**We were gifted a copy of this book in return for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are our own**
Today I’m thrilled to be sharing my thoughts on Here Lie The Secrets, the newly released title from Emma Young. Massive thanks to Little Tiger Press for sending me a copy of this absolutely stunning book; isn’t the cover just beautiful! I hope you enjoy reading my full review…
About The Book
Mia s best friend Holly died when they were thirteen. But years later, Holly still hasn’t left her. Spending the summer in New York, Mia is hoping to escape the visions of Holly that haunt her life at home.
There she meets Rav, a parapsychology student, who convinces her to take part in a study into why some people see ghosts. Soon she is caught up in the investigation of Halcyon House, which is reputed to be haunted by a poltergeist.
As Mia confronts her fears, what she learns about the house and herself will change her life forever.
Review
As a teenager Mia’s best friend Holly passed away and she has been haunted by it ever since. Everywhere she goes Holly follows, everywhere that is except New York where Mia feels she is able to relax without the fear of encountering the ever present spirit of her dead friend.
Flying into New York to spend the Summer with her Aunt Sadie, Mia hopes to leave her worries behind and have some fun with her friend Tamara working to make money for their road trip, but all that changes when she meets Rav. Rav is Sadie’s new lodger and just happens to be a trainee parapschologist working on the study of paranormal experiences, something Mia is keen to avoid at all costs. However, before she has even had the chance to sleep off her jet lag she finds herself agreeing to be part of a paranormal study and pulled into intriguing world of ‘ghost hunting’ alongside Rav’s team.
Hoping to finally discover the answers as to why Holly still haunts her after so many years Mia agrees to take part in a real life ghost hunt hoping to find proof of poltergeist activity at the infamous Halycan House. But is Mia ready to discover the truth? and once she does will anything be the same?
Here Lie The Secrets is a quick paced, enjoyable character driven mystery. When I first picked up this book I was expecting a scary ghost tale to have me hiding behind my cushion, however in reality this story was more focused on Mia’s grief and the impact it has had on every aspect of her life. The paranormal does feature heavily in this book with the spotlight firmly being on the investigative side of ghost hunting and being a fan of TV shows like Most Haunted I found this aspect really interesting as it gave me some additional insight into the emotional and environmental influences on the data collected. There were suspenseful moments throughout the book which had the hairs on my arms twitching, but not many jumpy parts!
There are two parts to this book and I definitely enjoyed the second part more. The first section was laying the groundwork and giving lots of background to both Mia’s story and the investigative processes Rav’s teams use. The second part though is where the action happens as the characters embark on their time at Halycan House and the pace certainly kicks up a notch!
Here Lie The Secrets was much more of an emotional read than I was anticipating and I feel the author has done a fabulous job of dealing with some difficult topics. It’s a story of grief, friendship and forgiveness that is perfectly written for the young adult target market. For me personally it was a quick and enjoyable read, however I do feel my teenage self may have enjoyed it even more. It’s story lines and characters are perfectly pitched at a slightly younger age group who may be able to relate more closely than I could.
About The Author
Emma Young is a writer on science and technology for children, a staff writer for the British Psychological Society and a former editor on New Scientist magazine. She is also the author of the highly-acclaimed middle grade STORM series, and YA novel, SHE, MYSELF AND I. After spending some time living in the US, Emma now lives in Sheffield with her family.
Author Links: Website | Twitter
Here Lie The Secrets is available to purchase now from Amazon*
Fraser’s Fun House 