘the old ghost tree.’
Even after her father is found dead, with his heart ripped out, she still feels most at home in the woods. But she can’t shake this feeling of deja vu - that something like this has happened before?
Smiths Hollow is full of dark secrets, long buried and hidden away. It isn’t long before those secrets are discovered and monsters are unleashed, both human and not.
I don’t want to give away too much because of spoilers but if you like curses, supernatural powers and monsters that go bump in the night then this is for you!
*******************
Just collected this bad boy from Waterstones. I’m so excited!!
********************
I don’t usually do horror but I love Christina Henry so I will expand my horizons!
Read
October 14, 2020DNF @ page 91 of 418. No rating and will not be included in my reading challenge.
This book seems very young adult and I am growing tired of one young woman, 14 years old, constantly squeezing her boobs together and rubbing them up against a dude to get his attention. There is no way I can read another 300 pages of that bullshit. Not to mention that everything about this seems very campy and cheesy. Not my thing at all.
This book seems very young adult and I am growing tired of one young woman, 14 years old, constantly squeezing her boobs together and rubbing them up against a dude to get his attention. There is no way I can read another 300 pages of that bullshit. Not to mention that everything about this seems very campy and cheesy. Not my thing at all.
August 24, 2020
3-3.5 STARS
The Ghost Tree is a solid horror novel that's strongest ingredient is in the creepy, small town vibe it gives off. Smith's Hollow is definitely not a place I'd like to visit, as it is filled to the brim with creepy children, grisly murders, some witchy hullabaloo, and has a serious The Stepford Wives thing going on. While the unsettling atmosphere was 5 star worthy, I had a few personal issues with the fact that this story relies heavily on the blood and gore with a touch of supernatural to cement its place in the horror genre. I would have liked a little more subtle, growing dread type of suspense, because what we get is graphically violent, but not what I would refer to as "scary". Overall, an enjoyable, if not slightly long, dark novel that I could see becoming a long running series featuring the wonderful cast of kids.
*Many thanks to the publisher for providing my review copy.
The Ghost Tree is a solid horror novel that's strongest ingredient is in the creepy, small town vibe it gives off. Smith's Hollow is definitely not a place I'd like to visit, as it is filled to the brim with creepy children, grisly murders, some witchy hullabaloo, and has a serious The Stepford Wives thing going on. While the unsettling atmosphere was 5 star worthy, I had a few personal issues with the fact that this story relies heavily on the blood and gore with a touch of supernatural to cement its place in the horror genre. I would have liked a little more subtle, growing dread type of suspense, because what we get is graphically violent, but not what I would refer to as "scary". Overall, an enjoyable, if not slightly long, dark novel that I could see becoming a long running series featuring the wonderful cast of kids.
*Many thanks to the publisher for providing my review copy.
September 7, 2020
3.5 rounded up
What or who is killing the town’s daughters?
Shortest Summary Ever: 2 bodies have been discovered. (Wait. Make that PIECES of bodies.) And 14 yr old Lauren’s dad was found murdered the year before in an equally gruesome fashion. But the town has moved on - crazies that can’t be found must be the perpetrators, so let’s move on - cases are closed. Except now Lauren’s little brother is having premonitions, and everyone in the town is acting like murder is NBD. Lauren seems to be the only one concerned. What IS happening in Smith Hollows?
Thoughts: Creepy Town with a Stepford Wives vibe, Smith Hollows is the star of this book as the town itself becomes a pulsating, breathing character. It holds alllll the secrets and the older residents know was’sup. 😏 This plot and the kids are the best part of the book because as I’ve said before - creepy kids? ✅ Off to a great start in “things that freak me out in books.”
But... the horror factor was tepid at best. Gore to me doesn’t translate as scary. I’m a firm believer in it’s more scary what you DON’T see (in your head while reading... like a movie). The freakiest books aren’t always the bloodiest. It was also a pretty obvious conclusion. But definitely a book I would buy!
All my reviews available at scrappymags.com
Genre: Mystery/Horror/Gore
Recommend to: if you want a spooky escape to a town where somethin’ just ain’t right.
Not recommended to: if you’re not into gory stuff. It’s heavier in the grit and blood, and brains... some entrails...
Thank you to the author, Berkley Publishing Group and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my always-honest review and for making me shun any city with “Hollow” in the name.
What or who is killing the town’s daughters?
Shortest Summary Ever: 2 bodies have been discovered. (Wait. Make that PIECES of bodies.) And 14 yr old Lauren’s dad was found murdered the year before in an equally gruesome fashion. But the town has moved on - crazies that can’t be found must be the perpetrators, so let’s move on - cases are closed. Except now Lauren’s little brother is having premonitions, and everyone in the town is acting like murder is NBD. Lauren seems to be the only one concerned. What IS happening in Smith Hollows?
Thoughts: Creepy Town with a Stepford Wives vibe, Smith Hollows is the star of this book as the town itself becomes a pulsating, breathing character. It holds alllll the secrets and the older residents know was’sup. 😏 This plot and the kids are the best part of the book because as I’ve said before - creepy kids? ✅ Off to a great start in “things that freak me out in books.”
But... the horror factor was tepid at best. Gore to me doesn’t translate as scary. I’m a firm believer in it’s more scary what you DON’T see (in your head while reading... like a movie). The freakiest books aren’t always the bloodiest. It was also a pretty obvious conclusion. But definitely a book I would buy!
All my reviews available at scrappymags.com
Genre: Mystery/Horror/Gore
Recommend to: if you want a spooky escape to a town where somethin’ just ain’t right.
Not recommended to: if you’re not into gory stuff. It’s heavier in the grit and blood, and brains... some entrails...
Thank you to the author, Berkley Publishing Group and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my always-honest review and for making me shun any city with “Hollow” in the name.
November 16, 2020
2.5 stars
Smith's Hollow is a weird little town. Two girls are brutally murdered and no one seems to be able to wrap their brain around it. They all seem to just be able to move on and forget it.
Lauren lives there with her over anxious mother and younger brother Danny. She starts realizing that no one cares about those girls and then discovers that every single year a teenage girl is murdered...but no one remembers it.
Okay...so this book is kinda over the top cheesy horror. I get that. You have to go with it if you are going to enjoy the story. I did not mind that. Other little stuff bugged my socks off.
Like the 80's references.
I didn't need a time period reference every few minutes.
The book isn't horrible. It just seemed to me like it was trying to be so many different things that it lost some of the magic. Stick with the basics people. You do not have to through in every dang current rage.
Booksource: Netgalley in exchange for review.
