Title: Watch Over Me
Author: Nina LaCour
Published: September 2020, Dutton Books for Young Readers
Format: Hardcover, 272 pages
Source: Publisher
Summary:
Nina LaCour delivers another emotional knockout with Watch Over Me, the eagerly anticipated follow-up to the Printz Award-winning We Are Okay.
Mila
is used to being alone. Maybe that’s why she said yes to the
opportunity: living in this remote place, among the flowers and the fog
and the crash of waves far below.
But she hadn’t known about the ghosts.
Newly
graduated from high school, Mila has aged out of the foster care
system. So when she’s offered a job and a place to stay at a farm on an
isolated part of the Northern California Coast, she immediately accepts.
Maybe she will finally find a new home, a real home. The farm is a
refuge, but also haunted by the past traumas its young residents have
come to escape. And Mila’s own terrible memories are starting to rise to
the surface.
Watch Over Me is another stunner from Printz
Award-Winning author Nina LaCour, whose empathetic, lyrical prose is at
the heart of this modern ghost story of resilience and rebirth.
My thoughts: It’s not often that I read YA, but as soon as I heard about this book, I was intrigued. And I’m so glad I gave it a chance…I really enjoyed it.
This is the type of book that totally gets under your skin. It’s powerful and moving and one that really grabs hold of you and doesn’t let go. I ended up reading this in one sitting because I became so invested in the story. I loved the haunting nature of the book and found that it really worked well with everything that was happening – it never once felt out of place.
I really became quite attached to Mila as the story progresses and only wanted the best for her. I loved the relationships she develops throughout the story, especially with her student and loved how she did her best to take care of him.
This book is about grief and the power it holds over us. It’s also about family and the many ways family can be formed. This is one story I won’t be forgetting anytime soon.
