The Grave Issue: The Supernatural Wars

by Jesse Stimpson

When Issac shows up three weeks after his death to deliver a message, Lexi learns she might have to work with her ex-bully, Jacob, aka the only other person who can see Issac, to put a bunch of escaped ghost back into their world, before they drain the life out of hers.The only problem,She blames Jacob for Issac's death.

182 pages, Paperback

Published April 20, 2024

Reviews

[lia 🎀 · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was way sweeter then i expected, but i’m very happy that it turned out that way, as i don’t think the book would’ve been as beautiful or impactful as it is if it hadn’t been as pure and emotional. I think this would be a great, fun, and easy book for anyone, but especially kids dealing with their first experience of losing a loved one, whether it’s a family member, friend, mentor, etc. The lighthearted energy on such a deep topic, and the journey of healing that all the characters go through, make this something that i think could be helpful for kids to process healing their own grief in real life, or even let kids know it’s okay to feel all the feelings that comes along with it for as long as they need- whether that’s sadness, grief, anger, denial, you name it. I think something like that is hard to find, so i’m glad this book was written. I found myself smiling and laughing along with all the characters as they went on their adventures to try to help the world of ghosts. I can’t wait for the next book to come out because i’ll miss these characters very much!

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I rarely read supernatural books but first of all how they dealt with death, cue the waterworks. It was beautiful way to process death but I now want to know how these kids are going to deal with all the unanswered questions pertaining to the spirt world and the angel of death. This was a quick and easy read too.

[Francisca Garate · Rating 5 out of 5]

ARC review 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Thanks for the book, I loved it! The Grave Issue is a short yet moving story about friendship, grief, forgiveness and the hard reality of moving on told from a teenager’s perspective. I shed a few tears while I was reading 😭
The paranormal aspects don’t overshadow the real-life ones and the humour is pretty on-point. I’ll never be able to listen to ‘Forever and Always’ by Taylor Swift the same way ❤️

[Jay Semeniuk · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARC Review!

I genuinely love this book! I love how easy it is to connect with the characters; its been a long while since I’ve felt such an attachment to characters and its genuinely so lovely. It felt a little young, but i think it may be a middle grade fiction book considering the age of the kids in the story, but it was a very nice read. Emotional at times, even if i didnt love the slang used!

[Juniper L.H. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great little novel. It was more emotional than I expected. The plot line was relatively simple but that allowed the author to spend more time on the characters and how they were working through their feelings in the wake of the “major plot development”. I appreciated this approach, which made a fantastical story about ghosts and the supernatural ultimately feel grounded and relatable; which I think resulted in a bigger impact. I liked the characters, both main and side.

Ultimately this was a story about grief and moving forward, as well as the different ways that people can respond in such a situation. Despite the deep and heartache-y subject matter, it was overall a very uplifting and positive story in the end.

[FiberedFolios · Rating 4 out of 5]

When her best friend Issac dies suddenly, Lexi is struggling to cope with the events. Three weeks later Issac has made an appearance, and not for a good reason. Lexi will have to team up with her ghost best friend and her ex-bully Jacob to fix the issue they seemingly created. Will Lexi be able to get through her grief and the blame she lays on Jacob for Issac’s death, in order to right their wrong?

This story was a beautiful story that contains themes of guilt, grief, friendship, coming of age, and teenage angst. Generally I am not a big fan of reading YA novels that sit on the lower age range however this novella had me completely in the story, I didn’t think I would ever cry so much for a story about 14 year old children!
Jesse had me laughing, crying, and cheering for these characters in such a short time.

The story would be perfect for anyone who wants to be moved as well as including a fun supernatural quest element to it! I am actually excited to see these characters again and see what they get themselves into.
This book is also part of a world, the first story in the world is called The Undeadliest Quest and is available to read right away (I will be reading it this week for sure!!)!

I consumed this story as an e-book and it came in at 207 pages total! It is currently available for pre-order on Amazon and is set to be released on April 13th!

[Flo · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book is about friendship, the character development from everybody and how to live your life after you have lost a loved one (and by the way solve a ghost problem ;) )
The Grave Issues is such a good book if you like ghost storys and storys about friendship!
I really liked the way how they would solve all of their problems (the solutions were creative + funny) and the Taylor Swift references wer so fun to read!!!! I loved all of the characters with their own backstory + problems (they were soo well described by the author) and how the kids developed during the whole book.
It wasn´t a book where somebody dies and everybody is like "oh well it´s okay and continues to run across the world. The process of grieving was pretty realistical described.
Yes, the ghosts problems were the mainstory, but the author talked a lot about death and how to life your live after sb you knew died, these parts where pretty emotional for me (but it´s completely age appropriate!!!)
Throughout the book I had to laugh a lot bc the characters were so cute and funny and if could I would have binge-read it in one go, bt sadly I can´t read all day :(
And I have to totally read all the other books from Jesse Stimpson she is an amzing author!!
So it was a 5 ⭐ book for me!!!
favourite line: "Maybe we can be strong together now" - Jacob

[Ellie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book by Jesse that I have read, and I have already got a second one lined up!

This book, whilst tailored to a younger audience then what I usually read, was an amazing and impactful book!

The theme of grief I'd strong within this book, as is the way different characters process it. This book had me very emotional, as I personally would have benefited so much from this story when dealing with grief for the first time at a young age.

This was a quick and easy read following the journey of Lexi, a teenager who recently lost her bestfriend Issac who suddenly reappears as a ghost three weeks after his death. Consequently forcing her to team up with her ex-bully Jacob to fix an issue they seemingly created. One problem, Lexi blames Jacob for Issacs death.

I'd recommend this book to anyone looking for a story about grief, the guilt it brings and how to start healing from it. I'd particularly recommend it however to older kids dealing with loss as I think it would definitely help them to process all of the emotions that come with grief in a healthy way.

[Kyla Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great book and I devoured it. I had finished it in a couple of days, I just didn't know how to write the review because I did not want to give anything away.

After the death of her best friend Issac, Lexi is struggling to cope until she sees him. She thinks that it is the grief taking over and doesn't know what to do. She teams up with her ex-bully who also sees Issac, her best friend to help him.

This book is full of grief, love, friendships and how to move on. I thoroughly enjoyed this story and cried with the characters.

[Britney · Rating 5 out of 5]

A perfect little gateway for older kids to learn about grief and losing a loved one. A sweet little read filled with so many moments of the different parts of grief.

Each character has their own way of processing the newest tragedy, while still processing their previous griefs as well. No one character has the same experience, and it really is a good little story to show how grief affects people.

It's a quick and easy book to read and it really is a sweet story.

Thank you to the author for sending me the book early in exchange for an honest review!

[Jade · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the first book by Jesse that I read, and I'm already excited to start another one! Even though it's aimed at a younger audience, it really blew me away! It's about dealing with grief, hitting you right in the feels. The story follows Lexi, coping with the loss of her friend Isaac, who unexpectedly comes back as a ghost. She has to team up with her former bully, Jacob, to fix a problem they caused. But Lexi blames Jacob for Isaac's death. I'd recommend this book to anyone exploring themes of grief, guilt, and healing, especially older kids dealing with loss themselves

[Shelbie | shelraereads · Rating 3 out of 5]

ARC Review:

The Grave Issue was really great! I really enjoyed this read and definitely would recommend it for anyone grieving for a loved one. It was lighthearted but at the same time very emotional. It was such a great story about old friends and new friends. Definitely recommend this one!

[Hailey Jordan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book. There was so much layering to. The characters had dementions and the story was told clearly and was fun to imagine. It had real fun and emotions. This book has sadness, happiness, forgiveness and is perfect for all age. Can teach people alot.

[Magdalena Hubbard-Perez · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely little book that explores losing a best friend and learning to live with it whilst learning to move on and to keep making memories. A good shorter read, I couldn't put it down! Can't wait to read the next book! :)

[Max Anderson-Lake · Rating 4 out of 5]

An engaging read with a compelling supernatural twist! The ghostly elements added depth to the storyline, keeping me intrigued throughout. However, there were a few pacing issues that prevented it from being a five-star read for me.

[Mary Dickerson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a fun read!! I can't believe how emotional I got in such a short book. I cried and laughed and I LOVE the sarcasm and the way the friends relate to each other.

[Carys Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this! Sad at parts as there are mentions of grief and death, but overall fun and I loved all of the characters! Definitely going to read more of this author!

[ThatBookMoth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Special thanks to the author for sending me a digital copy.
Ok this is a really sweet book about death and the grieving process. I’m definitely interested in a book 2.

[Kim Napier · Rating 5 out of 5]

This such a sweet story! I actually cried a little. This book is a great representation of losing someone close to you and dealing with that grief.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

i love that these kids got to go to the Eras Tour in the end :p