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Graveyard Moon
In a dark graveyard as part of an initiation, Kelly discovers along with the shadows, snakes, and cool headstones, a blood-spattered body.
- GenresHorrorYoung Adult
153 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 1993
About the author
Carol Gorman
36 books123 followersCarol Gorman is an Iowa-born writer of over 40 published books. She spent 17 years teaching in middle-school, high-school, and college classes. Her writing time has been devoted to creating mystery and suspense novels for children.
She originally aspired to be an actress, and while studying at the University of Iowa, was cast in the lead of both West Side Story and Peter Pan. In the 1980s, Carol married writer Edward Gorman, who inspired her to write. She conducts writers’ workshops at elementarys, middle schools and high schools, and enjoys talking to students about writing and publishing.
She originally aspired to be an actress, and while studying at the University of Iowa, was cast in the lead of both West Side Story and Peter Pan. In the 1980s, Carol married writer Edward Gorman, who inspired her to write. She conducts writers’ workshops at elementarys, middle schools and high schools, and enjoys talking to students about writing and publishing.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
March 13, 2024
I'm been going through books by Ghosts of Fear Street authors and today I got back to that with one by Carol Gorman. She penned The Bugman Lives which I haven't read but I hear is a stand out.
She has her share of works and this I hit up since the cover made it seem like another fun Spooky middle grade romp. I went into this blind and it wasn't what I expected.
Kelly is new to town, said town being where her grand parents grew up. Her parents are dead and the grandparents ran into a health scare that made wanna go back here. Kelly misses her old friends and struggles to make new ones.
She gets a group of seemingly cool friends that have an overnight trip to a Graveyard as part of a sort of initiation. Things go south when a dead body is found…and it's likely to be a murder.
They are thrust into a murder mystery and must figure out who their culprit is. So this is really a Fear Street type young adult deal. There's murder and references to beer and major romance stuff. Nothing that edgy but that cover and title is false advertising.
The Graveyard starts all this and I guess it's metaphorical but not Spooky or supernatural like the opening stuff implies.
That aside, it's good if nothing too special. The writing is good, with some solid atmosphere. Kelly is a likable protagnist, with her desire for friends and bleeding heart nature. Alice is a fun bitch hype who fades into the background at times. Collette is a good friend who bonds nicely with Kelly.
It flows well and of course I like the sleuthing with them figuring this out. There's this loner guy Mike who is peeled back to show he’s not all bad. He could be toned down at times as man he doesn't make the best case for himself lol.
We get enough tension and Kelly is decently smart. The reveal of the culprit is the obvious one tho. They add in a wrinkle that is stil predictable but adds in some depth at least.
There's a moral about not pre judging people and how you don't always truly know a person. That's fine but the villain is someone they guessed based on the Weirdo they seemed to be. Getting conflicting messages, guys.
Still, the book is fairly even. Nothing too grand but not much is hugely wrong. Carol shows some decent talent. Nothing mind blowing here but it works.
The cover may be oddly misleading but it was a solid enough read. Not one you need to read but you'll find it agreeable.
As always next is up in the air but I have backburner items on my plate, new and old so that will be fun.
See ya then.
She has her share of works and this I hit up since the cover made it seem like another fun Spooky middle grade romp. I went into this blind and it wasn't what I expected.
Kelly is new to town, said town being where her grand parents grew up. Her parents are dead and the grandparents ran into a health scare that made wanna go back here. Kelly misses her old friends and struggles to make new ones.
She gets a group of seemingly cool friends that have an overnight trip to a Graveyard as part of a sort of initiation. Things go south when a dead body is found…and it's likely to be a murder.
They are thrust into a murder mystery and must figure out who their culprit is. So this is really a Fear Street type young adult deal. There's murder and references to beer and major romance stuff. Nothing that edgy but that cover and title is false advertising.
The Graveyard starts all this and I guess it's metaphorical but not Spooky or supernatural like the opening stuff implies.
