On the Day I Died: Stories from the Grave

by Candace Fleming

"Positively tailor-made for reading—or reading aloud—by flashlight," declares Kirkus Reviews in a starred review.

The phenomenally versatile, award-winning author Candace Fleming gives teen and older tween readers ten ghost stories sure to send chills up their spines. Set in White Cemetery, an actual graveyard outside Chicago, each story takes place during a different time period from the 1860s to the present, and ends with the narrator's death. Some teens die heroically, others ironically, but all due to supernatural causes. Readers will meet walking corpses and witness demonic posession, all against the backdrop of Chicago's rich history—the Great Depression, the World's Fair, Al Capone and his fellow gangsters.

Genres: Young Adult, Horror, Short Stories, Fantasy, Fiction, Paranormal, Ghosts

208 pages, Hardcover

First published July 10, 2012

About the author

I have always been a storyteller. Even before I could write my name, I could tell a good tale. And I told them all the time. As a preschooler, I told my neighbors all about my three-legged cat named Spot. In kindergarten, I told my classmates about the ghost that lived in my attic. And in first grade I told my teacher, Miss Harbart, all about my family's trip to Paris, France.

I told such a good story that people always thought I was telling the truth. But I wasn't. I didn't have a three-legged cat or a ghost in my attic, and I'd certainly never been to Paris, France. I simply enjoyed telling a good story... and seeing my listener's reaction.

Sure, some people might have said I was a seven-year old fibber. But not my parents. Instead of calling my stories "fibs" they called them "imaginative." They encouraged me to put my stories down on paper. I did. And amazingly, once I began writing, I couldn't stop. I filled notebook after notebook with stories, poems, plays. I still have many of those notebooks. They're precious to me because they are a record of my writing life from elementary school on.

In second grade, I discovered a passion for language. I can still remember the day my teacher, Miss Johnson, held up a horn-shaped basket filled with papier-mache pumpkins and asked the class to repeat the word "cornucopia." I said it again and again, tasted the word on my lips. I tested it on my ears. That afternoon, I skipped all the way home from school chanting, "Cornucopia! Cornucopia!" From then on, I really began listening to words—to the sounds they made, and the way they were used, and how they made me feel. I longed to put them together in ways that were beautiful, and yet told a story.

As I grew, I continued to write stories. But I never really thought of becoming an author. Instead, I went to college where I discovered yet another passion—history. I didn't realize it then, but studying history is really just an extension of my love of stories. After all, some of the best stories are true ones — tales of heroism and villainy made more incredible by the fact they really happened.

After graduation, I got married and had children. I read to them a lot, and that's when I discovered the joy and music of children's books. I simply couldn't get enough of them. With my two sons in tow, I made endless trips to the library. I read stacks of books. I found myself begging, "Just one more, pleeeeease!" while my boys begged for lights-out and sleep. Then it struck me. Why not write children's books? It seemed the perfect way to combine all the things I loved: stories, musical language, history, and reading. I couldn't wait to get started.

But writing children's books is harder than it looks. For three years I wrote story after story. I sent them to publisher after publisher. And I received rejection letter after rejection letter. Still, I didn't give up. I kept trying until finally one of my stories was pulled from the slush pile and turned into a book. My career as a children's author had begun.

Reviews

[Charlene · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a bizarre, crazy, page turning compilation of short stories. Any librarians, parents, teachers etc... that have or know reluctant readers may want to suggest they read this book.

[Joseph · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kids who haven't read many horror stories might enjoy this more than I did. Since so many of the stories were based on previously told horror stories, they were familiar to me and so I really didn't get much out of them. I enjoyed more reading the last two pages where the author told about the Chicago history and geography that she based these short stories on than the stories themselves.

[Jessie Leigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read This Review & More Like It On My Blog!

