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Thomasine
Thomasine Lisowski has always hated her grandmother’s farm. A dark presence hovers over it. She’s thankful they moved to the city when she was younger, but now she and her parents are back for a funeral and that dark aura is stronger than ever.
A ghost leads Thomasine to suspect there’s more to the farm than just her imagination going wild. Mysterious murderers and a cult-like mindset stain the Lisowski name.
This trip to the country might be Thomasine’s last – because the family plans to never let her leave.
This trip to the country might be Thomasine’s last – because the family plans to never let her leave.
- GenresParanormal
168 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 17, 2020
1 person is currently reading
8 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
September 23, 2020
Disclaimer: my copy of this was given to me by the author, this in no way shapes my review, I would read her grocery or to-do list, she's that good!
Wow, this was spooky! I would definitely recommend it for October/Halloween reading, for sure. Kind of wish I had waited a month to read it, but I really needed something to kick me out of my slight book slump and this helped! (I say helped, because I had read and finished a 5 star book before this one, but it was non-fiction. I needed a fiction 5 stars and this worked for me.)
After reading the book, I do kind of wonder what the dad was thinking, not telling his daughter important bits about her family's history and wonder which family member/s did the actions that caused them to leave his hometown, but they weren't big enough questions to dispel the glow of reading this book. Once I got into it, I couldn't put it down. It did take a bit to get into, but that was from my book slump, not from the book itself.
I would LOVE to see a book about the librarian and the others who were roped into the family after the end. We were told in very broad strokes what happened, but I would LOVE to be in the heads of those who were finally free.
Trying to be vague, but enticing. I don't want to spoil this for anyone! It's contemporary YA with supernatural elements, that I found to be spooky. Warning, there is some animal death, not gratuitous and happens off-page, but it is there. Also some gun and animal violence. Not glorified, but it is there, as well as abuse occurring between family members.
5, this was just what I needed to kick me out of my book slump, stars!
Wow, this was spooky! I would definitely recommend it for October/Halloween reading, for sure. Kind of wish I had waited a month to read it, but I really needed something to kick me out of my slight book slump and this helped! (I say helped, because I had read and finished a 5 star book before this one, but it was non-fiction. I needed a fiction 5 stars and this worked for me.)
After reading the book, I do kind of wonder what the dad was thinking, not telling his daughter important bits about her family's history and wonder which family member/s did the actions that caused them to leave his hometown, but they weren't big enough questions to dispel the glow of reading this book. Once I got into it, I couldn't put it down. It did take a bit to get into, but that was from my book slump, not from the book itself.
I would LOVE to see a book about the librarian and the others who were roped into the family after the end. We were told in very broad strokes what happened, but I would LOVE to be in the heads of those who were finally free.
Trying to be vague, but enticing. I don't want to spoil this for anyone! It's contemporary YA with supernatural elements, that I found to be spooky. Warning, there is some animal death, not gratuitous and happens off-page, but it is there. Also some gun and animal violence. Not glorified, but it is there, as well as abuse occurring between family members.
5, this was just what I needed to kick me out of my book slump, stars!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 30, 2020
I loved it! This book is perfect for paranormal thriller fans. And if you like a good ghost story then you might not be able to put it down once you started reading. The story is gripping and I enjoyed the time jumps. Glimpsing into both the past and the present of one family and their family curse. My only issue with this book is that it ended too soon. I wanted to keep reading. But I also love that it ended very well. Overall, it's an enjoyable read and I'd definitely recommend it to my reader friends.
April 19, 2020
wow.. this was actually a lot creepier then i thought it would be.. it was interesting and made me curious what would happen next. it was well written and a very good story. i really enjoyed it
June 7, 2020
A fun, quick read. A little difficult to follow in the beginning, but it all came together nicely! Worth a read. :)
October 10, 2021
Thomasine contains the author’s staples: countryside setting, supernatural elements, and a history holding dark secrets. It is interesting to see how they all came together in this book. Spooky, twisted, and a bit gruesome as well, which I loved - the story doesn't disappoint.
