The Grieved

The Sophistries of June #2

by Gregory Ashe

Mr. Green is dead.

Still recovering from his battle with the grower, Alex tries to move forward with his life. But a new danger stalks West Marshall. A monster that Mr. Green mentioned only once before Alex killed him.

The eater.

As Alex struggles to balance his love for Olivia and his growing attachment to Mike, he must hurry to find the eater that is hunting the people of West Marshall, for the eater has marked Alex’s family for death.

Alex has sworn to stop the eater. But first, he has to find it.

Genres: Young Adult

343 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 21, 2012

About the author

I'm a long-time Midwesterner. I've lived in Chicago, Bloomington (IN), and Saint Louis, my current home. Aside from reading and writing (which take up a lot of my time), I'm an educator.

While I enjoy reading across many genres, my two main loves are mystery and speculative fiction. I used to keep a list of favorite books, but it changes so frequently that I've given up. I'm always looking for recommendations, though, so please drop me a line if you have something in mind!

My big goal right now is one day to be responsible enough to get a dog.

Reviews

[alyssa · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Took you long enough, Sleeping Beauty," Mike said as he closed the window. "Dreaming of me?"

oh you smooth, smooth devil.... 😳😳😳

imagine the spookiness of DuPage & stylistic atmosphere of Hollow Folk (albeit rougher in execution and pacing, but unchangeably Greg at its core) had a ~magical baby~, and that is this book - or if we look at it from a chronological order standpoint, those series split off of this one so The Sophistries of June would then be considered the parent cell? 🤔 either way, i didn’t imagine enjoying his 10+ year old work this much, and yet here i am raving because it's giving exactly what middle school Alyssa requested on her fictional read wishlist, and i'm all for reliving the nostalgia.

the story hits the right notes exactly where it matters, starting from the overarching buildup to the big baddie showdown, to the many important lessons surrounding the definition of family, inevitability of change, and value of friendship that Alex slowly absorbs himself. the underlying sense of unease had me looking over my shoulder more than once, and its endless brewing cycle invited the company of fun goosebumps-inducing, hair-raising, spine-tingling heebie-jeebies as i lay awake in the dark.

Alex's life is proof enough that GA has trained diligently from a young age to become well-versed in the art of angst: bringing his protagonists down to the lowest of lows, where it’s bone chillingly bleak and pitch black, so you're lulled into the false assumption that the only possible direction left to go must be up, before PSYCHE! he finds some physics-defying workaround to bring us to true rock bottom. that is his way.

now i have to ask, am i the only one who had to flip to a new page of The Asheverse Blacklist to accommodate the slew of new members? 😂 the whole bully crew spoke and behaved so unpleasantly similar to twitter trolls that i really wanted to knock some sense into them *whips out the chancla* 😈

⚠️ spoilery thoughts ahead! ⚠️
.
.
.


- it hurt me to the core, but the juxtaposition between Alex’s home life, and the liveliness and familial love in the air during his visits to the Roth house was such a necessary inclusion. so starkly bittersweet. well-played, Greg, very well-played…

- channeling my inner Alex pettiness, i’m removing Mike from my Christmas card list, but i’m sure he’ll be back on there within the next 24 hours.

- never expected to be such a Chad stan. now i'm tossing protective amulets at him and his entire precious family. in the same way i adored Hannah & Tyler, i will do anything to protect Chad’s siblings, and if anything happens to Julie, you bet i’ll be taking a day off to mourn 😭

- i think it's hilarious how Alex reverts to young maiden mode in front of Mike with his brain sending out distress signals whenever Mike is shirtless 🤣

- cheek pats!!!! are officially my kryptonite

- we barely know anything about him but Dr. Lumley emanates ~suspicious~ all because he technically broke HIPAA 🤣

ﾟ･｡+☆+｡･ﾟ･｡+☆+｡･ﾟ･｡+☆+｡･ﾟ･｡+☆+｡･ﾟ

The Wounds We Give and Take - 4.4~4.5⭐
The Indifferent Children of the Earth - 4⭐
The Grieved - 5⭐
Fool Star - 4.5⭐
In Broken Mathematics - 4.5⭐
The Hawthorn Gate - 4.4~4.5⭐
The Sacraments of Summer - 4.2⭐

ﾟ･｡+☆+｡･ﾟ･｡+☆+｡･ﾟ･｡+☆+｡･ﾟ･｡+☆+｡･ﾟ

[Claudie ☾ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, Greg had been extra heavy-handed with the teen drama here. I felt like a frumpy old lady — and very happy I have precisely zero kids in my life — the whole time I was reading this book. Compared to the prequel, it was like the plot took a backseat, and I was reading a diary of an angry emo teenager instead. I know, extenuating circumstances and all that, but come tf ON. 99% of the time, I just couldn’t stand Alex, and that is not a good sign. I think I’ll put this series on hold for now.