This is a creepy love-letter to Chicago, its history and to teens who love to hear things go bump in the night. Though I am slightly too old to be really creeped out by this collection of ten, often vastly different, stories of death and often weirdness (exception: Edgar's story was deceptively creepy and a nice ode to Edgar Allan Poe), I greatly enjoyed this unique frame for short stories. I'm not going to lie, the introduction/the first few pages and Mike's initial experience with a ghost reminded me greatly of Supernatural's pilot episode (woman in white appears mysteriously, "take me home"), but On The Day I Died quickly emerges as a fun, entertaining and weirdly awesome combination of horror and the supernatural; one of Candace Fleming's own unique invention.

From tales of "grow your own aliens" (David, 1941 - 1956) to a more modern form of horror (neglect and abuse - Tracy 1959-1974) the ghosts of each child in White Cemetery each set out to tell their individual tales of woe to Mike, an unwitting participant in this yearly tradition. Though On The Day I Died focuses more on humor, the supernatural, creative forms of evil, etc. than on individual characterization for each ghost, the wide variety of the stories and their respective nature of death is more than enough to involve readers of all ages. Though this book's setting and each child is centered around Chicago, the various nods to other cultures (East Indian fakirs and a Sumerian death chant!) add a nice variety to several of the stories.

The shifts from Mike's POV (third-person omniscient) to the ghosts (told in first person) are not my favorite, but it works here. This is a deftly-handled short story collection, and if some stories (Lily [1982-1999], Scott [1995-2012]) lack the punch of others (Edgar [1853-1870], Evelyn [1877-1893], Rich [1965-1981]), all are still fun, creative and very enjoyable to read.

[Ridgewood Public Library Youth Services · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a collection of short stories about how teenagers have died. It starts with one person who almost dies, but instead gets led to a graveyard. In this haunted place, there are many ghosts, and this person has to listen to each one of their stories before he can leave. Each ghost that is in the graveyard has their own story to tell and dies of a weird phenomenon.

It portrays sadness of people’s regrets, the selfishness and greed of the evil people in the world, and the sad misunderstandings that end up killing the innocent. All that and more is portrayed in this book. It helps show part of the true world with all its sadness and evil.

But it also shows hope, luck, and wisdom that some people had. This book is mainly for entertainment, but it can also show the fight of evil and hope that can be seen in the real world.

I had lots of fun reading these stories. Some of them are sad, some are scary, and some are dark. These stories are unique and each portrays a certain and special mood. I’d suggest this book to anyone who likes dark, but entertaining stories.

- Nicholas, Grade 7

[Agnė · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 out of 5

On the Day I Died: Stories from the Grave is a collection of middle-grade horror/paranormal short stories. Although I did not find the stories particularly creepy or that interesting (I might be too old though, haha), they are fairly well-written, nicely narrated by a full cast (if you happen to listen to an audiobook), and I really enjoyed the author's note about the inspirations for the stories in this book.

[Shirley Revill · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of short stories that I really enjoyed listening to late at night in the dark.
Well you have to set the scene as it adds to the story.The narration was really good and kept me listening to the end. Recommended.

[Norah · Rating 2 out of 5]

I listened to this book with my family on a road trip. This book was just flat out bad.

I May forever be haunted by the 55 pairs of saddle shoes but I think I’ll make it through. All the stories were some of the most unhinged pieces of literature I’ve ever come across.

Carolann’s story was quick and got straight to the point and she was a nice girl so it was chill.

Mike was chill. He was genuinely nice guy and I had no problems with him.

Freaking David’s story could not have been any worse. I could not wait for it to end. It was far too much for me.

Lily may have been my number one opp in this book. The narrators voice was quite interesting. I think the only thing that made this story scary was the amount of times I heard “Colin”😍😍

Edgar. I just don’t even know. It was disturbing and odd and I hated every second of it.

Gina, hers didn’t suck but she obviously isn’t familiar with the classic story of ‘The Boy Who Cried Wolf’

Tracy. Wow. Some of these deaths are just flat out stupid. Tracy was a villain and I was waiting in anticipation for her to die.

Evelyn and Blanche. I don’t think they were supposed to make me laugh as hard as I did. But I loved how savage they were. I didn’t care for the scary part I just cared about what the twins said to each other.

Scott. He didn’t suck and made a respectable choice to leave the asylum. His death was quite dumb.

Johnny was supposed to be that bad boy that cool robber tough guy. He was so annoying and he had his death coming and I didn’t care for him or his story.

Rich was actually a decent guy. His story sucked but he was an actually nice person who I wasn’t waiting for his death. His death was also dumb but ok

But overall I think I would have really liked this book if I were younger. I think this would be a great book for littler kids.

[Miles Johnson · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is just ten stories about pretentious children dying. With the majority of the children being obnoxious and horrible people I was on the edge of my seat eager for the demise of the children leaving the stories without any thrills or scares.

The book is definitely for a younger audience but the content within is weirdly unhinged with references to Al Capone and the short story The Yellow Wallpaper and left widely unrecommendable to anyone.

There was definitely some enjoyment to be found though. There were many comical moments—though I don’t think humor was the intention—such as a girl wanting to kill her twin or the horrifying scare of discovering 55 pairs of saddle shoes.

Overall this book sucked but those saddle shoes will haunt me forever.

[Ella_C1 · Rating 4 out of 5]

When a teen is driving too fast he meets a lonely girl who has a story to tell. It leads him to her mother's house who tells her she was dead! He then meets many late kids his age in a cemetery and they need to tell him their story for them to move on. The theme of this book is to live life to the fullest because the kids who had died had taken life for granted. People who would like this like horror stories or just fiction. The main message from this book is don't go knocking on death's door. Enjoy!

[Dallin Isom · Rating 2 out of 5]

I listened to this on the way back from vacation with my in-laws and it was so bad. None of the characters were actually likable, or even good people, the writing was hard to listen to, and the stories were unhinged. It only gets two stars because at least we had some good laughs about some of the lines. Shout-out to Blanche and Evelyn for being absolutely nuts but having the most hilarious story.

[Grant Johnson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Would be a 1 star if I didn’t have such a good time laughing at (not with) the goofiest lines I’ve ever heard. Blanche and Evelyn were savage, making them my favorite chapter. Tracy was a villain and needed to be stopped.

[Junyi Yue · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this 4 years ago and randomly remembered it, but this book is so interesting because there are so many small stories in the book which (in the end) link to one whole story. I reread this book for about 6 times because every time I read it, the story becomes creepier for some reason. Probably because my imagination is really dark but I totally recommend this book to anyone because it's just really, really good.

[Aly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a creepy collection of stories, told by teenage ghosts. I liked how they spanned about 150 years and each had it's own strange and paranormal elements to it.

[Amity · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was fine for its intended audience, and could serve as a good intro to different types of horror or a recommendation for the kid who has read every Goosebumps book already. I also liked the Chicagoland setting and different time periods. However, I wasn't a fan of all the random fatphobia? Kinda soured it for me a little.

Overall, 2.5 brand new saddle shoes out of 5.

[Rachel S · Rating 3 out of 5]

Before I start my proper review, I need to point out a little something about this book. On The Day I Died is a collection of short stories within one story. Now, I know that barely makes any sense so I'll try to make what I'm saying a tad clearer. The book starts off with Mike, a teenage boy rushing home late one night as it's past his curfew. After a series of 'events' leads him to a graveyard, he meets a group of ghosts who, one at a time, go on to narrate the story (in first person) behind each of their deaths.

One thing I pride myself on is that, given the chance and if the book appeals to me, I will read a horror/paranormal/ghost book. I love scaring myself silly with horror movies so I suppose that's why I don't mind so much with those types of books. However, I will warn you in advance; do not read this book after your family has gone to bed! It's not terrifying as such - it is recommended for eleven year olds and up after all - but if you have an overactive imagination (like myself) then every creak upstairs turns into the boogeyman coming after you! ;3

Each of the stories were unique and likeable, but if I were to pick a favourite, it would probably be either Gina's or Evelyn's. Admittedly, those aren't the creepiest stories (Johnnie's probably wins that round) but, for some reason, I really enjoyed them. The ending to Evelyn's story, although sad, was a little touching too. As was Lily's. But I'd be here all day if I were to go into detail about each one. Instead I'll just tell you that each narrator has an individual voice and an unusual story to tell. You'll want to read this book first-hand to know where I'm coming from though! ;) And just to intrigue you even more... I hope you get your happy ending, Lily!

Oh yes, another thing that might interest you. Each of these ghost stories contains a little truth. At the end - in 'A Note from the Author' - Fleming goes on to tell us facts about the parts of each story that were based on the truth. It's actually really interesting as where this book is set, Chicago, is where Fleming lives. For instance, White Cemetery (the graveyard this book's set in), is just outside of her city! But enough of my rambling.

So with Halloween just around the corner, On The Day I Died is the perfect read for after your trick-or-treating. ;) With unique, unusual stories and a bunch of individual, different voices, this book would be perfect if you're stuck in the house bored. Even though it's not made it into my favourites, it's still a likeable read. If this appeals to you, go for it - it'll only take a few hours out of your time anyway! :)

[Sharon Tyler · Rating 4 out of 5]

On the Day I Died: Stories from the Grave by Candace Fleming is a middle grade and young adult book scheduled for release on July 10 2012. I would recommend it for older children, around eleven through middle and high school students due to the ages of the protagonists and spooky nature. The frame of the story is one teenage boy's drive home. Mike is driving home, too fast and not paying enough attention to the road. A girl on the road brings him to a stop, and despite his mother's repeated phone calls, he drives her home. This encounter gets stranger, and brings him to the girl's grave to return her shoes. There he is surrounded by their graves, and ghosts, of teens that died far too young and need to tell the tales of how they died. Some tales have a supernatural leaning, others ironic, and others tragic. In the background there are historical facts offered in a way that will capture the imagination. The stories are engaging and just creepy enough to give you goosebumps, but not to keep readers awake at night.

Who doesn't love a good ghost story? On the Day I Died bundles short ghost stories in the frame of another. It works beautifully. The stories contain threads of real events, real places, and urban legends woven together to create a fascinating whole. I loved that the cemetery where the story telling takes place is real, and has stories about hauntings surrounding it. While most of the urban legends and historical locations are from the Chicago area, most are ones that can still resonate with readers that have never been near Chicago. Doesn't every area have a legend about a ghostly girl getting a ride home? In my area she leaves behind a shawl or jacket rather than her shoes, but the idea is the same. Despite the local history and landmarks of Chicago used, most of these stories could happen anywhere, if you believe in that sort of thing of course.

I highly recommend On the Day I Died to readers age eleven and older, including teens and adults. I think middle school and high school aged students that like scary stories and ghost stories will be very happy with this book. I felt nostalgic, thinking of the Goosebumps book series (which is still going strong) and television show (which I have seen reappear) that I fondly remember being first released. Those that like the Scary Story series of short story collections, will love this book. Anyone that likes ghost stories, urban legends, and spooky tales will enjoy this collection.

[Jen V · Rating 5 out of 5]

Honestly, Candace Fleming can do now wrong when it comes to writing amazing books! I recently read The One and Only Barnum and had Amelia Lost on my list of books to read, too, when I requested this from NetGalley. I assumed it would be non-fiction but when I started reading, I realized it's a book of ghost stories! I totally wasn't expecting this but the idea behind the telling of the stories was great and all the stories were captivating.

I love that they are all set in or around Chicago. I drive by the road that the White Cemetery is on on my way to and from work...actually that's kind of creepy and I'm sure I'll think about it all the time now!

I'm always looking for scary stories for students that are at the same time quality stories. So many of my students love to be spooked but I don't seek out ghost stories myself. I can't wait to tell them about this book!

Thanks to Random House for providing the ARC to me through NetGalley.

[Vicky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Who hasn’t sat around a campfire telling ghost stories? Or under a blanket with a flashlight? We’ve all heard them – the ones like the ghostly hitchhiker or the haunted insane asylum. They are part and parcel of growing up. In this book, Ms. Fleming has taken nine stories, all of which I’m familiar with, and given them a new spin. In this case, all of them have some basis on a factual incident – giving them a ghostly twist worthy of those campfires. They are all tied together by Mike, a character caught and forced to listen to the ghosts as they tell their stories.

Sure to stir the imagination and tickle the nerves, these are creepy, but fun stories and quick reads. Definitely recommended for ages 11 and up, especially for those who like to read ghostly stories.

[Evelyn (devours and digests words) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommended for fans of the dark.

I read this in a local library for hours on end. I wouldn't go home until dark.

Let me tell you, this book is a piece of work. This is the kind of scary I've been looking for in a horror book.

Stories from the Grave is actually like a collection of short stories narrated by different *dead* people and in different point of views. The setting? An abandoned teenager graveyard!

If you ever pick up this book. Be prepared to face...

Psychopaths who just love arson

Angry gargoyles

The Demented

Cursed Objects

Sci-fi Monsters

5 super stars for this!

[Cait S · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love stumbling across hidden gems because of challenges! I picked this one up just needing to read a book with a cemetery on the cover and I'm so pleased I did. Each story in this collection is gripping and creepy and well fleshed out in its own right. From beginning to end, every new thread added to the whole picture is unique and would be an interesting story all on its own.

Very short and fast but doesn't lack at all in details and great world building. Honestly nothing bad to say about this one, just a great read.

[✦BookishlyRichie✦ · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is YA but it should be considered Middle-Grade.
The first 5 pages were great but when the ghosts began telling their stories
everything went to crap. The stories were so boring... I.... just can't.
I wouldn't recommend this... I was so close to slamming it on the ground... I haven't been this pissed at a book since "The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer".

[Kiki · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was clearly for a younger audience (I was 13 when I read it), but it was still very entertaining. The stories were creative and wonderfully weird. I might read it again sometime.

[Tricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was amazing.

[Ashley Marie Lukosunas · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was such a fun, quick read and if you love ghost stories then you love it!

I came across this one while browing the shelfs of my library and when I read the summary I was instantly captured when I seen it takes place in and around Chicago which is where I’m from so naturally I checked this one out!

This story is about a boy named Matt who while driving home one night sees a girl by the side of the road and pulls over to give her a ride home. Once he drops her off he realizes she has left her new shoes in his car so he drives up to her house to return them only to find out she has been dead for over fifty years and her mother says every year on the anniversary of her death she finds a ride home and leave behind her shoes. She then tells Matt he can go place them on her grave to which he does. Once at the graveyard he sees it is a graveyard full of teenagers. He then gets met by the ghosts of all the kids and they all want to tell him the stories of their deaths.

The really fun part is reading about the different eras and all the landmarks and cities of Chicago that I have grown up to love. I especially loved getting to learn more about Chicago since the stories are based off of local tales! If you are a fan of ghost stories or Chicago then Im sure you will enjoy this as much as I did!

[Mimi · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderfully detailed book of spooky stories that would have stolen my attention for years if I’d read it as a preteen! I loved the author’s intentional Chicagoland references and research. So much fun to read, even as a college student. I will definitely be showing these stories to my sister for her son.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are some truly eerie ghost stories in this book, but nothing too dark. It helps that you know the kids are going to die in each story so you're not too shocked when it happens. It was exactly what I was in the mood for and an appropriate book for the week before Halloween.

[Anita · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun, spooky stories! I wasn't familiar with these scary tales before and enjoyed reading about their origins at the back of the book.

[Ariel · Rating 5 out of 5]

So cool
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[Sharon Skinner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Candace Fleming shows she can do more than write engaging non-fiction in this collection of ghostly stories. I really enjoyed the way that she revived a worn standard ghost story by using it to bookend the collection. A fun and fast read.

[Anomaly · Rating 1 out of 5]

Mike - 2/5

The first story follows Mike Kowalski - presumably no relation to the former Beach Boys drummer - and his time in the cemetery. It sets up the premise for the ghost stories, while itself also being a ghost story. The kind, mind you, that is telegraphed from ten miles away and extremely obvious from the moment said ghost appears as a character.

While I like the concept, I found the execution lacking. Mike spends way too much time with 'a voice in his head' that makes him seem mentally ill despite seemingly just being his inner thoughts. He's also dumb as sin - ignores his mother's worried calls instead of sending her a message or answering and even just lying that his car broke down or somesuch when he drives to the cemetery. The whole thing with the shoes doesn't make much sense, either, unless ghosts can just manifest objects into reality on a whim. And if they can do that, then they could just manifest a whole book full of their stories instead of harassing random teens who drive by their territory.

Gina - 3/5

A pathological liar insists she 'only told stories' despite having reached the point of "The Beatles gave me a record player for Christmas with a handwritten note from Ringo attached" and pretending the popular jock she barely crossed paths with flirted with her. She gives a sob story about it being a coping mechanism, then tells her death story.

Did you guess it's a "girl who cried wolf" scenario? Let's be honest: it's obvious. But for the obvious theme, this tale makes a tangled braid of the expected tropes and ends in a way I didn't see coming. I was surprised how much I liked a story with such an obnoxious main character.

Johnnie - 3/5

Look, I'll always be a sucker for the way characters from the 1920s and 1930s speak, so it would've taken a lot to make me dislike Johnnie. No, I quite enjoyed his tale - especially the part where an abusive jerk gets comeuppance. But the ending left me feeling a bit annoyed, and I can't help feeling weird about the 'magic' element.

Scott - 1/5

A "big-gutted" man is referred to constantly as Gut Guy and a young woman is referred to as being so skinny she "could stand to eat a few donuts." I suppose I should be glad the author and/or character (it's hard to decide, since the writing is in first person POV) is an equal opportunity jackass... but I'm not. How about we stop putting body shaming bullshit in literature aimed at kids?

Scott is an arrogant jerk, so frankly the best part of his tale is when he dies. It's kind of a boring story, too.

David - 1/5

A dog and a cat (and some people, but I have my priorities in fiction okay) die because a child is too ignorant to follow directions. That is my takeaway from this one, though it's merely an inconsequential portion of the story. I hated David's little sister, Toni, who was basically the child version of a "too stupid to live" character.

Too ridiculous to be scary, this reads like one of the less entertaining Goosebumps books - the ones you'd check out at the library and be bored of by the halfway mark and wish you'd picked a different installment instead. There are far too many faux/parody brand names and even the action scenes are boring. This also isn't a paranormal story, and that irks me.

There's a level of suspended disbelief for paranormal stories, which this book had been until now. But adding something akin to the lovechild of the blob and a gremlin? And it happened as recently as 1958 in the same town where Mike lives? No. Suspension of disbelief: impossible.

Evelyn - 1/5

A man is described as chubby and "resembling a walrus"... by a character who has spent her entire life feeling the impact of being taunted and deemed less of a person for her appearance. Said man speaks of an "obese governor who lived only for his next meal." It's here where I began to suspect the body shaming and disdain toward 'fat' people came not from the characters but rather the author, and that's a major problem for me - especially in a book aimed at impressionable, young folk.

That aside, this tale was nothing noteworthy. Blah, blah, deal with devil. Blah, scary mirror. Blah, unpleasant and potentially racist caricature of a Middle Eastern man for mystic magician wooooooooo purposes. I was so bored that I started dozing off when reading it.

Lily - 1/5

You could say I’d gorged myself on Shakespeare (which is way better than gorging yourself on a bag of Milky Way miniatures)

And I could say consuming comfort food is way better than being a fatphobic jerkass, but here we are with a story aimed at children glorifying that a character ate an apple for lunch because she was 'on a diet.' Were this challenged or actually mentioned as unhealthy, I'd be okay with it. But it's all portrayed as merely background information.

This one contains the typo "all that glisters is not gold," emphasis mine, which frankly sums it all up nicely. Mediocre, predictable story. I mean, it's literally a monkey paw story; we all know where it goes.

Also? When a teenage girl in 1999 cries out for her injured boyfriend with "Wake up! Please, my heart, my love!" I instantly one-star a story because no. Just no.

Rich - 3/5

“[...]We could have gotten our friggin’ butts flattened back there,” I told him, although friggin’ and butt weren’t exactly the words I used.

Pet peeve: trying to be clever when making language age-appropriate. This makes literally no sense in the context of a ghost telling a story; he has no reason to censor himself. So just use the words necessary and don't acknowledge them as being euphemisms.

That said, I actually kind of liked this one. It felt more original and managed to maintain my interest.

Edgar - 2/5

A young boy is emotionally abused by his father for being mentally ill - complete with sadly timeframe-appropriate ableism about mental illness. His pathetic mother sits idly by while this happens, her only sign of 'courage' rebelling enough to say goodbye when he's sent away and her husband told her she wasn't allowed to do so. Oh, and she spends that moment begging forgiveness for "not being strong enough to stand up to [her husband]." Dis-gus-ting.

It's a heartbreaking and infuriating story, not even seemingly paranormal in nature. It's just a story about what happened when a mental ailment went untreated in someone hidden away like a shameful secret instead of given proper treatment. This one struck me as too realistic for the collection, making it feel more like a shock value mockery than a story focusing on the tragedy of what happened.

Tracy - DNF

The sow pushed open the screen door with her dough-fat hand, and a smell like dirty scalp escaped from the house. I wasn’t surprised.

Ah, yes. Another entry for the ever-growing list of evidence this author is fatphobic. How quaint.

The social worker standing next to me tried to peer past the sow’s fleshy bulk into the house.

Make that two entries.

She straightened her beefy shoulders, tried to push out her sagging-to-the-waist boobs.

Three strikes, your body shaming ass is fucking out. DNF this one because I could not possibly care less how or why the miserable brat narrating it died. Also? Those quotes appeared all within the first two pages. While skipping through this one, I skimmed at least four more instances of disgusting body shaming. I'm sure there were even more I didn't see.

Ending - 2/5

“See ya, schmuck,” Johnnie called out.
“But not too soon,” Gina hastily added.

Eh. I guess it was alright. Anticlimactic, but a nice ribbon to tie up everything.

Author's Notes

Yeah, so. The story of a Catholic school burnt down and an asylum where inmates were abused? The author didn't just draw these from horror tropes. She appropriated them from real life stories of actual locations in the area where she set her story. I'm aware this is a common thing in a lot of horror media, including those I adore, but something about having it so proudly and blatantly admitted rubs me the wrong way.

Also, I'm going to leave this quote here with no comment:

I simply knew that the story was a spine-tingling mixture of maniacal Gypsy, magical object and mangled corpse rising from the grave. Scary, good fun!

...and then back away slowly.

Overall - 1.7/5

Nope. What a waste of time! Mostly boring with only a few worthwhile stories, this collection is far too rife with fatphobic storytelling and body shaming for me to even consider suggesting it for the target audience. I mean, if it can make a grown woman feel uncomfortable in her own skin, imagine how young readers who are insecure about their bodies will feel!

Though this covers teens, the writing style is more middle grade. Yet there's a lot of questionable content for kids that young. Overall, it's just a mess.

I regret my choice to finish this one, and due to the above issues I'm rounding its average of stars down to stay at 1/5.