"Picture the Dead" Review

"Picture the Dead"
by Adele Griffin and Lisa Brown

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Release Date: Feb 1, 2012 (paperback)
Source: sent by publisher

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Summary from goodreads.com:  



A ghost will find his way home. But I am not a ghost.
And this house is not my home.

After losing her parents and her brother, falling in love with Will was Jennie Lovell's last opportunity for happiness. But then she lost him too...

As Jennie tries to mend the pieces of her broken life, she feels an eerie presence from something otherworldly...something that won't let her leave the past behind.


Acclaimed author Adele Griffin and bestselling illustrator Lisa Brown have created a spellbinding mystery where the living cannot always be trusted, and death is not always the end.

My Review:

This is one of the best books I've read for a long time. It was so refreshing and unexpected, and I was on the edge of my seat up until the last page. I was already a fan of books set during the civil war, and also a fan of ghost stories, so I was pretty sure I would like this book. I wasn't expecting to love it so much though!

Jennie is a great main character, she's smart and strong and I think a lot of readers can relate to her. The other characters in the book are amazing too. Everyone plays their part, from Jennie's horrible Aunt Clara, to her wounded cousin Quinn, and even the mysterious spirit photographer Geist.

I loved the illustrations and how they helped to tell the story. The drawings are essentially pages from Jennie's scrapbook, one of the only things that she feels like really belongs to her. The reader gets to read Jennie's letters as they were written, stained and all. And we get to actually see the photos that the family poses for at Geist's studio along with a lot of other photos that Jennie has collected along the way.


Main Characters: 5/5
Supporting Characters: 5/5

Setting: 5/5

Romance: 5/5

Uniqueness: 5/5
Cover: 5/5
Writing: 5/5



Bottom Line: This book is really something special and I recommend it to anyone who likes history, romance, and a good ghost story.

10 comments

  1. Ooh, this looks interesting. Seconding what Alexis said, what is the age group for this? If it's not too young for me, I think I'll love this.

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  2. O cool. SO glad to hear it's this good. Great review.

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  3. I think i would love this book too! It sounds so so great!!
    thanks for sharing your thoughts!

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  4. History, romance and ghosts...hm, not big on ghosts but here it would work well

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  5. Yay! I am so glad you liked this one too! I loved it as well and the illustrations really added to the story.

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  6. That's funny because another blog is pushing this book today. Not to say you're pushing it. Just that's what she says she's doing and then here's your review! Great review and this is already on my TBR list, but I'm glad to know that someone besides that one reviewer loves it!

    Heather

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  7. This cover certainly has me intrigued. I'm glad you enjoyed this one, Carrie!

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  8. I so want to read this! I love the paperback cover! Great review :)

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Thanks so much for your lovely comments!