Smith's Hollow is a weird little town. Two girls are brutally murdered and no one seems to be able to wrap their brain around it. They all seem to just be able to move on and forget it.
Lauren lives there with her over anxious mother and younger brother Danny. She starts realizing that no one cares about those girls and then discovers that every single year a teenage girl is murdered...but no one remembers it.
Okay...so this book is kinda over the top cheesy horror. I get that. You have to go with it if you are going to enjoy the story. I did not mind that. Other little stuff bugged my socks off.
Like the 80's references.
I didn't need a time period reference every few minutes.
The book isn't horrible. It just seemed to me like it was trying to be so many different things that it lost some of the magic. Stick with the basics people. You do not have to through in every dang current rage.
Booksource: Netgalley in exchange for review.
August 18, 2021
4.0 Stars - Female Coming of Age Horror
Finally! This is the story I have been searching for… a female centric coming of age horror story. I’ve read other horror advertised as such, but this is the first one to actually deliver the goods. Told over multiple perspectives, the story primarily centers around two teenagers who are transitioning from girls into young women. The story touches on common female experiences from choosing boys over best friends to the uncomfortable experience of starting one’s period. Both girls were likeable and well developed with understandable motivations.
Overall, this was an incredibly immersive story that pulled me right from the start. It’s a fairly long novel, but it never felt slow. The story was perfectly paced with a compulsive narrative that kept me turning the pages. The plot was honestly quite predictable, but I did not mind at all. Instead, I found the familiar horror tropes to be comforting. The actual writing was quite simplistic, but the story itself made up for those weaknesses.
With the younger protagonists, this horror novel has a lot of YA crossover appeal. I also think it would be a great starting place for someone newer to horror, because it felt quite accessible without a lot of the weirdness that turns people off the genre. This book will also appeal to those who loved Imaginary Friend by Stephen Chobsky because it had a similar narrative style.
I would highly recommend this novel to any horror reader who enjoys classic horror narratives with some fantastical supernatural elements.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher for review.
Finally! This is the story I have been searching for… a female centric coming of age horror story. I’ve read other horror advertised as such, but this is the first one to actually deliver the goods. Told over multiple perspectives, the story primarily centers around two teenagers who are transitioning from girls into young women. The story touches on common female experiences from choosing boys over best friends to the uncomfortable experience of starting one’s period. Both girls were likeable and well developed with understandable motivations.
Overall, this was an incredibly immersive story that pulled me right from the start. It’s a fairly long novel, but it never felt slow. The story was perfectly paced with a compulsive narrative that kept me turning the pages. The plot was honestly quite predictable, but I did not mind at all. Instead, I found the familiar horror tropes to be comforting. The actual writing was quite simplistic, but the story itself made up for those weaknesses.
With the younger protagonists, this horror novel has a lot of YA crossover appeal. I also think it would be a great starting place for someone newer to horror, because it felt quite accessible without a lot of the weirdness that turns people off the genre. This book will also appeal to those who loved Imaginary Friend by Stephen Chobsky because it had a similar narrative style.
I would highly recommend this novel to any horror reader who enjoys classic horror narratives with some fantastical supernatural elements.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher for review.
September 20, 2020
Christina Henry entices readers to travel back in time to a small town called Smith’s Hollow. It’s the 1980s. We follow best friends Lauren and Miranda, their longtime friendship seemingly in transition. Miranda is looking to make friends with older boys who drive while Lauren resents being dragged along as a third wheel.
Wrapped in this compelling coming-of-age story is something more insidious than teenage boys. Two girls Lauren’s age are found murdered, their bodies mutilated, in the backyard of one of her neighbors.
Miranda couldn’t care less and is more interested in finally losing her virginity, but Lauren is plagued by visions that seem related to the murders. She is determined to solve the mystery of the dead girls, especially since she lost her own father to violence just two years prior.
I read this book on my Kindle over a weekend and when I finished, I was shocked to learn that it was over four hundred pages long. This book flew by. The chapters are short and sweet, unraveling bits of mystery or diving headlong into Lauren’s teenage drama with a juicy hook at the end of every break, practically begging for readers to keep going.
Even though there is a lot going on in this story—Lauren’s troubled family history, the strained friendship between Miranda and Lauren, the murders, a small town secret and even a vengeful witch’s ancient curse—Henry is able to keep all the strands of her spiderweb woven together in a neat and concise way without losing the reader along the way.
The end result is a complex, interesting story that maintains suspense and intrigue page after page after page.
Part of the joy in reading this book, for me, was because it was like revisiting one of my favorite TV shows, My So Called Life. Claire is more introverted than her thrill-seeking friend Rayanne. And even though Rayanne is the one playing fast and loose with the boys-it’s Claire that is sneaking out of class to kiss Jordan Catalano in the school’s boiler room. This book had a very similar, Girl’s coming-of-age vibe but with the added bonus of having a dark and sinister subplot. I burned through this one. It’s my recommendation that if you’re looking for something you can devour over a few days, something scandalously entertaining with teeth. This is the perfect book for your Fall reading list.
Wrapped in this compelling coming-of-age story is something more insidious than teenage boys. Two girls Lauren’s age are found murdered, their bodies mutilated, in the backyard of one of her neighbors.
Miranda couldn’t care less and is more interested in finally losing her virginity, but Lauren is plagued by visions that seem related to the murders. She is determined to solve the mystery of the dead girls, especially since she lost her own father to violence just two years prior.
I read this book on my Kindle over a weekend and when I finished, I was shocked to learn that it was over four hundred pages long. This book flew by. The chapters are short and sweet, unraveling bits of mystery or diving headlong into Lauren’s teenage drama with a juicy hook at the end of every break, practically begging for readers to keep going.
Even though there is a lot going on in this story—Lauren’s troubled family history, the strained friendship between Miranda and Lauren, the murders, a small town secret and even a vengeful witch’s ancient curse—Henry is able to keep all the strands of her spiderweb woven together in a neat and concise way without losing the reader along the way.
The end result is a complex, interesting story that maintains suspense and intrigue page after page after page.
Part of the joy in reading this book, for me, was because it was like revisiting one of my favorite TV shows, My So Called Life. Claire is more introverted than her thrill-seeking friend Rayanne. And even though Rayanne is the one playing fast and loose with the boys-it’s Claire that is sneaking out of class to kiss Jordan Catalano in the school’s boiler room. This book had a very similar, Girl’s coming-of-age vibe but with the added bonus of having a dark and sinister subplot. I burned through this one. It’s my recommendation that if you’re looking for something you can devour over a few days, something scandalously entertaining with teeth. This is the perfect book for your Fall reading list.
