Mistwalker by Saundra Mitchell tells the story of a small lobster-fishing town with a cursed lighthouse, though the Grey Man residing in the lighthouse hasn’t actually been acting all that mean in the last 100 years. Mistwalker combines the charm and troubles of a small town with a spunky MC, a family trying to keep from breaking after tragedy, and a dash of paranormal. I absolutely loved the inclusion of realistic high school relationships (and ends of high school relationships), a best friend who just happens to also be a lesbian, and parents who are trying their best despite recently having buried a child. Mistwalker was not at all what I was expecting; it was way better!
Note: I received an eARC of Mistwalker through Netgalley for an honest review. Some things may have changed in the final version.



Mistwalker by Saundra Mitchell
Published by Harcourt on Feb. 4th, 2014
Genres: Contemporary Fantasy, YA
Length: 272 pages
How I got my copy: NetGalley

When Willa Dixon’s brother dies on the family lobster boat, her father forbids Willa from stepping foot on the deck again. With her family suffering, she’ll do anything to help out—even visiting the Grey Man.

Everyone in her small Maine town knows of this legendary spirit who haunts the lighthouse, controlling the fog and the fate of any vessel within his reach. But what Willa finds in the lighthouse isn’t a spirit at all, but a young man trapped inside until he collects one thousand souls.

Desperate to escape his cursed existence, Grey tries to seduce Willa to take his place. With her life on land in shambles, will she sacrifice herself?

Strengths:
The Grey Man legend isn’t something I’ve read about ever so it was awesome to see this new semi-ghost story angle. The dual POV between Willa and Grey just added a whole new intriguing element. We find out right away that Grey isn’t the cursed ghost that he’s supposed to be, but he definitely isn’t perfect either. Plus, he has power over the fog :D.
There isn’t much romance in Mistwalker, partially because Willa is in a long-term committed relationship from the beginning, and partially because Mistwalker portrays a typical problem of the end of high school: high school romances don’t always survive. I was thrilled at the realistic portrayal of a couple of romances, which was honestly a breath of fresh air for YA.
Willa’s best friend is Bailey and she’s gay! I was so so so happy with Bailey as a character since she has a lot of other things going on (applying to colleges, avoiding repairing the brakes on her truck, trying to maintain a relationship into college) and really her romantic relationship could have easily been with a boyfriend instead. Mistwalker is an excellent example of how easy and appropriate it is to have a couple of characters that aren’t straight without it being a big deal.
I wasn’t really sure how Mistwalker was going to end, but I was so happy that romantic true love didn’t save the day. There is a really interesting parallel drawn between Willa’s experience with Grey and Grey’s experience with the previous Grey Lady that just made me love Willa all the more.
I know pretty much nothing about lobster-fishing (did you know there are blue lobsters?!?), so it was really interesting to find out a bit more about how all of that works, plus the fun setting of a small town where the elementary/middle/high school is in a renovated mansion, haha.

Weaknesses:
Mistwalker is kind of the opposite of action-packed. There is a lot of stress going on for everyone, but things just sort of progress at a normal pace instead of the edge-of-your-seat action that you might expect. I didn’t find myself struggling to keep reading necessarily, but I did keep wondering when the action would start and it just never really did.
Mistwalker isn’t a book with a happily ever after, so don’t go in expecting that. I was content with the ending and give props for Mitchell staying true to the themes of the book, but there are a few loose ends that it looks like I’ll never get answers for *sigh*.

Summary:
If the idea of the Grey Man and a small fishing town intrigue you, definitely pick up Mistwalker. Mistwalker does an excellent job of combating so many of the common complaints with YA (absent parents, insta-love, lack of LGBT characters), while creating an intriguing and mesmerizing world for you to discover along with Willa. I will definitely be looking for more books by Mitchell in the future since my biggest complaint is that there probably won’t be a sequel! D: ( )

My review got deleted. :( and I'm too lazy to rewrite it.

Really amazing story. Pace was slow for me, which is why I'm giving it 3.5 stars...but it made it up with all the other things it did amazingly.

Including keeping the romance and supernatural elements in the background. (Fantastic!)

Highly recommend.

Oh and
thanks to the publisher for providing me with a copy in exchange for my honest opinion. ( )

4.5 / 5

If you are tired of reading the same style of young adult book over and over again, then you simply must read Mistwalker. I went into reading it thinking it would be the standard young adult fare and I was so pleasantly surprised by what I read instead. Should I even go into that? Would it or will it ruin any surprises if I do? Ok I guess I have to in order to get the point across as to why I love it - so read the review no further if you want to have your own surprises. If you decide not to just know that the standard tropes aren't used and this is not a YA romance but a coming of age story.

Willa is our heroine, but as you'll find out quickly right now she is not everyone's best friend. She's pretty much on the outs with everyone. She got herself into a bit of trouble a few months ago and unfortunately, her younger brother is the one that paid the ultimate price...

Due to this tragedy her family is in utter turmoil, emotionally as well as financially. That is exactly what I loved about Mistwalker, it wasn't just about Willa it was about her family. Where you would expect most YA books to have a heavy romantic element, and I really was expecting that, I kept on thinking any moment all the romance is going to roll out and smack me on the head out of nowhere. It just doesn't and I found that SOO absolutely refreshing. Because it fools you, or at least it really did fool me. How did it manage that? The premise! An aching captive soul, The Grey Man is cursed to remain on the lighthouse island until he collects a thousand souls or has someone willingly take his place. Willa loves the sea and is drawn to the island. Sounds like a recipe for star crossed love right? Of course that is exactly what I thought I would get, tormented love. When I didn't get that, even at every turn I kept thinking it was somehow going to be forced in there, I was so pleased when it never happened that I was just plumb tickled pink. Relieved, Elated, stretching out like a contented cat that finally got some cream kind of moment there when I finished I have to tell you.

Essentially, Mistwalker is about growing up, trying to do the right thing, knowing that things aren't going to work out the way you always thought, or wanted them to, and self sacrifice. This to me is what really makes really good young adult literature. Because it is these types of things that young adults go through, the rights of passage that make you into an adult and not just the teenager they once were. Throw in some local urban myths or legends with a little dose of magic and I was given the perfect recipe for a book I couldn't put down from start to finish. ( )

Part of this book was brilliant. Saundra Mitchell's descriptions were marvelous. I could 'feel' the small fishing town, the lobstering, the worming. The way Seth and Willa touched and kissed was so believable. So I will be checking out this authors books in the near future.

As for MISTWALKER, book and I did not connect. I enjoyed the wordsmithing, but somehow the intrigue of the plot didn't draw me in. In fact, the sections in the point of view of The Grey Man sort of irritated me.

A book for middle-graders and young adults, MISTWALKER and I didn't connect. There were points of interest but the pacing seemed slow to me, and the concept of a dude in a lighthouse forced to collect a 1000 souls just didn't draw me in. It might have been better to leave the mystical element out and to have focused entirely on the family's coming to grips with the murder.

--review copy ( )