I was given this as a free e-book by the author in exchange for an honest review.

Right, first off, let me say as I always say when I rate a book 3 stars, that a 3 star review is NOT a bad thing! In fact, I'd recommend this book.

Okay, I had trouble getting into this book. I found it a bit too slow paced for my liking.

However, a little over half way through the book, I really started getting into it! It became super interesting!! I loved the whole volleyball game chapter. That one was probably my favourite!! I also liked the use of Latin phrases throughout the book.

The ending was really good as well. It was definitely a plot twist that I didn't see coming at all!!

I also want to mention that their were a few images in this book which I really enjoyed. They brought a little bit extra to the book, and I thought they were drawn really well. =)

This would make a great holiday/summer read =)

Definitely recommended! ( )

This book turned out not to be what I expected. So take my words and rating with a grain of salt. What did/didn't work for me may in fact work for another.

The idea of the novel intrigued me. The idea of a girl who can channel the wishes and answers of the dead through her drawing jived with my love of the supernatural and ghosts or the dead. The author does a great job of making this concept work in such a way that I lived for those moments in the book. I also loved the idea that some of the drawings in the book were used to stand in for Janie’s drawings themselves. It was fantastic to have that visual.

I also fell in love with the character of Janie herself. I found her to be a fantastic individual to tell the story through. She’s down to earth, calm, and takes life’s challenges as they come. Out of all the characters, I found her the most relative and the one I’d love to meet in real life. I think I echo another reviewer when I say if I’d met Janie in real life, I’d definitely be trying to make friends with her.

However, after those good points is where I think the book wasn't quite what I was expecting. I was expecting a novel that explored Janie’s supernatural talent, how that impacted her life, and the hinted at romance in the description. While the book did have these elements to a degree, far more of the storytelling space was dedicated to teenage hi-jinks and melodrama.

There are huge chunks of the book where the drawing stuff seems to have been forgotten about. We’re reading how all the girls seem to hate Janie because the two male leads both like her, volleyball practice, and inner-teenager monologues that leave me with a bad taste in my mouth. Not what I was expecting at all from the description. Now, I understand that this novel is intended for young readers so a bit of teenage melodrama and daily life is expected. Yet, for my palate, it seems to overtake the entire novel in such a way that the supernatural drawing bend almost seems forgotten.

So like I mentioned, I had expectations going into this novel that just didn't pan out in the end. The idea of the supernatural drawing and Janie as a character were pluses in the novel’s favor. Yet, the longer the novel went on, the more it tended to lean towards teenage soap opera rather than what I expected. So if you’re in the market for a novel on teenage life with a supernatural twist, you’ll probably like this one. But if you’re in the market for a strong supernatural story, look elsewhere.

Note: Book received for free from the author in exchange for an honest review. ( )

Janie is a high school junior trying to fit in with her classmates which is about to get harder when a new guy joins their class and she develops the ability to channel the dead.

Aside from the volleyball championship going on a bit too long for my taste and a few typos, I loved the book.

The crisp and descriptive narrative help drive the story as Janie and pals try to find their way and who they are, both as individuals and amongst others. The later journey is done both subtly and explicitly.

Often emotional dialogue shows how the characters are defined and growing throughout the story. Even side characters are defined to a point and help to show the different cliques/groups present in high school.

Overall, a fun read! ( )

Cemetery Girl
Joseph Cognard
Self-Published
240 Pages
ISBN-10: 0615654006
ASIN: B0050NM8E0
3 Stars … decent read but had issues.

~I received a PDF copy of this book from the author for purpose of an honest review. I was not compensated for my opinion, which is 100% honest, and my own responsibility. ~

This book started with an interesting premise, Janie is a high school student with a talent for drawing, and a wish to be “special”. Her best friend Bobby is master of all things “geek”, together they seek to determine what gives Janie the ability to channel likenesses of the dead in her artwork.

As a premise – it was fabulous. The gentle reminder that there is perhaps something after death that remains of a spirit, and that her talent may help people with their grief, as well as explain a mystery 50 years in the making is intriguing. Sadly, the story crafting does not live up to the premise.

While I will say that the author did a very good job of showing the relationships of the teenaged girls, including their often keen cutting comments and overreactions, there were huge issues with the writing that dimmed my enthusiasm.

There are several glaring errors in word choice, whether those are attributable to the “word corrector / selector” available in many word processing programs, I am not sure. Some looked to be that simple. Other issues were more in line with improper use and improper verb tenses.
The voice faded in and out for me, there was times it was clearly a teenaged voice and without transition or clarity become more a third person narration.

That being said – the premise was able to carry the story forward, and while I can’t justify a 4 star review, I would be interested to see where the next volume in this proposed series is heading. I will restate that an editor would have been very helpful with the final crafting of this book.
GLH for Lovers of Paranormal - Review ( )