October 26, 2021
A highly addictive read perfect for Halloween season!
I really enjoyed how uncomplicated this was. There's a small town. There's a curse. There's something brutally murdering people. It's a solid, clean plot.
The Thing is shrouded in mystery -all we know is it likes to eat young girls on a regular basis and is somehow associated with the Ghost Tree. But no one in town seems to be interested in the gruesome body parts turning up? And there was nothing about this story that made me mad about that. It's really clear that something fishy is going on, and it's easy to just accept the fishiness and get caught up in the story.
We have teenager Lauren and new-to-town cop Alex who are doing most of the digging, but there's a brilliant host of smart people, hoodwinked people, and horrible people to keep things entertaining. The story drives forward at an excellent pace, with things slowly unravelling and clues falling out along the way. I had some ideas about how it was going to go, but I really just enjoyed getting drawn into this twisted little town.
The language is easy and creates the atmosphere really well, and I felt the characters were all well developed. I was so easily absorbed by the story and managed to smash through it a lot faster than expected.
Highly recommend for some light Halloween reading, as it's got a great blend of mystery, horror, and emotion all threaded together cleanly in such a way that will keep you addicted until the very last page.
I really enjoyed how uncomplicated this was. There's a small town. There's a curse. There's something brutally murdering people. It's a solid, clean plot.
The Thing is shrouded in mystery -all we know is it likes to eat young girls on a regular basis and is somehow associated with the Ghost Tree. But no one in town seems to be interested in the gruesome body parts turning up? And there was nothing about this story that made me mad about that. It's really clear that something fishy is going on, and it's easy to just accept the fishiness and get caught up in the story.
We have teenager Lauren and new-to-town cop Alex who are doing most of the digging, but there's a brilliant host of smart people, hoodwinked people, and horrible people to keep things entertaining. The story drives forward at an excellent pace, with things slowly unravelling and clues falling out along the way. I had some ideas about how it was going to go, but I really just enjoyed getting drawn into this twisted little town.
The language is easy and creates the atmosphere really well, and I felt the characters were all well developed. I was so easily absorbed by the story and managed to smash through it a lot faster than expected.
Highly recommend for some light Halloween reading, as it's got a great blend of mystery, horror, and emotion all threaded together cleanly in such a way that will keep you addicted until the very last page.
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January 12, 2022"Meet me by the old ghost tree."
I was extremely hyped for my first Christina Henry book. I'd heard lots of good things about her and her Alice in Wonderland retelling. I also knew she'd written a reimagining of The Little Mermaid and I love everything to do with mermaids, especially if it has a darker vibe. And Christina Henry's books emanate that twisted, cruel, thrilling atmosphere. So why not start my journey with a horror novel?
The setup is: a dad with his heart ripped out, a dark woods, two best friends growing apart, and the mangled bodies of two strangers in the neighbour's garden. A monster is wreaking havoc, but no one seems to acknowledge it, or even remember the gruesome murders after a couple days.
The story has everything that a classic horror needs. There's a trail of dead girls, a cute but creepy 4-year-old who knows more than he should, a racist, unhinged old neighbour that only makes matters worse, and a town with evil lurking at its core. Well, everything but one thing: suspense. In the beginning the mystery had me tight in its grip but as more and more secrets came to light, I quickly figured out who the bad guy was and where the story was headed. While I enjoyed the story overall, it didn't surprise me and the finale felt anticlimactic. One thing I really did enjoy was the feminist touch and the fully developed female characters, but I would've loved to see some gay rep (I don't see why books these days shouldn't have it - gay people are everywhere).
All in all a horror story with much potential and great characters that couldn't quite deliver what it promised.
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I was extremely hyped for my first Christina Henry book. I'd heard lots of good things about her and her Alice in Wonderland retelling. I also knew she'd written a reimagining of The Little Mermaid and I love everything to do with mermaids, especially if it has a darker vibe. And Christina Henry's books emanate that twisted, cruel, thrilling atmosphere. So why not start my journey with a horror novel?
The setup is: a dad with his heart ripped out, a dark woods, two best friends growing apart, and the mangled bodies of two strangers in the neighbour's garden. A monster is wreaking havoc, but no one seems to acknowledge it, or even remember the gruesome murders after a couple days.
The story has everything that a classic horror needs. There's a trail of dead girls, a cute but creepy 4-year-old who knows more than he should, a racist, unhinged old neighbour that only makes matters worse, and a town with evil lurking at its core. Well, everything but one thing: suspense. In the beginning the mystery had me tight in its grip but as more and more secrets came to light, I quickly figured out who the bad guy was and where the story was headed. While I enjoyed the story overall, it didn't surprise me and the finale felt anticlimactic. One thing I really did enjoy was the feminist touch and the fully developed female characters, but I would've loved to see some gay rep (I don't see why books these days shouldn't have it - gay people are everywhere).
All in all a horror story with much potential and great characters that couldn't quite deliver what it promised.
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March 29, 2021
The Ghost Tree is a tale set in the 80’s about murder, secrets, witches and a friendship that’s falling to pieces. It’s gorier than I expected and not quite as creepy as I’d hoped. It was a pretty solid 3 star read for me and 3 stars are type of books I absolutely dread reviewing but I’ll take a stab at it . . .
Things start off when two young women are found torn to pieces in the local bigots backyard. This is a quiet, sleepy town and this is a big deal. Or one would think so. Instead of everyone being in a huge panic screaming “LOCK YOUR DOORS THERE’S A MURDERER ON THE LOOSE!” people seem a bit “hmm, guess I better go water my lawn and mind my own damn business”. Weird, right?
Well, things only get weirder as the story moves along.
Told from multiple POV’s the main voice that stuck out for me was that of teenager Lauren who has been having migraines and visions and finds the forest a calming place. Her father died a year earlier, a grisly victim of murder whose killer was never found. Hmm, perhaps this town isn’t so “quiet” after all. The case gets brushed under the rug as everyone moves on with their lives but Lauren can’t move on quite so easily. She has a strained relationship with her mother and her best friend has suddenly gone boy crazy so she’s having a real shit time now and I felt for her. She starts her own poking around into all of these deaths that no one seems interested in solving and what she finds is far more than she could’ve dreamed up.