A thing that is tad bit disappointing is . . . the protagonist Thomasine herself. She seems to have no autonomy but follow other people around doing what they tell her to, and heavily relying on her parents for decision-making. I suppose that is what the character development is for, and the family aspect is quite important to the plot.
But overall, I enjoyed almost everything about it. It is a good spooky story, one to keep you on edge as you follow through the mystery, and stumble on some dark past and gruesome stuff. If you are up for a quick, atmospheric mystery book with some supernatural elements, you might wanna check this one out. And:
Other similar books by the author:
Secrets of Bennett Hall
Cahootus Hollow
Escape from Witchwood Hollow
(All work well as standalones)
*Note: I was provided an ARC by the author in exchange for my honest review.
A thing that is tad bit disappointing is . . . the protagonist Thomasine herself. She seems to have no autonomy but follow other people around doing what they tell her to, and heavily relying on her parents for decision-making. I suppose that is what the character development is for, and the family aspect is quite important to the plot.
But overall, I enjoyed almost everything about it. It is a good spooky story, one to keep you on edge as you follow through the mystery, and stumble on some dark past and gruesome stuff. If you are up for a quick, atmospheric mystery book with some supernatural elements, you might wanna check this one out. And:
Other similar books by the author:
Secrets of Bennett Hall
Cahootus Hollow
Escape from Witchwood Hollow
(All work well as standalones)
*Note: I was provided an ARC by the author in exchange for my honest review.
June 5, 2020
i received a free ebook from the author in exchange for an honest review. the book was something so different that i didnt know what to expect from the start. but it held my complete attention since the very first page. it was a fast read & the mystery did a great job in pulling me forward, eager for more details to be unvealed. i absolutely loved the book!
April 13, 2020
This author always amazes me with her imagination. It shows up again in this book. Great story with great characters. I absolutely loved it!
October 23, 2020
Elizabeth blends the tropes of folk horror with the intensity of teenage belief, creating a story that asks “what if everyone really was watching you?”
Thomasine was born in the same small rural town in the USA as her father, her grandparents, and most of her other relatives. Her childhood was filled with nightmares of something lurking nearby, nightmares that ended when her family moved to the city. However, when the funeral of her great uncle brings her and her parents back, the foreboding returns too. A foreboding that turns to fear when a ghost leads her to a cache of letters that suggest the lurking threat might be her own family.
Elizabeth blends the traditional ghost-story trope of a spirit seeking to highlight a wrong with the small-town rituals and insularity that mark folk horror. This doubles the erosion of normality, amplifying the tension that is a large part of each genre.
However, both genres also incline toward the protagonist being presented with evidence that they doubt or even flee: a reactive or passive progression rather than a proactive one. While Jordan does not cast Thomasine merely as observer, enough of the plot’s progress relies significantly on the actions of others rather than Thomasine’s that some readers might feel she is along for the ride rather than the driving force in changing matters.
The potential wrongness beneath the surface in an out-of-the-way town is skilfully filtered through the narrator’s perspectives rather than stated openly. To a twenty-first century urbanite, being born, working your family’s farm, marrying, working your own farm, and dying all in the same place does seem claustrophobic; but there are no overtly strange rituals and her narrator is also aware of the support this closeness might offer, which prevents the almost universal hyper-traditional values from appearing definitely creepy rather than just unsettlingly other.
Where Elizabeth does deviate from the slow revelation of ghost stories and folk horror is in occasional use of a second narrator from a much earlier timeline experiencing some of the mystical events behind the current situation. While the dramatic irony allows the reader to know that Thomasine’s fears have basis, some readers might find it makes the story neither filled with enough uncertainty to truly capture folk horror nor certain enough to assess whether Thomasine’s choices will lead to success.