That aside, it's good if nothing too special. The writing is good, with some solid atmosphere. Kelly is a likable protagnist, with her desire for friends and bleeding heart nature. Alice is a fun bitch hype who fades into the background at times. Collette is a good friend who bonds nicely with Kelly.
It flows well and of course I like the sleuthing with them figuring this out. There's this loner guy Mike who is peeled back to show he’s not all bad. He could be toned down at times as man he doesn't make the best case for himself lol.
We get enough tension and Kelly is decently smart. The reveal of the culprit is the obvious one tho. They add in a wrinkle that is stil predictable but adds in some depth at least.
There's a moral about not pre judging people and how you don't always truly know a person. That's fine but the villain is someone they guessed based on the Weirdo they seemed to be. Getting conflicting messages, guys.
Still, the book is fairly even. Nothing too grand but not much is hugely wrong. Carol shows some decent talent. Nothing mind blowing here but it works.
The cover may be oddly misleading but it was a solid enough read. Not one you need to read but you'll find it agreeable.
As always next is up in the air but I have backburner items on my plate, new and old so that will be fun.
See ya then.
March 31, 2023
Lol @ Kelly falling for the Bad Boy when he plays his sax for her in his secret underground hangout spot (not a euphemism)
This is a pretty standard girl-tries-to-solve-murder-and-gets-a-few-threats story but I did enjoy the part where our protag throws a hose at a mean girl and yells “SNAKE!”
This is a pretty standard girl-tries-to-solve-murder-and-gets-a-few-threats story but I did enjoy the part where our protag throws a hose at a mean girl and yells “SNAKE!”
June 22, 2025
Rounded up to three stars.
This one wasn't bad, but I believe I liked Gorman's Die for Me a whole lot better.
The cover and back blurb make this book seem like it will be something otherworldly but...it isn't.
Kelly is new to town and has only made the acquaintance of a girl named Colette, hoping they can be friends as Kelly had to leave all of her best friends in another town.
Colette is friends with two girls named Tracy and Alice. Out of the two, Tracy is the nicer one as Kelly finds Alice to be a sour person who looks all blonde and sweet but has nothing but disdain and attitude. They have decided to hang out at the local cemetery in the old caretaker's shed because, unknown to Kelly, it is a sort of initiation into their friend group.
When a snake makes it way inside, Alice freaks out, so the girls decided to camp out instead by a statue made out of iron...it is called The Black Angel. Needing to use the bathroom, the girls point Kelly toward a gnarled tree.
There she finds the body of a teenage boy covered in blood, eyes and mouth open in a frozen expression of horror. Kelly screams and runs to tell the other girls what she found but leading them back...the body is not there. Alice and Tracy don't believe there was a body, and Colette isn't very supportive either, but Kelly is freaking out.
Colette drives Kelly home where she lives with her grandparents out in the farmland of town and doesn't get much sleep. The next morning, Colette calls Kelly and has her meet the three girls at the park, not sounding very lively. Turns out, there was a murder last night.
The twist of that is the boy, Craig, was asked by Alice and the girls to "pretend" to be a dead body for Kelly to find as part of an initiation. What Kelly saw was ketchup smeared all over his clothes and not real blood until...he was killed by having his throat slashed sometime after the four of them left the cemetery.
Kelly wants to go to the police but, of course, none of the other girls do. Alice is the most vocal as she has applied to a lot of colleges and doesn't want this ruining her chances, Tracy just follows along as her sheep, but Colette is clearly torn between loyalty to Alice and her new friend in Kelly.
Colette stays with Kelly when the other two leave, but the conversation is cordial and casual about how guilty Colette feels about Craig's death. It comes to a halt when Kelly sees an older boy standing against a tree, dressed all in denim with ratty jeans and dark, piercing eyes. He is gone by the time Kelly has enough nerve to turn her back on him and ask Colette if she knows him.
School starts back up on Monday and everyone is talking about Craig's murder, the first amount of crime in a year where someone died. Silently, Kelly listens to the junior and senior girls gossip and gab where she finds out a boy their age named Daryl was killed by a hit and run driver that the police never found. At lunch, Kelly spots the boy from the park and is able to finally ask Colette who he is.