If the story had focused more on Lauren’s POV I think I would’ve enjoyed it more than I did. There’s a lot going on here and some of it is important but feels a bit underdeveloped even though the book is over 400 pages. There’s also one big reveal that read like a dark fairy tale. I love dark fairy tales but as far as this one goes I feel like it’s one that’s been told too many times. Or perhaps I’ve just read too many books or maybe I'm just too grouchy. Either way that reveal didn’t work for me. I’m also going to complain about Lauren’s love interest here because I’m me and also because I do believe she was 13 or 14 years old and he was in college (if my brain is remembering correctly) and he was at least 18 and maybe I’m just an old biddy now but that felt like too big of a gap at those ages and it bugged me.
What did thrill me were the imperfect and sometimes unlikable characters. There’s enough fiery rage, grief and assholery going around to fuel this whole cursed town and some of these people made me crazy but in the best way because it felt realistic to coming of age and also to the situations. There were few unblemished angels here. Almost everyone (except the innocent brother & the new to town policeman) had the potential to be a bit of a cruel dick at one point or another and there’s quite a few characters who are just despicable through and through and I don’t know why but I enjoyed that type of character honesty in this story even if some of them aggravated and upset the hell out of me at times! I'm looking at you Miranda (kiddo don't let boys ruin your self esteem) and also at you Mrs. IForgotYourNameButYour'reAnEvilBigot.
I guess I’m going with a 3.5 and I hope that rating matches my words.
Things start off when two young women are found torn to pieces in the local bigots backyard. This is a quiet, sleepy town and this is a big deal. Or one would think so. Instead of everyone being in a huge panic screaming “LOCK YOUR DOORS THERE’S A MURDERER ON THE LOOSE!” people seem a bit “hmm, guess I better go water my lawn and mind my own damn business”. Weird, right?
Well, things only get weirder as the story moves along.
Told from multiple POV’s the main voice that stuck out for me was that of teenager Lauren who has been having migraines and visions and finds the forest a calming place. Her father died a year earlier, a grisly victim of murder whose killer was never found. Hmm, perhaps this town isn’t so “quiet” after all. The case gets brushed under the rug as everyone moves on with their lives but Lauren can’t move on quite so easily. She has a strained relationship with her mother and her best friend has suddenly gone boy crazy so she’s having a real shit time now and I felt for her. She starts her own poking around into all of these deaths that no one seems interested in solving and what she finds is far more than she could’ve dreamed up.
If the story had focused more on Lauren’s POV I think I would’ve enjoyed it more than I did. There’s a lot going on here and some of it is important but feels a bit underdeveloped even though the book is over 400 pages. There’s also one big reveal that read like a dark fairy tale. I love dark fairy tales but as far as this one goes I feel like it’s one that’s been told too many times. Or perhaps I’ve just read too many books or maybe I'm just too grouchy. Either way that reveal didn’t work for me. I’m also going to complain about Lauren’s love interest here because I’m me and also because I do believe she was 13 or 14 years old and he was in college (if my brain is remembering correctly) and he was at least 18 and maybe I’m just an old biddy now but that felt like too big of a gap at those ages and it bugged me.
What did thrill me were the imperfect and sometimes unlikable characters. There’s enough fiery rage, grief and assholery going around to fuel this whole cursed town and some of these people made me crazy but in the best way because it felt realistic to coming of age and also to the situations. There were few unblemished angels here. Almost everyone (except the innocent brother & the new to town policeman) had the potential to be a bit of a cruel dick at one point or another and there’s quite a few characters who are just despicable through and through and I don’t know why but I enjoyed that type of character honesty in this story even if some of them aggravated and upset the hell out of me at times! I'm looking at you Miranda (kiddo don't let boys ruin your self esteem) and also at you Mrs. IForgotYourNameButYour'reAnEvilBigot.
I guess I’m going with a 3.5 and I hope that rating matches my words.
September 11, 2020
I wavered between 2 and 3 stars for this one - I can't completely trust that part of my feelings about it aren't just grumpiness due to current world states, so just bear in mind that there's a lot of other positive reviews.
The Ghost Tree is the latest in a recent line of 80's nostalgia fused with horror, and while I'm absolutely here for that in theory, it hit so many tropes and stereotypes that it distracted me from the novel itself. The 80's references are particularly over the top in the first chapter (17!), but are throughout the book too - and it's not subtle hints, it's Tab, Pac-Man, VCRs and ten-speeds. The horror tropes were just as universal, with psychic children, angry mobs, and racism aplenty. None of these things are particularly turnoffs - I can definitely get behind a campy horror - but with so many all in the one book it just felt much too on the nose.
The story itself is more along the gore than the scare side of the horror spectrum, which fits with the themes; suspense gets in nostalgia's way. The characters were mostly similarly tropeish - the horrible racist is over the top, the teenage girls fit neatly into the Madonna/Whore boxes (actually, so do the boys in their own way), and the villains don't have a lot of logic to back up their justifications.
Man, it really sounds like I'm ragging on this book and it makes me feel bad, but there's just nothing here that takes any of the themes or tropes it used forwards. Almost everything has been done before in some way, and there's no using that against the reader, taking a trope and using it in a way that takes you by surprise. It's all played straight, and I just didn't get enough fun out of it to relax into either the nostalgia or the familiarity.
The Ghost Tree is the latest in a recent line of 80's nostalgia fused with horror, and while I'm absolutely here for that in theory, it hit so many tropes and stereotypes that it distracted me from the novel itself. The 80's references are particularly over the top in the first chapter (17!), but are throughout the book too - and it's not subtle hints, it's Tab, Pac-Man, VCRs and ten-speeds. The horror tropes were just as universal, with psychic children, angry mobs, and racism aplenty. None of these things are particularly turnoffs - I can definitely get behind a campy horror - but with so many all in the one book it just felt much too on the nose.
The story itself is more along the gore than the scare side of the horror spectrum, which fits with the themes; suspense gets in nostalgia's way. The characters were mostly similarly tropeish - the horrible racist is over the top, the teenage girls fit neatly into the Madonna/Whore boxes (actually, so do the boys in their own way), and the villains don't have a lot of logic to back up their justifications.
Man, it really sounds like I'm ragging on this book and it makes me feel bad, but there's just nothing here that takes any of the themes or tropes it used forwards. Almost everything has been done before in some way, and there's no using that against the reader, taking a trope and using it in a way that takes you by surprise. It's all played straight, and I just didn't get enough fun out of it to relax into either the nostalgia or the familiarity.
