Mine by Delilah S. Dawson [book review]

Mine book summary:

Mine is a middle-grade horror novel that follows Lily. She’s twelve years old and her family is making her move to Florida after she did something bad. It’s a far way away from her home and her friends. She’s nervous about being in a new place, new home, new school. On top of that, they are moving into a cheap estate home that was once owned by an old man who had a hoarding problem. So, now Lily has to spend her summer helping her parents clean the house. Except weird things are happening at the house and her parents just think she’s being overdramatic like she always is. But what if Lily is telling the truth? What if there’s something in that house that is claiming the house as its own?

What I thought of Mine

So, when I got an advanced copy of this book I actually didn’t realize that it was middle grade. For some reason, I assumed it was a young adult book. But I definitely don’t regret getting it. Mine is a middle-grade ghost story where Lily starts seeing things in her new home and her parents don’t believe her. She makes a new friend in the area that does believe her though. How does a twelve-year-old manage to deal with a somewhat violent ghost if not many people believe that it’s there?

The Characters

Mine follows Lily after moving into a new home thousands of miles away from where she once lived. She has no friends and has to spend her whole summer cleaning a home she didn’t even want to move into. I can’t help but really like Lily. She seems like a really good kid. She’s smart, helpful. and knows what she needs to do in order to get on her parent’s good graces.

Lily actually has really good growth through the story. She starts off as kind of a bratty kid who acted over-dramatic about everything. She grows into a girl who can tone it down even though being overdramatic is in her blood. On top of that, I like that she’s willing to help out the ghost that’s in her home even though she has no choice about it.

The Plot

Granted this is a middle-grade book like I said before but there are some creepy aspects to it. I can see this being the perfect horror book for a teen or adult who wants something a little bit more light-hearted. This story isn’t as depressing as some horror books can manage to be. It still has some of those creepy aspects that make a horror story horror.

There are parts of this story that reminds me a bit of the Goosebumps stories which made me love it even more! The story is fast-paced and makes you a little leery about moving into a new home without researching its past a little more.

Do you guys read middle grade stories?

If you enjoyed this review then you might also like my review of It’s the first day of school… Forever!