Book Review: Shallow Graves by Kali Wallace

Release Date: January 26th, 2016
Read:  November 25th-27th, 2015
Publisher: Katherine Tegen
Series: N/A
Format: ARC, 386 pages
Source: McNally Robinson/ Two Thumbs Up Program

Description from GoodReads:

   When seventeen-year-old Breezy Lin wakes up in a shallow grave one year after her death, she doesn’t remember who killed her or why. All she knows is that she’s somehow conscious—and not only that, she’s able to sense who around her is hiding a murderous past. In life, Breezy was always drawn to the elegance of the universe and the mystery of the stars. Now she must set out to find answers and discover what is to become of her in the gritty, dangerous world to which she now belongs—where killers hide in plain sight and a sinister cult is hunting for strange creatures like her. What she finds is at once empowering, redemptive, and dangerous.

Review:

   There were stars. It was too lonely to be heaven, and there wouldn't be stars in hell.
   The minute I heard and saw the cover of Shallow Graves I was smitten, I absolutely needed it in my life. There was hype in the blogger community, and for a while it seemed like it would be one of my favourite debuts of 2016. Unfortunately when I read the ARC, I got something else than what I was expecting.
   The Shallow Graves started out great, with our dead character using her new powers for good. Getting rid of murderers so they don't do anymore harm. It was terrific, I couldn't put the book down. I was consumed by it. Although once we hit a quarter of the way through the book I hit a snag that I didn't enjoy. Wallace went in a way different direction than what the description described and the way I thought it would go.
   Going into the book I expected a girl who was confused about her powers but knew to use them for good. I even thought that maybe she would have to deal with it all on her own, or find someone like her. What I got instead was this whole different setting that left me with more questions about the book than I wanted. Wallace created this whole world for her debut, but took it nowhere. She created a villain and accomplices that had a backstory but didn't give us enough information about them to help us picture who they were as people. She also gave our main character a few friends to lean on, but in the end they really weren't necessary. They just weren't relevant enough to the story to have, the same went with the villain she gave us. She completely took us off course from what was intended with the plot, where she could have just written about a undead girl who could see murderers for who they really are, she gave us a unexpected story that readers picking up the book to read didn't want.
   Though Kali Wallace kept me engaged with her debut, Shallow Graves, it was not the novel I was excited for and so I was disappointed.
   Shallow Graves was my first 2016 read, where it didn't turn out the way I had wanted I still have high hopes for the 2016 books to come.

 You can find my review on McNally Robinson's Two Thumbs Up review page here.

Rating:

Favourite Quote:

" The first rule of cannibal mermaid club is don't talk about cannibal mermaid fight club." 

Recommend to People Who Enjoy:

Young Adult, Paranormal, Murder, Thriller, Supernatural, Zombies