September 14, 2020
THE DETAILS✎ ❐ YA HORROR ❐ WITCHES, CURSES, AND BLOODY SACRIFICES ❐ EVIL LURKING IN THE WOODS ❐ MULTIPLE POV'S ❐ SET IN THE 80'S...WITH PLENTY OF REFERENCES ❐ LENGTH OF AUDIO ➯ 11 HOURS, 43 MINUTES ❐ I LISTENED ON LIBBY THROUGH MY LIBRARY
This isn't really a retelling but it almost feels like it could be...there's even a princess...but you know, she dies (not really a spoiler)...that's pretty much what this author does turns the fairytales on their ass, so to speak. If you've read and liked any of Christina Henry's other books...then you probably will like this one. I haven't found a book by her that I didn't at least like. She tells the story without any extra BS thrown in...which I'm a fan of...although this one had some mother/teen daughter drama in it...but it did have a reason for being there.
The narration by Jan Johns was excellently performed, her voice for four-year-old David (my fav character in the book) was so good...she made his personality shine through. Usually, I complain if a book has multiple POV's and only one narrator...but she pulled multiple characters off very well. I don't think I've ever listened to a book narrated by her before...but now I'm definitely a fan of hers.
BREAKDOWN✎
Narration ➯ 5 STARS
Plot ➯ 4.5/5
Characters ➯ 4.3/5
The Feels ➯ 4.5/5
Pacing ➯ 5/5
Addictiveness ➯ 5/5
Theme, Tone or Intensity ➯ 4.5/5
Originality ➯ 4.5/5
Flow (Writing Style/Ease of Listening) ➯ 5/5
World-Building ➯ 4.3/5
Ending ➯ 4.5/5
SUMMATION ➯ 4¾ STARS
This isn't really a retelling but it almost feels like it could be...there's even a princess...but you know, she dies (not really a spoiler)...that's pretty much what this author does turns the fairytales on their ass, so to speak. If you've read and liked any of Christina Henry's other books...then you probably will like this one. I haven't found a book by her that I didn't at least like. She tells the story without any extra BS thrown in...which I'm a fan of...although this one had some mother/teen daughter drama in it...but it did have a reason for being there.
The narration by Jan Johns was excellently performed, her voice for four-year-old David (my fav character in the book) was so good...she made his personality shine through. Usually, I complain if a book has multiple POV's and only one narrator...but she pulled multiple characters off very well. I don't think I've ever listened to a book narrated by her before...but now I'm definitely a fan of hers.
BREAKDOWN✎
Narration ➯ 5 STARS
Plot ➯ 4.5/5
Characters ➯ 4.3/5
The Feels ➯ 4.5/5
Pacing ➯ 5/5
Addictiveness ➯ 5/5
Theme, Tone or Intensity ➯ 4.5/5
Originality ➯ 4.5/5
Flow (Writing Style/Ease of Listening) ➯ 5/5
World-Building ➯ 4.3/5
Ending ➯ 4.5/5
SUMMATION ➯ 4¾ STARS
September 12, 2020
3.5 Stars
The Ghost Tree a creepy story with some magical elements, but I think this was more a coming of age story than a scary one. It felt like a Brothers Grimm sort of scary fairy tale with a curse, witches, and several gory murders. The town of Smiths Hollow doesn’t seem to register these murders for longer than a day or two.
The story is told from several points of view: Lauren an almost fifteen-year-old whose father was murdered less than a year back; a grisly murder with his heart cut out in the woods bordering the town. Yet, Lauren isn’t afraid in these woods and still longs for the days when her and her best friend Madison would meet and play at the Old Ghost Tree. Lauren and her friend Madison on in the between stage of adult and young teen, and with that transition these two best friends are growing apart. Madison’s focus is boys, hair and makeup, a pretty unlikeable, selfish character as she spent most of the book annoyed with Lauren for not going along with her plans. Lauren for her part has had enough of Madison’s bossiness.
However, Lauren’s growing concern over her relationship with her best friend takes a back seat when two girls are found murdered, an event that has magical repercussions for Lauren and her little brother David.
I liked Lauren’s burgeoning romance with Jake and her relationship with her little brother, David. Lauren’s mother also had a POV and she was unlikeable until the very end IMO. There’s a few more POVs, one I didn’t really care for: Mrs. Schneider a hateful bigot of an old lady, and then one I did like a lot: Officer Alex Lopez, a newer resident to Smiths Hollow, there with his family for a better life away from the city. He’s not as affected by the curse as the old-time residents of Smiths Hollow and therefore latches onto the mystery of the murdered girls.
I loved Christina Henry’s The Girl in Red and so I was excited to pick up The Ghost Tree. The Ghost Tree was an entirely different kind of story. It gave me a Stranger Things kind of vibe, maybe because that series is very centered on teenagers in the ’80 (same here) with weird things going on. It was an entertaining read, but I didn’t love it as much as TGiR. The story dragged for me in a few places, and I was wondering a few times where the story was going. Still, I enjoyed the story overall, and I think it would make a good creepy read for the coming Fall/Halloween season.
A copy was kindly provided by Berkley Books via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
The Ghost Tree a creepy story with some magical elements, but I think this was more a coming of age story than a scary one. It felt like a Brothers Grimm sort of scary fairy tale with a curse, witches, and several gory murders. The town of Smiths Hollow doesn’t seem to register these murders for longer than a day or two.
The story is told from several points of view: Lauren an almost fifteen-year-old whose father was murdered less than a year back; a grisly murder with his heart cut out in the woods bordering the town. Yet, Lauren isn’t afraid in these woods and still longs for the days when her and her best friend Madison would meet and play at the Old Ghost Tree. Lauren and her friend Madison on in the between stage of adult and young teen, and with that transition these two best friends are growing apart. Madison’s focus is boys, hair and makeup, a pretty unlikeable, selfish character as she spent most of the book annoyed with Lauren for not going along with her plans. Lauren for her part has had enough of Madison’s bossiness.
However, Lauren’s growing concern over her relationship with her best friend takes a back seat when two girls are found murdered, an event that has magical repercussions for Lauren and her little brother David.
I liked Lauren’s burgeoning romance with Jake and her relationship with her little brother, David. Lauren’s mother also had a POV and she was unlikeable until the very end IMO. There’s a few more POVs, one I didn’t really care for: Mrs. Schneider a hateful bigot of an old lady, and then one I did like a lot: Officer Alex Lopez, a newer resident to Smiths Hollow, there with his family for a better life away from the city. He’s not as affected by the curse as the old-time residents of Smiths Hollow and therefore latches onto the mystery of the murdered girls.