Thomasine is a solid protagonist for the story. As a socially awkward teenager, she both craves a place and is poorly skilled to achieve it, both believes utterly she is right and has immense self-doubt. This amplifies the sense of otherness needed for slow-burn horror. Unfortunately, the internal dissonance of adolescence can also cause her to pull back from action more than a younger or fully adult protagonist might.
The supporting cast are, unsurprisingly, defined by a sense of having another life off page. This adds a sense of depth to the tropes of small-town life without weakening the sense of uniformity that supports Thomasine’s sense of not fitting in.
Overall, I enjoyed this book but felt the protagonist wasn’t for me. I recommend it to readers seeking young adult horror that focuses on paranoia and otherness rather than more visceral threats.
I received a free copy from the author with a request for a fair review.
Thomasine was born in the same small rural town in the USA as her father, her grandparents, and most of her other relatives. Her childhood was filled with nightmares of something lurking nearby, nightmares that ended when her family moved to the city. However, when the funeral of her great uncle brings her and her parents back, the foreboding returns too. A foreboding that turns to fear when a ghost leads her to a cache of letters that suggest the lurking threat might be her own family.
Elizabeth blends the traditional ghost-story trope of a spirit seeking to highlight a wrong with the small-town rituals and insularity that mark folk horror. This doubles the erosion of normality, amplifying the tension that is a large part of each genre.
However, both genres also incline toward the protagonist being presented with evidence that they doubt or even flee: a reactive or passive progression rather than a proactive one. While Jordan does not cast Thomasine merely as observer, enough of the plot’s progress relies significantly on the actions of others rather than Thomasine’s that some readers might feel she is along for the ride rather than the driving force in changing matters.
The potential wrongness beneath the surface in an out-of-the-way town is skilfully filtered through the narrator’s perspectives rather than stated openly. To a twenty-first century urbanite, being born, working your family’s farm, marrying, working your own farm, and dying all in the same place does seem claustrophobic; but there are no overtly strange rituals and her narrator is also aware of the support this closeness might offer, which prevents the almost universal hyper-traditional values from appearing definitely creepy rather than just unsettlingly other.
Where Elizabeth does deviate from the slow revelation of ghost stories and folk horror is in occasional use of a second narrator from a much earlier timeline experiencing some of the mystical events behind the current situation. While the dramatic irony allows the reader to know that Thomasine’s fears have basis, some readers might find it makes the story neither filled with enough uncertainty to truly capture folk horror nor certain enough to assess whether Thomasine’s choices will lead to success.
Thomasine is a solid protagonist for the story. As a socially awkward teenager, she both craves a place and is poorly skilled to achieve it, both believes utterly she is right and has immense self-doubt. This amplifies the sense of otherness needed for slow-burn horror. Unfortunately, the internal dissonance of adolescence can also cause her to pull back from action more than a younger or fully adult protagonist might.
The supporting cast are, unsurprisingly, defined by a sense of having another life off page. This adds a sense of depth to the tropes of small-town life without weakening the sense of uniformity that supports Thomasine’s sense of not fitting in.
Overall, I enjoyed this book but felt the protagonist wasn’t for me. I recommend it to readers seeking young adult horror that focuses on paranoia and otherness rather than more visceral threats.
I received a free copy from the author with a request for a fair review.
May 15, 2020
Ghosts, a murderous cult, and men who can turn into wolves feature in Jordan Elizabeth's latest novelette Thomasine. As a young girl, Thomasine believed there was something sinister living in the cellar of their farmhouse and was thankful when the family moved away. Now she has returned for a funeral and cannot shake off the uneasy feeling that there is evil afoot. On top of that, Thomasine can see ghosts and there is one, in particular, that is begging her for help.
The story switches between Thomasine's point of view and Adelajda, a Polish girl from 1888. The girls' stories combine in a supernatural way, which brings the story to its dramatic climax. Thomasine discovers her family history is dark and complicated and her future looks bleak. If she tries to escape her fate, Thomasine's parents would be in grave danger. Just as she was beginning to despair, Thomasine discovers a solution to her problems in the form of Adelajda...
Thomasine is a fast-paced story, 155 pages in length, that keeps the reader entertained from beginning to end. Mystery, fantasy and mild horror are all combined together with a hint of romance to create a welcome addition to Jordan Elizabeth's œuvre.
The story switches between Thomasine's point of view and Adelajda, a Polish girl from 1888. The girls' stories combine in a supernatural way, which brings the story to its dramatic climax. Thomasine discovers her family history is dark and complicated and her future looks bleak. If she tries to escape her fate, Thomasine's parents would be in grave danger. Just as she was beginning to despair, Thomasine discovers a solution to her problems in the form of Adelajda...
Thomasine is a fast-paced story, 155 pages in length, that keeps the reader entertained from beginning to end. Mystery, fantasy and mild horror are all combined together with a hint of romance to create a welcome addition to Jordan Elizabeth's œuvre.
April 15, 2020
5 Cranky Stars
Thomasine spent the first few years of her life on the family farm with her father and mother. When she was four they moved to a big city. Her father did not want her growing up on the farm because there was cult-like behavior that happened there between the family. The entire town was one family. She always hated living on her grandmother's Farm, there was always this Darkness about. She had a connection with the bed, she always saw ghosts and could communicate with them. When she was 16 she had to return to the family farm from the big city for a funeral. And she is exposed to all the dark secrets and cult-like behavior that happened on the farm. Including murder, kidnapping, bullying, and blackmail. She finds the source of the power within the family and hopes to destroy it.
I really enjoyed this book, I enjoy everything by Jordan Elizabeth, but this one is my new favorite. It's full of twists and turns, a loss of innocence, and magic.
Thomasine spent the first few years of her life on the family farm with her father and mother. When she was four they moved to a big city. Her father did not want her growing up on the farm because there was cult-like behavior that happened there between the family. The entire town was one family. She always hated living on her grandmother's Farm, there was always this Darkness about. She had a connection with the bed, she always saw ghosts and could communicate with them. When she was 16 she had to return to the family farm from the big city for a funeral. And she is exposed to all the dark secrets and cult-like behavior that happened on the farm. Including murder, kidnapping, bullying, and blackmail. She finds the source of the power within the family and hopes to destroy it.
I really enjoyed this book, I enjoy everything by Jordan Elizabeth, but this one is my new favorite. It's full of twists and turns, a loss of innocence, and magic.
June 14, 2020
What I liked the most in this story is how things were rather unpredictable and how it was hard to see how everything was going to fit in together.
Jordan Elizabeth has a way to take twist and turns in a story that nobody else would take and that's a reason why I find those story so creative.
The first part of the story shows something really dark that is usually always portrait the same in books or movies, the weird evil child, however Jordan managed to make it something else entirely.
The story turns around one well developed character and her perception of the world which can seem sometimes limited but still seems so true.
I really enjoyed this book.
Jordan Elizabeth has a way to take twist and turns in a story that nobody else would take and that's a reason why I find those story so creative.
The first part of the story shows something really dark that is usually always portrait the same in books or movies, the weird evil child, however Jordan managed to make it something else entirely.
The story turns around one well developed character and her perception of the world which can seem sometimes limited but still seems so true.
I really enjoyed this book.
July 21, 2021
This story has just the right mix of magic, realism, and history to pull me into the story. Plus, a strong protagonist in Thomasine. Something is not quite right in Millersville, and that has something to do with Thomasine's family heritage and a curse that must be broken. I felt this story led to a satisfying, albeit quick, climactic finish.
A+ for narrator, Amanda Stribling, for her delivery of a solid performance. A for the author, Jordan Elizabeth, for crafting an engaging story!
A+ for narrator, Amanda Stribling, for her delivery of a solid performance. A for the author, Jordan Elizabeth, for crafting an engaging story!
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews