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Cemetery Girl
Sketching was always a special gift and talent for Janie. It was her release from the pressures of growing up and her escape from feeling like she didn’t fit in. One day while sitting and creating illustrations in a cemetery, “special” took on a whole new meaning for Janie. Her drawing appears to reveal a hidden message from beyond the grave where she was drawing. Journey with Janie as she comes to realize that sometimes images can say more than words. With the help of her friends, she searches for the meaning behind the messages being revealed to her. As she tries to unravel the mystery, she also tries to make sense of her growing feelings for two special her best friend Bobby, and a new student at school Keith, who just arrived from California with his dad, a deep tan, and his own car.
246 pages, Paperback
First published September 21, 2011
4455 people want to read
About the author
Joseph Cognard
5 books324 followersOne of my main interests, and, what I am so passionate about, being an author, is the joy of writing dialogue. I will often write the entire conversation of a chapter, and then complete the rest. So far, although both my books have been primarily Young Adult in nature, I do strive to make them appeal to all genres and audiences. I am not certain if I will remain in YA style forever, but, the stories I have written felt right in that area. I receive great enjoyment in creating puzzles or drama in my books, and , I love to see how the charaters will react. In addition to that, I also enjoy having multiple endings in mind when I write something, for that allows me to really let the charaters react freely, thus, making for a most interesting novel.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 49 reviews
April 30, 2019
A single cemetery evokes a variety of emotions.
Vanessa feels that a graveyard does not serve as the grooviest hang-out spot, even if it is private. Bobby sees the tombstones as mini history lessons, where Keith certainly seems to be searching for some kind of connection. But to Janie, the Cemetery Girl, comes comfort…even if the tombs tend to tickle a sort-of sixth sense.
None of the friends are wrong. Inside of the fence, there are stories to be shared. Sadly, the souls with so much to say cannot communicate with the family and friends that need to hear these messages. Maybe they haven’t found the right medium.
While I’ve devoured and delighted in tons of tales centered around tombstones, The Cemetery Girl by Joseph Cognard presents a premier plot. And one I’m particularly pleased with. Sneaky subtleties slowly show that the puzzle the kids are trying to solve is actually only one part of a much larger portrait.
I really enjoyed the character interactions and the layers that wove the story together, and wrapped it up, leaving just enough left-over to have me hoping for more.
This review was written by jv poore for Buried Under Books.
Vanessa feels that a graveyard does not serve as the grooviest hang-out spot, even if it is private. Bobby sees the tombstones as mini history lessons, where Keith certainly seems to be searching for some kind of connection. But to Janie, the Cemetery Girl, comes comfort…even if the tombs tend to tickle a sort-of sixth sense.
None of the friends are wrong. Inside of the fence, there are stories to be shared. Sadly, the souls with so much to say cannot communicate with the family and friends that need to hear these messages. Maybe they haven’t found the right medium.
While I’ve devoured and delighted in tons of tales centered around tombstones, The Cemetery Girl by Joseph Cognard presents a premier plot. And one I’m particularly pleased with. Sneaky subtleties slowly show that the puzzle the kids are trying to solve is actually only one part of a much larger portrait.
I really enjoyed the character interactions and the layers that wove the story together, and wrapped it up, leaving just enough left-over to have me hoping for more.
This review was written by jv poore for Buried Under Books.
February 18, 2013
Cemetery Girl follows Janie Kelly, a New York teenaged girl, over the course of a few months. Along the way we get to see what happens to her, meet her friends and discover her special talent related to her drawing.
I really did enjoy the story. It's quite gentle and bittersweet, and I did come to care about the characters and what happens to them. It captures the whole 'being a teenager' part of life quite well—school, family, friends, fears, worries, relationships—and the narration does give the feeling that you're listening to a group of teens telling their story.
The characters are mostly likeable. Vanessa is a bit of hard work on occasion, but then there are teenaged girls who can be that way! The author steered clear of the overused high school situations you see so often—although Janie is a bit different due to her talent, on the whole she fits in and isn't some kind of outcast loner. The new kid, Keith, doesn't show up and cause immediate chaos as so often happens—well, except for being new and interesting, and particularly good looking, which causes something of a stir among the girls! Although there are occasionally some personality clashes and misunderstandings, there isn't an insane level of nastiness among the kids.
It seems as well that the author is familiar with the area the book is set in, and that it's somewhere he appreciates. Various places are mentioned, and there's some background to some of those places which gives it more of a 'real' feeling. The supernatural side of the story is quite minimal—limited to Janie's talent—so if you're expecting vamps or weres, you won't find them here.
There are some cute illustrations included, which were drawn by the author's daughter. I think they added a nice touch to the book, since art is so important to the story.
All in all, this is a gentle tale that would be perfectly suitable for older children or younger teens.
I should probably add that I received a free e-book edition of Cemetery Girl from the author in return for an honest review—thanks Joe!
I really did enjoy the story. It's quite gentle and bittersweet, and I did come to care about the characters and what happens to them. It captures the whole 'being a teenager' part of life quite well—school, family, friends, fears, worries, relationships—and the narration does give the feeling that you're listening to a group of teens telling their story.