He is a senior named Miles Perrin and Colette tells Kelly that he is trouble. He has gotten in trouble with the police and has probably been held back as he doesn't go to class as much; Miles sits at a table by himself but acknowledges Kelly with a nod. No smile but it is clear that Miles is tall, dark and handsome and troubled.
Kelly finds Miles at her car after school, wanting to talk with her, but the tone of his voice sends a chill up her back. That night in the cemetery, when Kelly found Craig Harris' "body" she thought she could hear a male voice behind her in the shadows ask a quiet question:
"He's dead, isn't he?"
The next time that Miles asks to talk to Kelly, she agrees, and they end up having a very blunt conversation of asking why either one of them was at the graveyard Friday night. Kelly refuses to talk about it but after Miles loses his temper but then appears to become very sad as he apologizes.
Kelly shares her story when Miles tells her that he was there to meet Craig because he had called Miles to tell him that he knew something about the death of Miles' best friend, Daryl Miller. He believed that Craig was actually dead when he arrived earlier as Miles watched Kelly and the other girls. Their discovery of the body at the same time had both Kelly and Miles running away.
Miles is also against telling the police his story but only because he has been in trouble with the law in the past, but Kelly can see that he wants revenge as well. Someone killed his best friend and then murdered someone who knew the truth, but Kelly knows it will only lead to more trouble.
It does but not for Miles...but for Kelly.
Once she gets a job at the local grocery store, eerily because Craig worked there and his death left a position open, Kelly finds herself tangled with mysterious accidents meant to kill her and a whole bunch of suspects at her new job. Alice works there, Colette works there, and another worker is a boy named Jeremy. He is an egotistical jerk to everyone but a hard enough worker that the boss, Ron, won't fire him as well as having fans of all the female customers, middle-aged and up.
Most of the plot is easy to figure out about who is responsible and why with a few thrills to go around and a pleasant ending despite murder and intrigue running about. The part I like best in Graveyard Moon is the relationship we get between Kelly and Miles. We get to see a side of Miles that everyone, but Kelly and the late Daryl ignored, and it proves that they are the nicest characters in the book.
Kelly's grandparents are pretty nice too, but all of the other teens and adults seem flaky or rude.
Everything about Graveyard Moon is the standard murder-mystery type of horror plot and worth a read especially if you like a little teen/YA romance sprinkled about. If you can score yourself a copy, it is a decent addition to your bookshelf.
This one wasn't bad, but I believe I liked Gorman's Die for Me a whole lot better.
The cover and back blurb make this book seem like it will be something otherworldly but...it isn't.
Kelly is new to town and has only made the acquaintance of a girl named Colette, hoping they can be friends as Kelly had to leave all of her best friends in another town.
Colette is friends with two girls named Tracy and Alice. Out of the two, Tracy is the nicer one as Kelly finds Alice to be a sour person who looks all blonde and sweet but has nothing but disdain and attitude. They have decided to hang out at the local cemetery in the old caretaker's shed because, unknown to Kelly, it is a sort of initiation into their friend group.
When a snake makes it way inside, Alice freaks out, so the girls decided to camp out instead by a statue made out of iron...it is called The Black Angel. Needing to use the bathroom, the girls point Kelly toward a gnarled tree.
There she finds the body of a teenage boy covered in blood, eyes and mouth open in a frozen expression of horror. Kelly screams and runs to tell the other girls what she found but leading them back...the body is not there. Alice and Tracy don't believe there was a body, and Colette isn't very supportive either, but Kelly is freaking out.
Colette drives Kelly home where she lives with her grandparents out in the farmland of town and doesn't get much sleep. The next morning, Colette calls Kelly and has her meet the three girls at the park, not sounding very lively. Turns out, there was a murder last night.