I loved Christina Henry’s The Girl in Red and so I was excited to pick up The Ghost Tree. The Ghost Tree was an entirely different kind of story. It gave me a Stranger Things kind of vibe, maybe because that series is very centered on teenagers in the ’80 (same here) with weird things going on. It was an entertaining read, but I didn’t love it as much as TGiR. The story dragged for me in a few places, and I was wondering a few times where the story was going. Still, I enjoyed the story overall, and I think it would make a good creepy read for the coming Fall/Halloween season.
A copy was kindly provided by Berkley Books via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
September 1, 2020
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!
I really enjoyed this book! It read just like watching a horror movie. It had the great setup. It had the slow reveal. It had multiple story-lines converging into one big ending. It had people to root for. It had mystery and darkness!
It was not at all what I expected going in. I won't spoil the fun. I've only ever read The Mermaid by this author before, and it was decent, but this one was a step up. It makes me want to check out her other stories like Alice and Lost Boy and The Girl in Red. I'll definitely be reading more of her work in the future!
I did take off a star because of one thing I predicted way too easily.
Highly recommended for people who like retellings (this is very Sleepy Hollow/headless horseman type story) and horror.
I really enjoyed this book! It read just like watching a horror movie. It had the great setup. It had the slow reveal. It had multiple story-lines converging into one big ending. It had people to root for. It had mystery and darkness!
It was not at all what I expected going in. I won't spoil the fun. I've only ever read The Mermaid by this author before, and it was decent, but this one was a step up. It makes me want to check out her other stories like Alice and Lost Boy and The Girl in Red. I'll definitely be reading more of her work in the future!
I did take off a star because of one thing I predicted way too easily.
Highly recommended for people who like retellings (this is very Sleepy Hollow/headless horseman type story) and horror.
October 3, 2023
I loved this so much, which wasn't a surprise, since I typically do always love Christina Henry's books... but this one was really special. RTC
February 16, 2022
i might've given this 2 stars if i were feeling generous but i really am not feeling generous today
some reasons i did not enjoy this book:
overall, i'm really disappointed because i was very, very excited to read christina henry's writing, and this... was not what i was expecting. i'm still going to give Lost Boy a try, though!
some reasons i did not enjoy this book:
➟ absurd world-building that made NO sense to me
➟ all-powerful protagonists whose powers followed no rhyme or reason
➟ a really frustrating experience reading constantly about a 15yo character's breasts (not to mention, )
➟ what seemed (to me) like heavy-handed treatment of xenophobia, misogyny, and violence toward women and BIPOC—which ultimately backfired, imo, because the book reinforced the very stereotypes it's attempting to challenge
➟ purple prose and over-exposition of characters' inner monologues
overall, i'm really disappointed because i was very, very excited to read christina henry's writing, and this... was not what i was expecting. i'm still going to give Lost Boy a try, though!
August 20, 2020
Woowee that was a suspenseful horror read.
Creepy woods, a child who know things, mysterious deaths, lack of memories, family history, curses, witches and him, who is him ?!? This tale was twisted so well I really had no idea if “it” was really real or was it was a, What I don’t know. Every mystery was revealed a bit then retracted a bit so I was left with barely a guess and a lot of goosebumps. Suspense plus horror plus a coming of age all while it is going down ! I was glued to the pages, lost sleep and avoided my family to read this and don’t regret it. :P Wait till you see how it is at the end. My mind was blown, never saw that.
Trigger alert, some seriously nasty racial slurs and evil characters
I received a copy from the publisher for an honest review
Creepy woods, a child who know things, mysterious deaths, lack of memories, family history, curses, witches and him, who is him ?!? This tale was twisted so well I really had no idea if “it” was really real or was it was a, What I don’t know. Every mystery was revealed a bit then retracted a bit so I was left with barely a guess and a lot of goosebumps. Suspense plus horror plus a coming of age all while it is going down ! I was glued to the pages, lost sleep and avoided my family to read this and don’t regret it. :P Wait till you see how it is at the end. My mind was blown, never saw that.
Trigger alert, some seriously nasty racial slurs and evil characters
I received a copy from the publisher for an honest review
July 30, 2020
The star of The Ghost Tree, is definitely the creepy small town vibe where the town of Smith Hollow almost takes a life of it's own, an entity if you will and it is quite clear from the very beginning, that this mysterious town is not right and definitely not your typical small town.
With strange happenings, mysterious murders and town people that just quite aren't right, this is very reminiscent of a town you very well could encounter in a Stephen King novel. Creepy residents and all.
Sadly like most of King's latest books, this novel too relies on blood, guts and gore to make it “scary” instead of actual spooky, look over your shoulder, get chills and want to leave the lights on at night horror.
While this was at times suspenseful and downright cringe worthy with the murders, it sadly lacked the scary ghost story I was so hoping it would be. It sometimes dragged on and on and I couldn't wait for the chapter to end and numerous times had to put it down simply because I lost interest in it.
In fact, the best part about this book were the creepy children (their abilities) and again, the very town itself. The ending was somewhat redeeming but again, this just sadly wasn't what I was hoping it would be but not a bad read by any means.
*ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.*
With strange happenings, mysterious murders and town people that just quite aren't right, this is very reminiscent of a town you very well could encounter in a Stephen King novel. Creepy residents and all.
Sadly like most of King's latest books, this novel too relies on blood, guts and gore to make it “scary” instead of actual spooky, look over your shoulder, get chills and want to leave the lights on at night horror.
While this was at times suspenseful and downright cringe worthy with the murders, it sadly lacked the scary ghost story I was so hoping it would be. It sometimes dragged on and on and I couldn't wait for the chapter to end and numerous times had to put it down simply because I lost interest in it.
In fact, the best part about this book were the creepy children (their abilities) and again, the very town itself. The ending was somewhat redeeming but again, this just sadly wasn't what I was hoping it would be but not a bad read by any means.
*ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.*
September 26, 2020
3.5 Stars.
THE GHOST TREE, by Christina Henry is a coming-of-age supernatural story that takes place in a small town. The idea was great, but I felt like there was a lot more repetitive comments than answers. When we do hear about the root cause and its implications, things got a lot more interesting.
I would have liked more on the backstory, or even the supernatural aspects of it, as opposed to the current deaths/repetition on what the "situation" means for the town.
THE GHOST TREE, by Christina Henry is a coming-of-age supernatural story that takes place in a small town. The idea was great, but I felt like there was a lot more repetitive comments than answers. When we do hear about the root cause and its implications, things got a lot more interesting.
I would have liked more on the backstory, or even the supernatural aspects of it, as opposed to the current deaths/repetition on what the "situation" means for the town.
March 12, 2021
Ok, so Christina Henry is one of my fave writers. Unfortunately this book missed the mark for me as it was predictable and boring.
It's supposed to be terryfying and chilling, but it's really not.
I admit I skimmed the second half bc I was bored and didn't really care for any of the chcracaters.
First a of all - the curse made no sense at all. Like, ok so I apparently need someone to explain it to me, because I swer it don't understand.
Another thing that bothered me was the fact that Lauren was 14 and Jake was 18. She was a child and he was a man. First of all - that's illegal, you know? Second of all, what in comman can an 18yo have with a 14yo child? Like I remember being 18 and hanging out with my friends younger siblings and thinking of them as children. In my head they were still 5yo.
also I found it super creepy how the author constantly was stressing how Jake JUST barely turned 18. Like, ffs, the law doesn't care. He's an adult and it's creepy to pursue a child.
What also bothers me to no end is authors milking our 80s nostalgia (Grady Hendrix and Ernest Cline Im looking at you!!!).
It's supposed to be terryfying and chilling, but it's really not.
I admit I skimmed the second half bc I was bored and didn't really care for any of the chcracaters.
First a of all - the curse made no sense at all. Like, ok so I apparently need someone to explain it to me, because I swer it don't understand.
Another thing that bothered me was the fact that Lauren was 14 and Jake was 18. She was a child and he was a man. First of all - that's illegal, you know? Second of all, what in comman can an 18yo have with a 14yo child? Like I remember being 18 and hanging out with my friends younger siblings and thinking of them as children. In my head they were still 5yo.
also I found it super creepy how the author constantly was stressing how Jake JUST barely turned 18. Like, ffs, the law doesn't care. He's an adult and it's creepy to pursue a child.
What also bothers me to no end is authors milking our 80s nostalgia (Grady Hendrix and Ernest Cline Im looking at you!!!).
October 20, 2021
This is offensive to the story of Sleepy Hollow.
A stale very loose retelling of Sleep Hollow, here is Smith Hollow girls are actively trying to sleep with 30 year old men and everyone is racist.
The beginning started off solid and I thought this was gonna some paranormal fun with serious discussions about racism in America’s small towns. What it turned into was weird love stories, boring witchiness and a very flat ending.
Audiobook narrator was good at their job but couldn’t save this book.
A stale very loose retelling of Sleep Hollow, here is Smith Hollow girls are actively trying to sleep with 30 year old men and everyone is racist.
The beginning started off solid and I thought this was gonna some paranormal fun with serious discussions about racism in America’s small towns. What it turned into was weird love stories, boring witchiness and a very flat ending.
Audiobook narrator was good at their job but couldn’t save this book.
April 1, 2021
Mark my words, if you need a book to scare the hell out of you, this is THE. ONE.
September 7, 2020
Now THAT’s how you write horror.
The Ghost Tree is chilling and disturbing, fascinating and unforgettable. I could not put this book down.
Set in a small idyllic Midwestern town, The Ghost Tree reveals the darkness that lies underneath the town’s peaceful, prosperous surface.
14-year-old Lauren is our main character. It’s the summer of 1985, and Lauren is looking forward to starting high school, even though she and her best friend Miranda have been growing apart. Lauren wants to keep playing in the woods and riding bikes, but Miranda is more interested in reading Cosmo and flirting with the older boys who drive cool cars.
Lauren is also dealing with her father’s death during the previous year, and her ongoing battles with her critical mother. Fortunately, her 4-year-old brother David is the bright spot in her life.
As the story starts, the awful, racist woman down the street discovers the dismembered bodies of two girls in her back yard. The girls are clearly outsiders, perhaps runaways passing through. But after the initial shock, these gruesome deaths don’t seem to make much of an impact on the town or its small police force, and it’s only through great effort that newcomer Officer Lopez can remember that there’s something odd that he should look into.
Told through multiple points of view, we get to see how the various townspeople have strange perceptions and faulty memories of the events that happen in Smith’s Hollow, and nothing seems to alter the pleasant lives of the town’s residents.
When Lauren’s grandmother shares a disturbing tale with her, Lauren is shocked and angry that her Nana would say such terrible things and expect her to believe them… but little by little, she comes to realize that there’s a dark truth lurking in the town’s memories, and that she and David might be the keys to preventing further bloodshed.
The Ghost Tree is so creepy and SO GOOD. The author does such a great job of letting us into Lauren’s mind, showing the uncertainties that a girl her age feels about all the changes in her life, but also showing her taking a stand and starting to own her opinions and take a stand.
The more we get to know about the town history and the secrets that everyone seems to have forgotten, the creepier and more disturbing the story becomes. And yes, there’s gore and bloodshed, but for me anyway, the scariest parts have to do with the mind control that the town seems to be under, and how inescapable its dark secrets seem to be.
I’ve read other books by Christina Henry, and already knew how talented she is. The Ghost Tree proves that she’s just as amazing at horror as she is at more fantasy-heavy stories.
I think I’m going to be thinking about this story for days. This is a story that sticks with you. Check it out!
Review copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley. Full review at Bookshelf Fantasies.
The Ghost Tree is chilling and disturbing, fascinating and unforgettable. I could not put this book down.
Set in a small idyllic Midwestern town, The Ghost Tree reveals the darkness that lies underneath the town’s peaceful, prosperous surface.
14-year-old Lauren is our main character. It’s the summer of 1985, and Lauren is looking forward to starting high school, even though she and her best friend Miranda have been growing apart. Lauren wants to keep playing in the woods and riding bikes, but Miranda is more interested in reading Cosmo and flirting with the older boys who drive cool cars.
Lauren is also dealing with her father’s death during the previous year, and her ongoing battles with her critical mother. Fortunately, her 4-year-old brother David is the bright spot in her life.
As the story starts, the awful, racist woman down the street discovers the dismembered bodies of two girls in her back yard. The girls are clearly outsiders, perhaps runaways passing through. But after the initial shock, these gruesome deaths don’t seem to make much of an impact on the town or its small police force, and it’s only through great effort that newcomer Officer Lopez can remember that there’s something odd that he should look into.
Told through multiple points of view, we get to see how the various townspeople have strange perceptions and faulty memories of the events that happen in Smith’s Hollow, and nothing seems to alter the pleasant lives of the town’s residents.
When Lauren’s grandmother shares a disturbing tale with her, Lauren is shocked and angry that her Nana would say such terrible things and expect her to believe them… but little by little, she comes to realize that there’s a dark truth lurking in the town’s memories, and that she and David might be the keys to preventing further bloodshed.
