Lingering Echoes: Ghosts of Ordinary Objects, Book 2

Ghosts of Ordinary Objects #2

by Angie Smibert

Twelve-year-old Bone uses her Gift, which allows her to see the stories in everyday objects, to try to figure out why her best friend, Will Kincaid, suddenly lost his voice at age five. This supernatural historical mystery is the second title in the acclaimed and emotionally resonant Ghosts of Ordinary Objects series.

In a southern Virginia coal-mining town in October 1942, Bone Phillips is learning to control her Bone can see the history of a significant object when she touches it. When her best friend, Will Kincaid, asks Bone to "read" the history of his daddy's jelly jar—the jelly jar that was buried alongside his father during the mine cave-in that killed him—Bone is afraid. Even before Bone touches it, she can feel that the jar has its own strange power. With her mother dead, her father gone to war, and Aunt Mattie's assault looming over Bone, she can't bear the idea of losing Will too. As Will's obsession with the jelly jar becomes dangerous, Bone struggles to understand the truth behind the jar and save him Featuring a beautiful, compelling voice, this novel weaves a story of mystery, family, and ultimately, love.

Genres: Fiction

Audible Audio

Published December 26, 2023

About the author

I was born in Blacksburg, a once sleepy college town in the mountains of Southwest Virginia. I grew up thinking I wanted to be a veterinarian; organic chemistry had other ideas. But I always had stories in my head. Eventually, after a few degrees and few cool jobs—including a 10-year stint at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center—I wrote some of those stories down.

I'm the author of several young adult novels, including MEMENTO NORA, THE FORGETTING CURVE, and THE MEME PLAGUE. I’ve also published many short stories, for both adults and teens.

You can also catch me blogging as part of the LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY WRITERS (leaguewriters.blogspot.com).

www.mementonora.com
www.angiesmibert.com

Reviews

[Dianna (SavingsInSeconds blog) · Rating 5 out of 5]

It doesn’t happen often, but I actually enjoyed this book even more than the first one. Though you could probably read this as a standalone, I highly recommend that you read Bone’s Gift first. It is a great introduction to the characters, who seem to believe that it takes a village to raise a child. In Lingering Echoes, these characters play even larger roles in Bone’s life, and that’s what I loved. Bone’s best friend Will takes the spotlight in this story. It was perfection.

I added a few things to my unwritten bucket list after reading Lingering Echoes! First, the book describes “fairy stones,” which I’d never heard of before. I’ve already told my husband that we need to make a trip to that park! I also loved the ghost stories that Bone told, especially after learning that they are traditional tales told in Virginia.

Lingering Echoes is exactly the type of paranormal story I enjoy. It’s hard to remember that Bone is just 12 years old; I kept thinking that there would be a sweet romance or something in the works. Book #2 seemed to pick up shortly after the first book left off, so the characters are still a bit young yet. This makes it ideal for middle grade readers who don’t want something terribly scary but enjoy a bit of spookiness. Though a little short (you can read it in just a few hours), this is a 5-star book for me!

[Lindsay Ernst · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was pleasantly surprised with this story. I saw it at the library and it was marked “scary story” so I thought I would read it for a fun Halloween read. (I had no idea that it is a sequel, so I’m intrigued enough to read the first one.) I don’t usually read scary stories, but this wasn’t scary at all. You could say that it is about the ghosts that haunt us, but it’s only ghosts from the lives of the characters. The characters in this book are so young, but they have all known loss and pain—mostly from death and/or abandonment of a parent. They aren’t haunted in the sense of fear, but they are haunted by loss of love, emotional pain, and longing. The emotions shown by the characters are deep and relatable.

[Tasha Birckhead · Rating 4 out of 5]

A haunting good ride. Bone has a Gift, that allows her to see stories in objects when she touches them. One day her mute best friend, Will bring her a jar that has a Gift of it's own. She can hear his voice from the jar and more! The stories are so rich and the characters are so down home Virginia. I cannot wait to see what adventures Bone goes on next.

[Nichole Hollingsworth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am the first Goodreads review for this book. This is totally cool!

Alright, so I really like this books continued blend of historical fiction and magical realism with Bone's family's Gifts. I also like the back matter where the author briefly discusses some of the actual background on some of the things she mentions (fairy stones, folklore, etc.)

Since I am from SW Virginia it holds a special place in my heart.

I really enjoyed how big of a role Uncle Ash played in this book and how he helped teach Bone about using her Gift.

I also liked how Mattie is still unlikable. The author hasn't given in to redeeming her for the sake of making everything hunky dory. Not every person is likeable and it isnt necessarily due to some mysterious and tragic event. Sometimes some is just a miserable person and enjoys inflicting their sourness on the world.

The parallels of Ruby's and Will's grief were a wonderful tie in and I really likes how that ended.

I also like the way the changes in day to day life due to the war (ration books, scrap drives, suspension of sports leagues, labor shortages in certain areas/fields, etc.) were woven in the narrative. The book really does a good job of being historical fiction that gives enough details to build accuracy and ambiance without becoming a history lecture.

All in all, an enjoyable read. I stumbled upon this series and I really have enjoyed them.

[Forever Librarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although in a series, Lingering Echoes can be read as a standalone magical historical fiction. Bone has recently started to develop her Gift. Almost everyone in her family has one. Her Uncle Ash can understand and heal animals. Her mama died saving her aunt with her gift of healing. And Bone can experience all the memories connected to ordinary objects - who owned them and what they experienced when they touched them. Her mama's yellow sweater has revealed much about her own mother's story.

As World War II rages on, with her father overseas in danger, Bone is learning to fine tune and control her Gift. When Will, her best friend who has been mute since his father's death in the mine when he was little, brings her a jelly jar that had belonged to his dad, Bone feels both compelled and repelled by its power. If she touches it, will it give both her and Will answers about his father's death? Does it hold the answers to Will's silence? Or is there something more sinister within?

Very well written and readable as a standalone or alongside the rest in the series. Readers who like Little House on the Prairie with a touch of the paranormal will enjoy these short installments. Bone is a great character with integrity and street smarts. Her family and friend relationships are nuanced. Great character development. Recommended grades 6 and up.

[Merrilyn Tucker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bone comes from a family with Gifts and hers is to be able to connect with objects. In this story, the second in the Ghosts of Ordinary Objects series, Bone's friend, Will, currently mute, brings her a jam jar that contains sounds. Will is determined to know what exactly the jar means by its noises since it was found with his father when he died in a mining accident. Bone is frustrated by her lack of ability to communicate with the jar; she and Will, hitherto best friends, come to an impasse about it. Meanwhile, Bone's Aunt Mattie, a recent World War II widow, has threatened to shut down the town's Halloween festivities and Bone's friends want revenge for that. When Bone finally opens up to her Mamaw and Uncle Ash about needing help with her Gift in interpreting the jar, she feels supported and is then able to help Will. I enjoyed the spookiness of Bone's Gift and the Stingy Jack tales she would tell her classmates, but the plot itself I found hard to follow. Perhaps if I read book one in the series, the gaps in the story would have made more sense to me.

[Marcia · Rating 5 out of 5]

After Bone's Gift, I couldn't wait for book two and was thrilled to finally get it via the library. There is something about this era, community, and the magical gifts that just really hits the right note for me. My only complaint is that I wanted it to be longer! I have already put my request in at the library for book three, which comes out in 2020.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Set during World War II in a small mining town in Virginia, a young girl learns to hone her gift of “reading” objects (learning the secrets of the people who owned them when she touches it) in order to help her friend get his voice back. While I could follow along okay, I think the whole story would have made more sense if I had read book one first.

[Ellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can’t wait for the final installment of this trilogy. This was a great continuation of what was laid out in the first book. I love the characters and the mysteries this book holds.

[Alice · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 I may have needed to read the first book, Bone's Gift in order to appreciate this one more.

[Rana Southern]

Loved it.

[Sarah Martinez · Rating 2 out of 5]

I loved the last part of the book and letting emotions out I just think it took to long to get there. Didn’t like bone as a protagonist would’ve preferred Ruby or Will.

[Helen Pugsley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh

[Kayla Honaker · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn’t as invested in this book as I was in the first of the series, but it was still such a sweet tale and I loved it even more because it was so close to home.

[Jules Steele · Rating 4 out of 5]

Im so sad I finally finished this series.😭😭😭

[Danielle Boise · Rating 5 out of 5]

While reading "Lingering Echoes" I could hear the tendrils of slow country twang from the characters living in Big Vein, a coal mining town in the Appalachian Mountains of Virginia.

The story centers around 12-year old Bone and her Gift. She comes from a long lineage of people with special Gifts. Some read animals, some read plants, but Bone has an extremely rare Gift. She can read ordinary objects and know the stories of people who have touched them prior to her.

This story takes place in the fall of 1942 leading up to Halloween. Her father is off in the war and Bone is trying to understand her Gift while helping her best friend Will. Plus there are several ghosts stories sprinkled into the main story. They add a nice bit of color.

When I started this book I didn't realize this book is part of a series, actually the second book in the Ghosts of Ordinary Objects series. This book could have easily have been a stand alone story, but I do look forward to reading the first book to be properly introduced to this world.