I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The Cherished by Patricia Ward Published by HarperTeen on 4/18/23
Genres: Fantasy & Magic, Horror & Ghost Stories, Mystery & Detective, Young Adult
Pages: 336
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
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Jo never expected to be placed in her absent grandmother’s will—let alone be left her house, her land, and a letter with mysterious demands.
Upon arriving at the inherited property, things are even more strange.
The tenants mentioned in the letter are odd, just slightly…off. Jo feels something dark and decrepit in the old shack behind the house. And the things that her father used to talk about, his delusions… Why is Jo starting to believe they might be real?
But what Jo fears most is the letter from her grandmother. Because if it’s true, then Jo belongs here, in this strange place. And she has no choice but to stay.
Short and Sweet Review
When Jo’s estranged grandmother dies and leave’s her property to her Jo doesn’t fully understand why and it doesn’t help that the letter her grandmother left for her doesn’t entirely make sense. Jo and her mom travel to the house and find that there are tenants who aren’t completely normal, and something feels off with the house. The longer Jo stays in the house the more she thinks the delusions her father used to talk about were true, and her grandmother’s letter was right and she belongs in this house.
The Cherished was a hot mess, it was offensive and the way the author tackled mental health and talking about how people looked was not okay. Jo and her mother don’t have the best relationship and so their conversations are mostly filled with snark and snappy comebacks. Abigail (Jo’s mom) was an insufferable character, she thought she was above everybody else and was constantly complaining. I didn’t like that Abigail already had it in her head that she was going to sell the house and tries to get rid of the tenants that Maureen (the grandma) wanted to stay there. Jo and Abigail come and start rocking the boat and were inconsiderate of the people around them. It wasn’t until 50% through the book when we realize what’s actually going on. There’s fairies and they like to kidnap children. Jo is responsible for keeping the fairies at bay which is why Maureen gave her the house.
I didn’t like the attitudes that Jo and Abigail came into town with, like they were better than everyone and that what they want to happen was going to happen. The book was slow and the ending was rushed. The whole thing about the fairies would have been better if they were introduced earlier. There are issues with this book and I don’t think the execution was great. The characters were entitled, the plot was slow and the ending was too easily fixed, especially when Jo really didn’t know what she was doing. I personally wouldn’t recommend this book.
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