Shallow Graves

October 19, 2015
In Wallace’s gritty paranormal debut, 17-year-old Breezy wakes up in a shallow grave a year after she was murdered and buried, with no memory of what happened. She soon discovers that she can sense when someone has killed—and mete out dark justice of her own—but she doesn’t want this power; all she wants is her life back. As Breezy navigates her unlife, she meets fellow “monsters” of various stripes and a creepy cult leader, Pastor Willow, who claims he can “fix” them by excising the darkness within. Writing in Breezy’s pragmatic and engaging voice, Wallace weaves an unsettling tale that explores Breezy’s strange existence, while also thoughtfully examining a life cut short and Breezy’s longings for what could have been. Breezy’s clinical approach to her new state of being is darkly humorous (she makes a list of all the ways she tries to kill herself, once and for all), but her struggle to reconcile what she has become with the human she used to be forms the heart of this bittersweet story. Ages 14–up. Agent: Adriann Ranta, Wolf Literary Services.

October 1, 2015
A girl wakes up a year after her murder to discover new, supernatural powers. As she was only in a shallow grave, she easily kills the man who digs her up. Breezy can now tell if people are killers. If they are, she can grip their arms and pull them into a seemingly natural death. Once she kills them she gains their memories of murder. She meets a boy who tries to recruit her into a cult, but its leader, Mr. Willow, sees that she is a monster. When she tries to leave, she's captured, awakening in a locked room with another woman, who has different powers. Once they overpower the guard, Breezy embarks on a mission to find and kill Mr. Willow, a task that proves to be even more dangerous than she might have realized. She also wants to learn just what kind of monster she has become; two ghouls, seemingly normal young men except for their dietary needs, help her. Wallace includes flashbacks of the events that led to Breezy's murder at the age of 17, building a complete narrative that leads to a marvelously suspenseful climax. Unfolding through the eyes of the monster, the story first flips readers' sympathies, then plays with that reversal. Mr. Willow makes a formidable villain, but it's the final, real monster near the conclusion that wows readers. Constantly entertaining, intriguing, and suspenseful. (Paranormal suspense. 12-18)

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December 1, 2015

Gr 7 Up-This title will initially grab readers with the mystery of Breezy's death and her new undead identity, but many will be left dissatisfied. Breezy Lin doesn't remember her death, but she does remember waking up in a shallow grave a year later, clawing her way to the surface, and killing with just one touch the man who woke her. Now she's wandering, testing the limits of what her body can handle (because she definitely can't die again) and taking out murderers, whom she can sense by the shadows surrounding them. But when she's directed to a church with a ministry for runaway youth, she realizes the secret of her past. Wallace experiments with narrative structure, unveiling Breezy's personality via flashbacks, memories, and her philosophical musings, but her treatment of the present is less compelling. Breezy is directionless until she finds herself running for her life, but even then she's not committed to anything in particular (learning more about her new nature, understanding the world she's discovered, avenging herself, hunting down murderers) for very long. Except for a stilted conversation in which Breezy asks a new companion which kinds of seemingly fictional creatures (ghosts, unicorns, vampires, and so on) are real, very little of the paranormal world is revealed. This peculiar lack of curiosity about the world Wallace has created spoils what might otherwise have been an intriguing paranormal mystery. VERDICT Too shallow a world and too aimless a protagonist.-Gretchen Kolderup, New York Public Library

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from December 15, 2015
Grades 9-12 *Starred Review* Breezy Lin has been dead and buried for a yearmurdered and tossed into a shallow grave. So when she wakes up and claws her way out, no one is more surprised than she. She may not remember the last year, but she does remember the events leading to her murder. Worse, she suddenly finds herself possessing creepy powers: she can sense when someone has killed, and she can use that darkness to kill them. Also, she can't die (again), and it's not for lack of trying. Confused and alone, Breezy soon finds herself caught in a dangerous web of monsters and monster hunters, and she's not sure where she fits into that equation or if she has any chance of being redeemed. In a surprisingly nuanced first novel, Wallace draws on mythology from various cultures to create her monsters, and the monsters themselvesghouls, revenants, nightmaresare hardly standard. Asian, bisexual Breezy, who fought with her friends and dreamed of being an astronaut, is a well-drawn, melancholy heroine whose mourning for the life she lost is equally as compelling as her afterlife. It's a fast-paced story with an interesting hook, and a thoughtful look at what it means to be human versus what it means to be a monster. The end result is a superbly crafted debut bound to entrance.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2017
Breezy knows she's undead but not much else. Why can she identify murderers, kill with a touch, and steal memories? Breezy explores the grim world of paranormal creatures--including monsters worse than herself--but can't progress in her new existence until she faces the truth about her death. Wallace tenderly herds Breezy from avoidance to acceptance in a satisfyingly bittersweet ending.

(Copyright 2017 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)