Following a couple of typical, small town teens who live in 'Crow Holler', this book entrenches you in the mountains, in this tight-knit, narrowly defined world surround the characters. The narrator's voice reminds me of listening to my Appalachian relatives talk. You hear the drawl, the shortening of words, some 'a-verbing' here and there. It sets the tone immediately, and the pace of the story slowly builds until chaos reigns and darkness surrounds everyone and everything.
The story is thus:
There's a witch in the woods, off in the mountains. Everyone knows Alvaretta Graves isn't to be messed with, but teens off having fun fear too little. A birthday party gone awry, Cordy, Scarlett, Hays and Naomi unleash something upon the town that must be confronted, with prayer and bibles, guns and redemption.
It's a great mash of genre bending strangeness. A little faith, a little horror, a story of family and friendship, the story of place. The macabre and typical mix wonderfully. The tone is what really does it for me, makes Crow Hollow so vivid, so much like the mountain towns I encountered in my youth. Superstition and a strong Christian faith combine to make folks believe some mighty strange things, and become fiercely loyal to those they love.
Pretty prose and an underlying uneasiness make this a great starlit evening read.
*(I received this book for free for review from Shelf Awareness.)
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