On Jan. 26, Katherine Tegen Books released Kali Wallace’s debut novel, Shallow Graves. The story stands out among a sea of Young Adult paranormal novels, being a uniquely disturbing story with no real romance to speak of and a touch of horror and mystery that keeps you guessing.
Breezy is a teenage girl who wakes in an unmarked grave one year after her death. She has no idea what she is or how she woke. All she knows is that she can sense when people have killed and feels compelled to take those murderer’s lives through her touch alone. All she has to do is “pull” on their darkness and it unravels into her, giving her their horrifying memories.
In life, Breezy was ambitious. In death she doesn’t know what to do with herself. She travels by way of hitchhiking and her skateboard, trying to find some semblance of meaning in her new world. In her travels she runs into other creatures and cults, making enemies and eventually friends.
Breezy’s world is a dark one. The story has a horror element that weaves through it and we don’t know who she should trust. What makes one creature good and another evil? Are humans so much better? What creates a creature at all? Why is she back? Who made her and why? These are the mysteries that Breezy spends the book trying to comprehend. Some questions are answered, while others leave us pondering.
This book had a unique story line and creatures that I haven’t seen in other Young Adult paranormal novels. While there was a tease of a possible future relationship, I found the lack of real romance refreshing and was rooting for Breezy to find the answers her soul needed to continue. She needed to be alone to discover who she really was. If you like your YA dark and scary, check out this debut novel. I think this author will go on to do great things.
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