The Ghost Tree is so creepy and SO GOOD. The author does such a great job of letting us into Lauren’s mind, showing the uncertainties that a girl her age feels about all the changes in her life, but also showing her taking a stand and starting to own her opinions and take a stand.
The more we get to know about the town history and the secrets that everyone seems to have forgotten, the creepier and more disturbing the story becomes. And yes, there’s gore and bloodshed, but for me anyway, the scariest parts have to do with the mind control that the town seems to be under, and how inescapable its dark secrets seem to be.
I’ve read other books by Christina Henry, and already knew how talented she is. The Ghost Tree proves that she’s just as amazing at horror as she is at more fantasy-heavy stories.
I think I’m going to be thinking about this story for days. This is a story that sticks with you. Check it out!
Review copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley. Full review at Bookshelf Fantasies.
October 18, 2020
I absolutely loved Christina Henry’s The Mermaid, so I grabbed The Ghost Tree without even reading the synopsis. It happens to be the perfect October read. Lauren is a teenager but not a typical teenager. She loves to ride her bike and play in the forest. Not like her best friend, Miranda who is only interested in boys. One day, the bodies of two girls are discovered in her neighbor’s yard. It feels a little similar to the murder of her father the year before. It feels like no one is concerned and almost forgetting that it ever happened. But now Lauren is having visions. There are more girls and no one remembers them. There is something very wrong in this small town and she is right in the middle of it.
This book started out dark, then went darker…then even darker. This is not a light read. This is the book that you read when you want all the witches, curses, ghosts, and monsters. The only thing that I didn’t love is the many different points-of-view. I felt that the main characters weren’t completely fleshed out. I did love all the characters, I just wanted the focus on some more than others. I love Alex and his family. It broke my heart to see the aggressive racism that they are exposed to on a daily basis. I think it is important to show that racism no matter how big or small. It shows how it hurts a person and how it is a disease in our society.
The family bonds that really pulled at my heart. Lauren’s relationship with her brother is so tender and pure. I wanted more behind their family history. I loved Lauren’s coming-of-age progression. She is desperate to hang on to her childhood. She wants to be herself. On the opposite side, it shows the pressures that we put on teens in our society.
Now. This book is scary! It gave me chills and is full of glorious twists and turns. No one is safe. I rate this book 4 out of 5 stars.
Trigger warnings: graphic murder involving children, pregnancy loss, racism
This book started out dark, then went darker…then even darker. This is not a light read. This is the book that you read when you want all the witches, curses, ghosts, and monsters. The only thing that I didn’t love is the many different points-of-view. I felt that the main characters weren’t completely fleshed out. I did love all the characters, I just wanted the focus on some more than others. I love Alex and his family. It broke my heart to see the aggressive racism that they are exposed to on a daily basis. I think it is important to show that racism no matter how big or small. It shows how it hurts a person and how it is a disease in our society.
The family bonds that really pulled at my heart. Lauren’s relationship with her brother is so tender and pure. I wanted more behind their family history. I loved Lauren’s coming-of-age progression. She is desperate to hang on to her childhood. She wants to be herself. On the opposite side, it shows the pressures that we put on teens in our society.
Now. This book is scary! It gave me chills and is full of glorious twists and turns. No one is safe. I rate this book 4 out of 5 stars.
Trigger warnings: graphic murder involving children, pregnancy loss, racism
December 22, 2021
WITCHES AND MONSTERS
are the main characters in this vivid horror story.
Lauren is almost 15 years old during the summer before she enters high school. She lives in a small and prosperous small town where every year on November 12 a young girl is chosen by a secret lottery to be killed. As long as this ritualistic curse is continued, the town will prosper under a Mayor and a Chief of Police who run the lottery. And....stranger still, no one ever remembers that the killings have happened, even the parents of the sacrificed girls.
If this all sounds a little far-fetched, you have to read this book to see how this amazing author puts it all together in a very believable story centered around Lauren, an extremely likeable and adventurous young teen who is not afraid to go into the woods to the Ghost Tree. In fact, for some reason, she finds this a refuge.
When Lauren's father is killed in these woods, the secret of the habitual rites of this town begins to crumble and the new deputy in town, a member of a Mexican family who live next to the town bigot who thinks that the Mexicans are the root of all of this evil, becomes involved in solving the mystery.
The witches are revealed eventually, but the monster is not until the very end of the story. Only then can you put this together with the folklore involved.
I could not put this book down and read late into the dark night. I loved the characters, even the crazy ones, as they lend so much interest to this story. I give this 5 stars and highly recommend it to fans of Stephen King. Such a good, scary story for those who love this genre!
Find this book and other titles within our catalog.
Lauren is almost 15 years old during the summer before she enters high school. She lives in a small and prosperous small town where every year on November 12 a young girl is chosen by a secret lottery to be killed. As long as this ritualistic curse is continued, the town will prosper under a Mayor and a Chief of Police who run the lottery. And....stranger still, no one ever remembers that the killings have happened, even the parents of the sacrificed girls.
If this all sounds a little far-fetched, you have to read this book to see how this amazing author puts it all together in a very believable story centered around Lauren, an extremely likeable and adventurous young teen who is not afraid to go into the woods to the Ghost Tree. In fact, for some reason, she finds this a refuge.
When Lauren's father is killed in these woods, the secret of the habitual rites of this town begins to crumble and the new deputy in town, a member of a Mexican family who live next to the town bigot who thinks that the Mexicans are the root of all of this evil, becomes involved in solving the mystery.
The witches are revealed eventually, but the monster is not until the very end of the story. Only then can you put this together with the folklore involved.
I could not put this book down and read late into the dark night. I loved the characters, even the crazy ones, as they lend so much interest to this story. I give this 5 stars and highly recommend it to fans of Stephen King. Such a good, scary story for those who love this genre!
Find this book and other titles within our catalog.
August 27, 2021
I think I loved this almost as much as her Alice series. I appreciated the classic tale of witches and a cursed town/townspeople, with a clever twist thrown in to mix things up a bit. The fact that no one within the bounds of the curse (aside from 2 ancestral descendants) was able to recall that they were cursed, even as the curse was being enacted each year, was sublimely creepy. Imagine not being able to remember that your daughter/sister/friend had even existed, never mind the fact that they had been brutally murdered. This book solidifies Christina Henry’s place on my list of favourite authors.
October 13, 2020
Everything about this felt very generic and predictable. Also, call me crazy but I'm sure the writer was trying to emulate Stephen King with the writing style in this one?
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