This little novella gripped me by the heart and didn’t let go. I could not stop reading. It was a combination of strong atmosphere, the feeling of something ominous brewing under the surface, the mystery of the place, the family, and the ghosts, and a really strong main character. You just can’t help but feel for Mila, who’s alone in the world and all she wants is to belong, but she’s been hurt in the past, and she has secrets that are revealed slowly as the story progresses. We see her mysterious present and her traumatic past.
It’s such a lovely story, though. I expected something more horrific, but all it did was make me smile and cry about these people who all needed to be healed. But in order to be healed, you have to be hurt first. It’s not one of those stories with a strong plot. It’s a character-driven study, a found family trope, and a strongly atmospheric work of ‘look at how our past haunts us in the present’.
One of the best novellas I have read recently. I wish there was a different twist, though. At one point I thought it would be something shocking, but alas, it was expected. Nevertheless, I loved reading about Mila and the ghosts. I strongly recommend it if you enjoy character-driven short books that are slightly creepy, very mysterious, and mostly deal with overcoming trauma.
-Reviewed by Violeta Nedkova