The twist of that is the boy, Craig, was asked by Alice and the girls to "pretend" to be a dead body for Kelly to find as part of an initiation. What Kelly saw was ketchup smeared all over his clothes and not real blood until...he was killed by having his throat slashed sometime after the four of them left the cemetery.
Kelly wants to go to the police but, of course, none of the other girls do. Alice is the most vocal as she has applied to a lot of colleges and doesn't want this ruining her chances, Tracy just follows along as her sheep, but Colette is clearly torn between loyalty to Alice and her new friend in Kelly.
Colette stays with Kelly when the other two leave, but the conversation is cordial and casual about how guilty Colette feels about Craig's death. It comes to a halt when Kelly sees an older boy standing against a tree, dressed all in denim with ratty jeans and dark, piercing eyes. He is gone by the time Kelly has enough nerve to turn her back on him and ask Colette if she knows him.
School starts back up on Monday and everyone is talking about Craig's murder, the first amount of crime in a year where someone died. Silently, Kelly listens to the junior and senior girls gossip and gab where she finds out a boy their age named Daryl was killed by a hit and run driver that the police never found. At lunch, Kelly spots the boy from the park and is able to finally ask Colette who he is.
He is a senior named Miles Perrin and Colette tells Kelly that he is trouble. He has gotten in trouble with the police and has probably been held back as he doesn't go to class as much; Miles sits at a table by himself but acknowledges Kelly with a nod. No smile but it is clear that Miles is tall, dark and handsome and troubled.
Kelly finds Miles at her car after school, wanting to talk with her, but the tone of his voice sends a chill up her back. That night in the cemetery, when Kelly found Craig Harris' "body" she thought she could hear a male voice behind her in the shadows ask a quiet question:
"He's dead, isn't he?"
The next time that Miles asks to talk to Kelly, she agrees, and they end up having a very blunt conversation of asking why either one of them was at the graveyard Friday night. Kelly refuses to talk about it but after Miles loses his temper but then appears to become very sad as he apologizes.
Kelly shares her story when Miles tells her that he was there to meet Craig because he had called Miles to tell him that he knew something about the death of Miles' best friend, Daryl Miller. He believed that Craig was actually dead when he arrived earlier as Miles watched Kelly and the other girls. Their discovery of the body at the same time had both Kelly and Miles running away.
Miles is also against telling the police his story but only because he has been in trouble with the law in the past, but Kelly can see that he wants revenge as well. Someone killed his best friend and then murdered someone who knew the truth, but Kelly knows it will only lead to more trouble.
It does but not for Miles...but for Kelly.
Once she gets a job at the local grocery store, eerily because Craig worked there and his death left a position open, Kelly finds herself tangled with mysterious accidents meant to kill her and a whole bunch of suspects at her new job. Alice works there, Colette works there, and another worker is a boy named Jeremy. He is an egotistical jerk to everyone but a hard enough worker that the boss, Ron, won't fire him as well as having fans of all the female customers, middle-aged and up.
Most of the plot is easy to figure out about who is responsible and why with a few thrills to go around and a pleasant ending despite murder and intrigue running about. The part I like best in Graveyard Moon is the relationship we get between Kelly and Miles. We get to see a side of Miles that everyone, but Kelly and the late Daryl ignored, and it proves that they are the nicest characters in the book.
Kelly's grandparents are pretty nice too, but all of the other teens and adults seem flaky or rude.
Everything about Graveyard Moon is the standard murder-mystery type of horror plot and worth a read especially if you like a little teen/YA romance sprinkled about. If you can score yourself a copy, it is a decent addition to your bookshelf.
August 10, 2023
There are much better 90s teen thrillers about a girl moving to a new town only to discover there’s a murderer on the loose than this one!
August 27, 2021
2 1/2 stars.
For my book review, visit my YouTube Vlog at:
https://youtu.be/C6BaldHWht8
Enjoy!
For my book review, visit my YouTube Vlog at:
https://youtu.be/C6BaldHWht8
Enjoy!
February 9, 2022
3.5 Fun plot and characters but little mystery to what was going on.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews