Ann Fraistat

Not long after Libby's suicide attempt, her mother moves her and younger sister Vivi to a decrepit old house she inherited years before. The motive being that Libby needs a fresh start. Unfortunately, things go south right from the day they move in. Vivi has been hiding her resentments toward her older sister, one being that the move stopped her budding dancing career. The house has boarded over windows that when revealed, have bizarre designs and a few even have removable masks with portions of the design etched into them, Then there's the foul odor, endless insects, blue roses, creepy sounds in the attic, and a large stone table in the back yard by a thorny maze.
Then Flynn, a teen boy living a couple houses down the street is caught by Libby when he holds a seance at the table. The initial hostility between them soon transforms into a necessary, but uneasy alliance as they try to figure out how ten people seemingly vanished in the house over decades. One was Flynn's father, giving him skin in this ever more frightening game. What follows takes the reader deeper into the occult, the history of the house, and an ever growing threat to the sisters, their mother, and Flynn. How that shakes out makes for a compelling story.… (más)

While I was reading this, I had a sense of similarity to Clown In A Cornfield. Not so much because of plot similarity, but both books drop young people in seemingly impossible situations. In this instance, Wren carries a burden of guilt, believing she's responsible for the blight devastating the four farms whose unique crops have made Fox Hollow famous. That guilt and grief has become so unbearable that she cut off any interaction with Derek, the boy who has been the most important person in her life for as long as she can remember. Things begin with a bang when Wren discovers the blight has encroached on the back portion of the family wheat fields. In short order, she must ask Derek for help, figure out what happened to all the adults in the community, and deal with a terrible affliction.
The cast of characters is superb, the action and creepiness right up there, and the ending one where readers will feel as wrung out as the players when they close the book. Definitely a good choice for library collections where YA horror is popular.… (más)

What We Harvest is Ann Fraistat's debut novel - a YA read entitled What We Harvest.

For 150 years, the four founding families of the small village of Hollow's End have prospered. Their animals and crops are marveled at by visitors. Wren's family grows 'rainbow' wheat that is delicious in bread. Some even say it has almost magical health benefits. All four families are thriving until…the blight arrives. The last farm to be touched is Wren's family farm. Wren believes it's up to her to save the farms - as she thinks she caused the blight. There's one other person she can ask to help - her ex boyfriend Derek who is also a descendant of the original four families. The will they, won't they romantic storyline is well done. And - what book doesn't benefit from a loyal dog?

If you’re kind of a fan of zombie movies (raises hand) you’ll enjoy Fraistat's world building. The blight is mercurial, slithering and sliding into everything and everyone. It gave me goosebumps. Wren is great lead character - she’s strong, brave, a bit reckless, but determined save the farms and folks of Hollow's End. What she finds isn’t it at all what she expected. Or me either.

There’s lots of action and danger as encounters and skirmishes with the blight increase both in frequency and danger. How can the blight be beaten? Will Wren have to sacrifice herself for the good of the town and it's inhabitants? I do think there was perhaps one too many skirmish for me. It started to feel just a tad repetitive to me. I was eager to get to the resolution.

Isn't the cover gorgeous? And I liked the title's nod to the phrase "You reap what you sow." What We Harvest is a strong debut. I would happily pick up the nest book from this author.… (más)

Series Info/Source: This is a stand alone book. I got a copy of this book through NetGalley to review.

Thoughts: This was a bit of an odd book but I enjoyed it. It's about a small town known for its farming that is caught under some weird sort of plague caused by a quicksilver-like material. It ends up being a strange blend of zombie horror, alchemy, and a mysterious almost cult-like history.

I enjoyed the characters and the story well enough. It was engaging and easy to read. It was pretty different from anything I had read before, so I really appreciated the premise and creativity here. It gets a bit spooky at points but is never outright scary.

There is a bit of a love story between a couple of the main characters, but that’s not really the focus of the story. The story focuses more on Wren trying to find her parents and figure out what is causing the plague.

My Summary (4/5): Overall I enjoyed this. It was a creepy little read that initially looks like a zombie story but ends up being something completely different. If you are looking for a quirky, spooky read about a farming community getting into things they shouldn't, this may be the book for you. I will definitely be checking out future books by Fraistat.… (más)