The characters are mostly likeable. Vanessa is a bit of hard work on occasion, but then there are teenaged girls who can be that way! The author steered clear of the overused high school situations you see so often—although Janie is a bit different due to her talent, on the whole she fits in and isn't some kind of outcast loner. The new kid, Keith, doesn't show up and cause immediate chaos as so often happens—well, except for being new and interesting, and particularly good looking, which causes something of a stir among the girls! Although there are occasionally some personality clashes and misunderstandings, there isn't an insane level of nastiness among the kids.
It seems as well that the author is familiar with the area the book is set in, and that it's somewhere he appreciates. Various places are mentioned, and there's some background to some of those places which gives it more of a 'real' feeling. The supernatural side of the story is quite minimal—limited to Janie's talent—so if you're expecting vamps or weres, you won't find them here.
There are some cute illustrations included, which were drawn by the author's daughter. I think they added a nice touch to the book, since art is so important to the story.
All in all, this is a gentle tale that would be perfectly suitable for older children or younger teens.
I should probably add that I received a free e-book edition of Cemetery Girl from the author in return for an honest review—thanks Joe!
July 22, 2013
I received a PDF copy of this book directly from the author in exchange for an honest review.
Janie is a high school girl who lives for art. She is an excellent artist and a good student. While she is sociable enough, she enjoys being in the peace and quiet of a nearby cemetery and drawing on her art pad. This is something I can relate to because I too draw and paint and have always enjoyed being alone with paper, drawing pencils, paint, and brushes.
Janie first met Vanessa when they started middle school. The bus picked Janie up in front of the cemetery and Vanessa gave her the nickname "Cemetery Girl" for this reason. It was not meant as an insult or put down. The school they were starting at was hard to get in and it was a grade 1-8 school (as a girl in Atlanta, I went to a K-7 school as high school in Atlanta in the 1960's and 1970's was 8-12)so the other kids already knew one another and had their friendships established. Two snooty clique girls introduced themselves to Vanessa and ignored Janie. When it was time for high school, they all went to the one across the street.
I like Janie a lot. If I was a teen, I would definitely try to become her friend. I also like her Asian male friend Bobby who is a nice guy. Both are appealing characters though the bitchy clique girls are not nor is Vanessa who is too wishy washy for my taste.
One day, Janie's volleyball practice was cancelled and since her mom did errands on volleyball practice day and Janie had lost her house keys (but hadn't confessed that to Mom yet), she decided to go to the cemetery and draw for a while since she would not be able to get into the house. Something very odd happened. Janie sat beside a grave and drew a photo of a young musician with a funny mustache with a guitar. Just as she completed it, an elderly widow shows up and says it looks just exactly like the man in the grave who was her husband who died in 1963! Not only that but when the lady went home and then saw Janie another day, she told Janie she had been looking for some tapes her husband recorded in his home studio with Buddy Holly when Holly was starting out as a singer. When Holly died tragically in a crash, the lady's husband (who also played with people like Louis Armstrong and Frank Sinatra) did not release the tapes but the lady now needs money and was looking for them to sell.
The woman gave Janie $1 for the drawing but the second time around, she gave her $200. Janie goes both times to her friend Bobby who is skeptical but when he researches the dead man and they find out about him and that he looked exactly like the drawing Janie (who had never heard of him) did, Bobby figures out that if the dead are asked something, Janie will draw the answer as given to her by the dead. He does a test of three drawings after researching three people buried in the cemetery and after asking each dead person in the grave a question, he sets Janie to draw whatever comes to mind. She passes the test!
What would you do if you had such a gift? Help people for free? Charge money and make a career of it? What did Janie do? What would others think if they found out. You'll have to read this and see!
I think this is a wonderful concept for a YA novel. I love the idea of a high school girl who discovers she has this gift. I also like the Janie's art that illustrates the book.
Okay, so what did I not like? I did promise to be totally honest and I am going to be. This book need a serious editing. There are quite a few grammatical errors including punctuation errors and some bad word choices and very awkward phrasing. Teens may not notice but college educated adults like me definitely do and it is distracting as if no one cared enough to do a professional editing job. If this was turned in as-is to a literary agent or to a publisher for consideration, they would turn it down because they deem manuscripts with these kind and number of errors as being unprofessional. This I know from literary agent and book editor friends.
Still, it is a fun read even with the grammatical problems.
Janie is a high school girl who lives for art. She is an excellent artist and a good student. While she is sociable enough, she enjoys being in the peace and quiet of a nearby cemetery and drawing on her art pad. This is something I can relate to because I too draw and paint and have always enjoyed being alone with paper, drawing pencils, paint, and brushes.
Janie first met Vanessa when they started middle school. The bus picked Janie up in front of the cemetery and Vanessa gave her the nickname "Cemetery Girl" for this reason. It was not meant as an insult or put down. The school they were starting at was hard to get in and it was a grade 1-8 school (as a girl in Atlanta, I went to a K-7 school as high school in Atlanta in the 1960's and 1970's was 8-12)so the other kids already knew one another and had their friendships established. Two snooty clique girls introduced themselves to Vanessa and ignored Janie. When it was time for high school, they all went to the one across the street.
