Here Lies Olive

Publication Date: October 2023 | Thanks NetGalley for an ARC

Overall Verdict: If you are very into reading ghost-related material and have exhausted everything else on the topic, give this a read. If not, it may be best to skip this one.

1/5 Stars

Book Summary: Ever since Olive had a near death experience, she has been obsessed with what comes after we die. She has decided to keep everyone at a distance, with the thought that the Nothing that comes after death makes creating relationships pointless. Olive finds herself faced with a ghost, who she strikes a deal with. She will help him locate his unmarked grave if he tells her what comes next in the afterlife. A somewhat unlikely crew bands together on this endeavor in hopes of getting answers and saving the town from some suspicious events that occur.

My Analysis: I had a really tough time getting into this book. The premise sounded interesting, but overall, I just don’t think it was executed well. I really liked the descriptions in the beginning of the dark tourism of the town, but unfortunately it went downhill from there. I think ultimately it would be better suited as a middle grade book (with the removal of some more YA moments) and would appeal more to that audience. Olive’s mental health struggles with death were done well, as were her relationships with the other characters. As much of a horror book as this set out to be however, the supernatural aspects and ghosts represented fell flat. I had thought by the summary that Olive would be the only one able to see the ghost in the story, and I think that would have been much better for the plot. Understanding that some suspension of reality must occur in this genre, the supernatural abilities seemed overly coincidental for the characters who happened to get together in the narrative.