I began reading this book with expectations that it would be pretty creepy as the synopsis made it sound like it could be something that might keep me up at night. So, I was a bit surprised when I found that Mine was, to me at least, a lower level of horror than I am accustomed to. I’ve come to the conclusion that this book is a charming, mostly-friendly ghost story with a bit of creepy crawliness to be found along the way.

The plot of an only child, Lily, and her parents moving to an old, trash-filled house in Florida that seems to be a little bit haunted is what drew me to this book, and though the storyline is a bit juvenile in nature, this was a fun read and perfect for the upcoming spooky season. Lily is a teen known for being a bit dramatic at times, so much so that her parents don’t seem to take anything that she says seriously. Upon moving into her new house with her parents, some strange things begin to happen, but as a reader, it’s difficult to parse out if Lily is just seeing things, or if something is haunting her new house.

Stumbling across the path of a potential new friend, Lily makes the mistake of letting her get too close to the weird things that she’s been experiencing and quickly scares her away. With nothing left to do but try to solve the mystery of what is really going on in the big, garbage dump of a house her parents have settled into, Lily decides to dig a little deeper into the rotten food boxes and stale belongings that were left behind from the previous owners, even if it means climbing into the dumpster her family has rented for the clean out and sorting through the trash to find something that she thought had no importance when she threw it away.

Mine is a fun, short read that younger and older readers can find something entertaining in. Just because it didn’t terrify me doesn’t mean another reader won’t find this to be the scariest thing they’ve ever read, and I think middle-grade readers who aren’t quite ready for the nightmares that some horror novels can inspire will find this book to be just the ghost story that they need!

Review of a Digital Advance Reading Copy

This book was sent to Compass Book Ratings for review by Random House Children’s Books

Content Analysis:

Profanity/Language:  4 religious exclamations. 

Violence/Gore:  Several brief scenes occur where a girl hears or sees evidence that her new house is haunted, a few of them are written threats; a girl sees pitcher plants growing and realizes they look like they’re filled with blood; a girl is using scissors and her hand slips, cutting her finger, some blood is mentioned; a young girl is reported to have died in the house that a new family just moved into; a brief scene occurs where a girl hears creepy noises in her house; a brief scene occurs where a girl falls down a flight of stairs and is slightly injured; a brief scene occurs where a girl dreams she is drowning; a report is made of a girl having been found dead in a lake; a brief scene where a girl encounters the ghost of a man and he tells her how he died occurs; a report of a building accidentally catching on fire is made; a girl discovers the ashes of a deceased child in a brief scene.

Sex/Nudity:  None

Mature Subject Matter:

Ghosts; death; haunted houses.

Alcohol / Drug Use:

None