I like Janie a lot. If I was a teen, I would definitely try to become her friend. I also like her Asian male friend Bobby who is a nice guy. Both are appealing characters though the bitchy clique girls are not nor is Vanessa who is too wishy washy for my taste.
One day, Janie's volleyball practice was cancelled and since her mom did errands on volleyball practice day and Janie had lost her house keys (but hadn't confessed that to Mom yet), she decided to go to the cemetery and draw for a while since she would not be able to get into the house. Something very odd happened. Janie sat beside a grave and drew a photo of a young musician with a funny mustache with a guitar. Just as she completed it, an elderly widow shows up and says it looks just exactly like the man in the grave who was her husband who died in 1963! Not only that but when the lady went home and then saw Janie another day, she told Janie she had been looking for some tapes her husband recorded in his home studio with Buddy Holly when Holly was starting out as a singer. When Holly died tragically in a crash, the lady's husband (who also played with people like Louis Armstrong and Frank Sinatra) did not release the tapes but the lady now needs money and was looking for them to sell.
The woman gave Janie $1 for the drawing but the second time around, she gave her $200. Janie goes both times to her friend Bobby who is skeptical but when he researches the dead man and they find out about him and that he looked exactly like the drawing Janie (who had never heard of him) did, Bobby figures out that if the dead are asked something, Janie will draw the answer as given to her by the dead. He does a test of three drawings after researching three people buried in the cemetery and after asking each dead person in the grave a question, he sets Janie to draw whatever comes to mind. She passes the test!
What would you do if you had such a gift? Help people for free? Charge money and make a career of it? What did Janie do? What would others think if they found out. You'll have to read this and see!
I think this is a wonderful concept for a YA novel. I love the idea of a high school girl who discovers she has this gift. I also like the Janie's art that illustrates the book.
Okay, so what did I not like? I did promise to be totally honest and I am going to be. This book need a serious editing. There are quite a few grammatical errors including punctuation errors and some bad word choices and very awkward phrasing. Teens may not notice but college educated adults like me definitely do and it is distracting as if no one cared enough to do a professional editing job. If this was turned in as-is to a literary agent or to a publisher for consideration, they would turn it down because they deem manuscripts with these kind and number of errors as being unprofessional. This I know from literary agent and book editor friends.
Still, it is a fun read even with the grammatical problems.
March 22, 2013
I was given this book by the author in exchange for an honest review.
Cemetery Girl by Joseph Cognard is about Janie, a girl who finds out she has an unexpected talent-- when she draws pictures in the cemetery, it reveals secrets from the dead who are buried there. To make things more complicated, she has to deal with high school life, jealous girls, and a guy that she likes. She also has to figure out how far her power goes, and do so without having people think she's crazy.
I really liked the starting idea-- there are so many ways this could be developed. I have heard similar ideas, but not one exactly like this.
But then, this book fell into the dreaded Did Not Finish pile. I struggled through 60% of this book, then read the last chapter to make sure I wasn't missing too much. But I couldn't bring myself to read the rest of it. Here were my issues. First, the prose, dialogue, and characters really felt like they were much younger than teenagers. From the way they were described and how they spoke, I got the sense they were between the ages of 8-10, not 16. Second, this book should have been entirely Janie's, but we get bounced back and forth in different people's heads, which made it disorienting and hard to follow. Third, the plot seems to go everywhere. I was interested in the central idea, but it was almost like the characters completely forgot about it for 50 pages and then were like, oh yeah, didn't we have something we were doing? Lastly, I know this book was edited (and I appreciate the effort) so this must be a huge improvement on what it was before. However, there are still plenty of errors scattered around to make it distracting to read.
Overall, this book was definitely not for me.
Cemetery Girl by Joseph Cognard is about Janie, a girl who finds out she has an unexpected talent-- when she draws pictures in the cemetery, it reveals secrets from the dead who are buried there. To make things more complicated, she has to deal with high school life, jealous girls, and a guy that she likes. She also has to figure out how far her power goes, and do so without having people think she's crazy.
I really liked the starting idea-- there are so many ways this could be developed. I have heard similar ideas, but not one exactly like this.
But then, this book fell into the dreaded Did Not Finish pile. I struggled through 60% of this book, then read the last chapter to make sure I wasn't missing too much. But I couldn't bring myself to read the rest of it. Here were my issues. First, the prose, dialogue, and characters really felt like they were much younger than teenagers. From the way they were described and how they spoke, I got the sense they were between the ages of 8-10, not 16. Second, this book should have been entirely Janie's, but we get bounced back and forth in different people's heads, which made it disorienting and hard to follow. Third, the plot seems to go everywhere. I was interested in the central idea, but it was almost like the characters completely forgot about it for 50 pages and then were like, oh yeah, didn't we have something we were doing? Lastly, I know this book was edited (and I appreciate the effort) so this must be a huge improvement on what it was before. However, there are still plenty of errors scattered around to make it distracting to read.
Overall, this book was definitely not for me.
June 30, 2016
I absolutely loved this book. It is a wonderful read for all ages and grabs your attention right from the beginning. This book kept me interested right up until the end. At times, I found myself laughing, feeling sad, and excited. It is a sweet story of a girl named Janie who just so happens to like drawing in the cemetery. Vanessa (her best friend) gave her the nickname of cemetery girl. It takes you through her school years and friendships that she has made while growing up. She learns a lot about herself and her drawing with the help of her friends Vanessa, Bobby, Keith, and a woman named Arlene Mabbit.
You will find her getting into trouble with her friends, falling in love, and growing up, as all kids do. You will even find out why she feels such inspiration while drawing in the cemetery. I won't tell you anything else because I don't want to give anything away. However, I will tell you that it is definitely worth the read. Joseph Cognard has a great way of getting you close enough to the characters that you actually feel that you are part of their group. I give this book five stars.
Joseph Cognard
You will find her getting into trouble with her friends, falling in love, and growing up, as all kids do. You will even find out why she feels such inspiration while drawing in the cemetery. I won't tell you anything else because I don't want to give anything away. However, I will tell you that it is definitely worth the read. Joseph Cognard has a great way of getting you close enough to the characters that you actually feel that you are part of their group. I give this book five stars.
Joseph Cognard
October 6, 2013
Janie is a high school junior trying to fit in with her classmates which is about to get harder when a new guy joins their class and she develops the ability to channel the dead.
Aside from the volleyball championship going on a bit too long for my taste and a few typos, I loved the book.
The crisp and descriptive narrative help drive the story as Janie and pals try to find their way and who they are, both as individuals and amongst others. The later journey is done both subtly and explicitly.
Often emotional dialogue shows how the characters are defined and growing throughout the story. Even side characters are defined to a point and help to show the different cliques/groups present in high school.
Overall, a fun read!
Aside from the volleyball championship going on a bit too long for my taste and a few typos, I loved the book.
The crisp and descriptive narrative help drive the story as Janie and pals try to find their way and who they are, both as individuals and amongst others. The later journey is done both subtly and explicitly.
Often emotional dialogue shows how the characters are defined and growing throughout the story. Even side characters are defined to a point and help to show the different cliques/groups present in high school.
Overall, a fun read!
November 25, 2012
Wonderful young adult paranormal romance story for teens. Very clean and fun. I love how this story incorporates art and the paranormal, it's a lovely twist! The characters personalities are strong and conflicts are dealt with wisely and true to real-life. Very enjoyable read. I received this book as a gift!
October 6, 2012
Cemetery Girl is a funny and entertaining book. Janie is a young girl dealing with all the things growing up brings and with a special ability.
The story moves with an interesting rhythm. Most books have all the tension accumulated at one point of the book. Cemetery girl is like a rollercoaster. More than once, you get anxious and you see a key moment arriving. Suddenly the situation is solved and a new one start and again you beginning to wait for the resolution of a new part of the story.
I really like that about that book because it felt real. It was like something that can happen for real. In real life not everything has a beginning, a middle and an end. You have thousands of that, reality changes every 5 seconds. The situations, problems, mysteries are solved but you find a new one in the next step.
Janie is a lovely character. Is one of those you can imagine as your friend and you want the best for her. Her BFF is so annoying sometimes but you like her anyway. Bobby and Keith are two great boys; each one has something special and they are an excellent addition to the story.
The paranormal part of the story is really sweet and easy to follow. I’m glad that the book was about more than just that.
The drawings were also an important part of the book. I love them and I think they help you have a more complete idea of the story. And the fact that there were not only one point of view was part of that wide experience.
Cemetery Girl is an ideal book for young readers. Is fast and has all the ingredients of an enjoyable YA novel.
(I recieved a copy of the book from the author in exchange for an honest review).
The story moves with an interesting rhythm. Most books have all the tension accumulated at one point of the book. Cemetery girl is like a rollercoaster. More than once, you get anxious and you see a key moment arriving. Suddenly the situation is solved and a new one start and again you beginning to wait for the resolution of a new part of the story.
I really like that about that book because it felt real. It was like something that can happen for real. In real life not everything has a beginning, a middle and an end. You have thousands of that, reality changes every 5 seconds. The situations, problems, mysteries are solved but you find a new one in the next step.
Janie is a lovely character. Is one of those you can imagine as your friend and you want the best for her. Her BFF is so annoying sometimes but you like her anyway. Bobby and Keith are two great boys; each one has something special and they are an excellent addition to the story.
The paranormal part of the story is really sweet and easy to follow. I’m glad that the book was about more than just that.
The drawings were also an important part of the book. I love them and I think they help you have a more complete idea of the story. And the fact that there were not only one point of view was part of that wide experience.
Cemetery Girl is an ideal book for young readers. Is fast and has all the ingredients of an enjoyable YA novel.
(I recieved a copy of the book from the author in exchange for an honest review).
July 8, 2012
Excellent story line. I would never have guessed the "solution" but it made perfect sense when it was revealed. I liked that the "popular girls" weren't a very large part of the book and weren't tormenting the heroine as often happens in such books.
August 15, 2012
I'm giving this book 2 stars.
The premise and overall concept of this book is great. Janie is a high school girl whose passion is drawing. She learns she has a special talent to draw something connected to the deceased. She goes to the cemetery, and is just "guided" to draw something. However...this piece of the plot probably accounts for about a tenth of the book. Maybe less. It was almost baffling how much irrelevant information was in the book. Paragraphs describing something, that ended up having no connection to the story line. I'd often wonder if I had misread the blurb about the book and that it was supposed to be about something else entirely.
The main girl, Janie, and her friends are sometimes comical, and the cattiness of high school girls is captured fairly well. Also, the surprise at the end was nice, but not enough to compensate for the other parts.
The cons... The number of typos and grammatical errors was so extreme I often had to reread sentences to figure out what was going on. The author jumped from characters in a confusing manner and gave little support to justify sudden changes in a character's emotion. The romantic life of Janie starts off in one direction, then does a complete 180 without any background or support. Overall, just confusing. And as stated before, endless details that bordered on being a laundry list of things Janie did from moment to moment. If I hadn't signed up to review this book I don't know if I would have finished it.
The premise and overall concept of this book is great. Janie is a high school girl whose passion is drawing. She learns she has a special talent to draw something connected to the deceased. She goes to the cemetery, and is just "guided" to draw something. However...this piece of the plot probably accounts for about a tenth of the book. Maybe less. It was almost baffling how much irrelevant information was in the book. Paragraphs describing something, that ended up having no connection to the story line. I'd often wonder if I had misread the blurb about the book and that it was supposed to be about something else entirely.
The main girl, Janie, and her friends are sometimes comical, and the cattiness of high school girls is captured fairly well. Also, the surprise at the end was nice, but not enough to compensate for the other parts.
The cons... The number of typos and grammatical errors was so extreme I often had to reread sentences to figure out what was going on. The author jumped from characters in a confusing manner and gave little support to justify sudden changes in a character's emotion. The romantic life of Janie starts off in one direction, then does a complete 180 without any background or support. Overall, just confusing. And as stated before, endless details that bordered on being a laundry list of things Janie did from moment to moment. If I hadn't signed up to review this book I don't know if I would have finished it.
August 19, 2012
Janie is a high school-er who loves drawing, since she liked to draw at the cemetery near her house, her "best friend" gave her the name Cemetery Girl. She had to wait for her mom one afternoon and goes to the cemetery, where she draws a man she's never seen. A widowed lady asks her how she knew her husband, and goes to tell her her husband is the man she drew. After the lady pays Janie for her drawing (even though she didn't want to take the money) she goes to her friend Bobby's house... and so begins Janie and her friends adventure. I think the idea of this novel is great. I had great expectations with it. The story just didn't.... develop like I had expected. When doing a novel with changing view points can be hit or miss. I didn't like the changing of view points, but some people really did enjoy them. This is definitely a novel for the younger readers. The grammar in it drove me crazy but I'm anal about grammar. It's romance didn't really capture me in and idk... it wasn't a horrible novel. It was entertaining and the conversation between the kids was fun, there was a lot of drama with the girls. The ending was really good.
August 4, 2012
I was given this as a free e-book by the author in exchange for an honest review.
Right, first off, let me say as I always say when I rate a book 3 stars, that a 3 star review is NOT a bad thing! In fact, I'd recommend this book.
Okay, I had trouble getting into this book. I found it a bit too slow paced for my liking.
However, a little over half way through the book, I really started getting into it! It became super interesting!! I loved the whole volleyball game chapter. That one was probably my favourite!! I also liked the use of Latin phrases throughout the book.
The ending was really good as well. It was definitely a plot twist that I didn't see coming at all!!
I also want to mention that their were a few images in this book which I really enjoyed. They brought a little bit extra to the book, and I thought they were drawn really well. =)
This would make a great holiday/summer read =)
Definitely recommended!
Right, first off, let me say as I always say when I rate a book 3 stars, that a 3 star review is NOT a bad thing! In fact, I'd recommend this book.
Okay, I had trouble getting into this book. I found it a bit too slow paced for my liking.
However, a little over half way through the book, I really started getting into it! It became super interesting!! I loved the whole volleyball game chapter. That one was probably my favourite!! I also liked the use of Latin phrases throughout the book.
The ending was really good as well. It was definitely a plot twist that I didn't see coming at all!!
I also want to mention that their were a few images in this book which I really enjoyed. They brought a little bit extra to the book, and I thought they were drawn really well. =)
This would make a great holiday/summer read =)
Definitely recommended!
September 26, 2013
I really enjoyed reading this book, I felt I could relate to each of the characters and thought the author did a great job with the characters. I would definitely recommend this book.
(Drawing was always a special gift and talent for Janie. It was her release from the pressures of growing up and her escape from feeling like she didn’t fit in. One day while sitting and creating illustrations in a cemetery, “special” took on a whole new meaning for Janie. Her drawings appeared to reveal hidden messages from beyond the grave where she sketched. This was taken from Amazon.com)
I just feel the adventure was great, I pretty much didn't want to put the book down, I wanted to find out more. The ending was great!
Loved the book.
August 11, 2013
A well written book for young adults full of mystery super natural and interg. Would be a great choice to get your kids reading.
October 20, 2023
1.5 stars. The author really needed a good editor. The storyline was confused and disjointed, with lots of silly spelling mistakes (Booby instead of Bobby for example, come on) and formatting errors littered throughout. Simple things that could have easily been caught by a proof reader. Really amateurish drawings inside as well. Wish I had DNF’d this, but for some reason, I persevered.
August 27, 2012
I had a very difficult time getting into this book and almost abandoned it many times. However I was given a free copy in exchange for an honest review and had a duty to finish it. I was very excited with the premise of the book. I loved the idea of the dead talking to a girl through her drawings and while the idea of the story is enough to get me to take the plunge, the writing has to be there to keep me enthralled... unfortunately it wasn't there for me.
It all seemed very disjointed. The transitions between the different points of view made it difficult to follow. I found myself rereading pages to make sure that I was following the story correctly. There also seemed to be conversations, scenes and people thrown in that didn't really need to be there. It was almost as if the author had this great idea... wrote it and it wasn't long enough so stuff got thrown in to make it longer. I also had problems with the relationships in the book. Especially between best friends (??) Janie and Vanessa. Janie is an outcast and Vanessa is part of the "in crowd" but yet it all works. Also some of the stuff that Vanessa pulls on Janie and then all is just forgiven "just like that". Then there is the romantic interests involved... all very confusing.
I did like the original premise of the story and I liked the artwork added throughout. But there were just too many times I caught myself asking who? what? are you kidding me? Reading this was slow and tedious. Wish I could give it a better review but I just can't.
It all seemed very disjointed. The transitions between the different points of view made it difficult to follow. I found myself rereading pages to make sure that I was following the story correctly. There also seemed to be conversations, scenes and people thrown in that didn't really need to be there. It was almost as if the author had this great idea... wrote it and it wasn't long enough so stuff got thrown in to make it longer. I also had problems with the relationships in the book. Especially between best friends (??) Janie and Vanessa. Janie is an outcast and Vanessa is part of the "in crowd" but yet it all works. Also some of the stuff that Vanessa pulls on Janie and then all is just forgiven "just like that". Then there is the romantic interests involved... all very confusing.
I did like the original premise of the story and I liked the artwork added throughout. But there were just too many times I caught myself asking who? what? are you kidding me? Reading this was slow and tedious. Wish I could give it a better review but I just can't.
March 17, 2016
I wasn't really sure what to expect when I started reading this and was delighted by how it drew me in. Although this is a paranormal, it had a sense of gentleness instead of the regular gusto this genre often has.
Janie has a special talent, and she takes it on with grace. She gives the impression of a very normal, high school girl. . .the kind which would be easy to be friends with. Her life isn't perfect, but she can handle it. Her friends are exactly what one would expect for this age group--kind but can be difficult at times. Except for the fact that the dialogue and actions sometimes made the characters feel a slight bit younger than their supposed sixteen, the scenes came across very realistic and natural.
This was a story easy to fall into. The pace keeps up without usually becoming overly fast, and although much of the story glides through, it never is boring and held my interest until the very end. The scenes are wonderfully described, never too much but always enough to picture it and understand what was going on. I had no trouble diving into Janie's world.
Janie has a special talent, and she takes it on with grace. She gives the impression of a very normal, high school girl. . .the kind which would be easy to be friends with. Her life isn't perfect, but she can handle it. Her friends are exactly what one would expect for this age group--kind but can be difficult at times. Except for the fact that the dialogue and actions sometimes made the characters feel a slight bit younger than their supposed sixteen, the scenes came across very realistic and natural.
This was a story easy to fall into. The pace keeps up without usually becoming overly fast, and although much of the story glides through, it never is boring and held my interest until the very end. The scenes are wonderfully described, never too much but always enough to picture it and understand what was going on. I had no trouble diving into Janie's world.
May 30, 2012
Adolescent Janie lives for her art, and she is accomplished. Unbeknownst to her, she is also mediumistic: she draws what is significant to a person, even if that person is long dead. When she discovers that (via a widow of a man she drew in the Cemetery), she and her best friend Bobby begin to investigate her capacity. Named “Cemetery Girl” by her other supposed-to-be best friend Vanessa, Janie spends much of her time in the graveyard near her house, just drawing (and unintentionally channeling the various deceased). Life goes on until a new student moves in from California, and most of the girls focus on him; and Janie discovers she needs to decide between Keith, the new boy; and long-term friend Bobby.
August 15, 2012
~I received a PDF copy of this book from the author for purpose of an honest review. I was not compensated for my opinion, which is 100% honest, and my own responsibility. ~
This Book Was Ok Its Not As Good As It Could Have Been. Jamie IS A Girl Who Has A Talent For Drawing Who Finds That Going To The Cemetery Makes Her Draw Better. It Was A Good Read But It Could Have More Plots To The Story. I Have To Say The Author Did A Great Job With The Roles Of The Teen Age Girls It Was Spot On. I Still Recommend This Book Its Is A Good Read.
This Book Was Ok Its Not As Good As It Could Have Been. Jamie IS A Girl Who Has A Talent For Drawing Who Finds That Going To The Cemetery Makes Her Draw Better. It Was A Good Read But It Could Have More Plots To The Story. I Have To Say The Author Did A Great Job With The Roles Of The Teen Age Girls It Was Spot On. I Still Recommend This Book Its Is A Good Read.
June 1, 2016
It was a chance encounter as Janie took a shortcut through the cemetery on her way home from school.
She met a lady who was visiting her husbands grave.
Janie had a special gift of drawing which revealed a mystery. She and her friends would look up these events on the computer to see how they tied together.
There was an unknown mystery in her own life; which she also uncovered.
Her talent would take her far after she graduated from high school.
I received this Free book from Goodreads First-Reads.
She met a lady who was visiting her husbands grave.
Janie had a special gift of drawing which revealed a mystery. She and her friends would look up these events on the computer to see how they tied together.
There was an unknown mystery in her own life; which she also uncovered.
Her talent would take her far after she graduated from high school.
I received this Free book from Goodreads First-Reads.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 22, 2012
Janie has an interesting artistic talent ... She can draw pictures that are important to someone who is deceased. Follow her adventures as she and her friends
try to figure out how well, and where, her talent works. The ending is a very surprising twist that I didn't see coming. The only thing that I would criticize is that there are a few spelling and grammar issues, but even with that I really enjoyed this book!
try to figure out how well, and where, her talent works. The ending is a very surprising twist that I didn't see coming. The only thing that I would criticize is that there are a few spelling and grammar issues, but even with that I really enjoyed this book!
November 19, 2014
It was a pretty good read. Janie was very likable as was Vanessa a girl you could dislike at times. There was intrigue as Bobby and Janie try to find out if she can read minds any place as well as the love connection between the two of them. The action was a little slow at times but picked up well. I would recommend this book as a fun read on a rainy day.
September 9, 2013
I was given this ebook free in exchange for an honest review.
The book has a great concept and I'm hoping this is a rough draft of the book. I had a hard time staying focused on the book. I honestly hoped it would have been alot more about Janie and her drawing. I did enjoy the parts of the book about her.
The book has a great concept and I'm hoping this is a rough draft of the book. I had a hard time staying focused on the book. I honestly hoped it would have been alot more about Janie and her drawing. I did enjoy the parts of the book about her.
December 20, 2014
Idea wasn't bad, but the execution was. If you write a book, at least have it proofread. Writing wasn't stellar, but the author could do better with someone to edit the writing and take out errors, cut unnecessary parts of the book, and spruce up sections. Pretty much skimmed the last half of the book to see what happened. Probably aimed for a young target audience as well.
Read
July 6, 2013The author was kind enough to gift me a copy of this book. the story is a good YA with a good premise. The book could use some editing: it detracts from the readibility unfortunately which is 3 stars rather than 4.
October 24, 2013
This book was a good fun read. There were a couple parts that seemed to jump around. Overall the story held my interest and was easy to follow. I look forward to reading something else by this author.
March 22, 2013
It has potential, but the placing of subjects, sentene structure, and some other things just need tweaking to be better. If you're not overly concerned with stuff like this, and would read it just for the story, it's a good book for you then.
August 25, 2012
Really loved the ending. Caught me totally by surprise.
October 6, 2013
Premise of book good. A little predictable. Overall a good read. Nice job!
November 12, 2018
Cemetery Girl
Plot: This is about a girl named Jamie that discovers while sketching randomly a picture of a famous singer that she has a special gift. Never having seen the man she’s approached by his wife and is told the drawing looks incredibly similar. And then a detail *in* the drawing leads the wife to a secret place where a hidden recording given to him earned her a lot of money. Janie and her friend Bobby decide to take a trip to test this theory but low and behold it doesn’t work at *every* Cemetery. Even though the trip is a bust, new bonds are formed. Bobby and Janie get closer doing the trip back. Keith (the new guy in school) and Bobby also develop a level of trust. They come to the conclusion that the gift is only a local thing (specific to the cemetery Janie frequents) and when testing this out again Janie learns a secret of her own.
My Thoughts: This book just didn’t work for me! Conceptually the title and the description grab your attention. The title basically says the book is about an introverted girl who finds out through her drawing’s she’s a medium. And so, if your into that sort of thing you’ll wonder what kind of things are the one’s beyond the grave communicating with her. And that pulls you in. However, the concept get’s “muddy” immediately into the book after she reveals to Bobby that Mrs. Mabbit paid her money for the drawing and told her about the hidden recording. The first point of confusion I had was with Bobby. What I think was meant to happen was Bobby does research on the Internet about the people’s lives of the graves Janie sketch’s beside. What the book “says” is he SPEAKS to them. Which made it sound like he had a conversation with the people in the gravesites. I even thought it meant maybe he’d actually spoke to some of the relatives. Another point of confusion was the conversation Janie and Bobby had discussing the trip to Washington. I didn’t know what the hell was going on. The conversation was in I guess what was meant to be text (and messaging) abbreviations (as we all tend to use). Yet the meaning was COMPLETELY lost. Then there was the odd mixture of supernatural and history tied together. In my studies I’ve learned that YES history and magic do has its ties going all the way back to the cave days. Yet here it just feels dull, draggish, and irrelevant. Like the trip itself they took. Which I’m still not 100 percent sure of the reason other than a plot device to get Janie and Bobby together. Then the story spent WAY to much time on other irrelevant things like the teenage drama (that books can’t seem to escape) with Vanessa over Keith and Janie. The story didn’t need this. The concept alone was strong enough to pull off. However, this took up a very big amount of this book. Then there was obligatory throw in of a sports game (sighing). WHY do books with teenagers feel like we’re interested in pages and pages of a sports activity? Frankly I skipped through both volley ball games. If the book would have just stuck to this being about Janie’s ability and actually went a little further into that this would have been SO much better! As far as the characters there were 4 main ones. (Janie) who I thought was WAY to over the top! Now I do get it when people keep asking you questions that you find annoying and they keep asking and keep asking and keep asking. It’s FRUSTRATING! BELIEVE ME I KNOW! However Janie’s thing with her hair. The crazy thing is Bobby keep commenting on the number of styles she kept putting her hair in. Yet she didn’t change STYLES. She just keep redoing the same style (a bun). If he wanted to emphasize this the author could have at least mentioned different styles (side pony tail, platted, loose, some up with some down). Bobby was just bland. Vanessa was such a sometimey character I wondered why Janie kept her around. I had to keep reminding myself yeah this is how petty teenage girls get sometimes when a good-looking guy is involved. Keith, they tried to give some depth (and I guess a reason to be included) but his plot fell flat because we already pretty much knew that his mother’s message would be she understood and loved him back. So it didn’t *really* need to be used to bring out Janie’s abilities and again it felt like a waste of time (pages). It took me the longest for me to start this and it’s usually not a good sign when your hurriedly trying to get to the end of the book just so you can be finished with it.
Rating 5
Plot: This is about a girl named Jamie that discovers while sketching randomly a picture of a famous singer that she has a special gift. Never having seen the man she’s approached by his wife and is told the drawing looks incredibly similar. And then a detail *in* the drawing leads the wife to a secret place where a hidden recording given to him earned her a lot of money. Janie and her friend Bobby decide to take a trip to test this theory but low and behold it doesn’t work at *every* Cemetery. Even though the trip is a bust, new bonds are formed. Bobby and Janie get closer doing the trip back. Keith (the new guy in school) and Bobby also develop a level of trust. They come to the conclusion that the gift is only a local thing (specific to the cemetery Janie frequents) and when testing this out again Janie learns a secret of her own.
My Thoughts: This book just didn’t work for me! Conceptually the title and the description grab your attention. The title basically says the book is about an introverted girl who finds out through her drawing’s she’s a medium. And so, if your into that sort of thing you’ll wonder what kind of things are the one’s beyond the grave communicating with her. And that pulls you in. However, the concept get’s “muddy” immediately into the book after she reveals to Bobby that Mrs. Mabbit paid her money for the drawing and told her about the hidden recording. The first point of confusion I had was with Bobby. What I think was meant to happen was Bobby does research on the Internet about the people’s lives of the graves Janie sketch’s beside. What the book “says” is he SPEAKS to them. Which made it sound like he had a conversation with the people in the gravesites. I even thought it meant maybe he’d actually spoke to some of the relatives. Another point of confusion was the conversation Janie and Bobby had discussing the trip to Washington. I didn’t know what the hell was going on. The conversation was in I guess what was meant to be text (and messaging) abbreviations (as we all tend to use). Yet the meaning was COMPLETELY lost. Then there was the odd mixture of supernatural and history tied together. In my studies I’ve learned that YES history and magic do has its ties going all the way back to the cave days. Yet here it just feels dull, draggish, and irrelevant. Like the trip itself they took. Which I’m still not 100 percent sure of the reason other than a plot device to get Janie and Bobby together. Then the story spent WAY to much time on other irrelevant things like the teenage drama (that books can’t seem to escape) with Vanessa over Keith and Janie. The story didn’t need this. The concept alone was strong enough to pull off. However, this took up a very big amount of this book. Then there was obligatory throw in of a sports game (sighing). WHY do books with teenagers feel like we’re interested in pages and pages of a sports activity? Frankly I skipped through both volley ball games. If the book would have just stuck to this being about Janie’s ability and actually went a little further into that this would have been SO much better! As far as the characters there were 4 main ones. (Janie) who I thought was WAY to over the top! Now I do get it when people keep asking you questions that you find annoying and they keep asking and keep asking and keep asking. It’s FRUSTRATING! BELIEVE ME I KNOW! However Janie’s thing with her hair. The crazy thing is Bobby keep commenting on the number of styles she kept putting her hair in. Yet she didn’t change STYLES. She just keep redoing the same style (a bun). If he wanted to emphasize this the author could have at least mentioned different styles (side pony tail, platted, loose, some up with some down). Bobby was just bland. Vanessa was such a sometimey character I wondered why Janie kept her around. I had to keep reminding myself yeah this is how petty teenage girls get sometimes when a good-looking guy is involved. Keith, they tried to give some depth (and I guess a reason to be included) but his plot fell flat because we already pretty much knew that his mother’s message would be she understood and loved him back. So it didn’t *really* need to be used to bring out Janie’s abilities and again it felt like a waste of time (pages). It took me the longest for me to start this and it’s usually not a good sign when your hurriedly trying to get to the end of the book just so you can be finished with it.
Rating 5
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