Curses and Other Buried Things - Caroline George - ★★.½

AUTHOR: Caroline George

NARRATOR: Hallie Ricardo

GENRE: YA Mystery.

RATING: 2.5 stars.

In a Nutshell: Expected something dark and mysterious from the blurb; found it only partially. Didn’t expect to find romance in the plot; found it in abundance. Assumed this to be Adult fiction; turned out to be YA. In short, not my type of book, but might work better for a YA mystery fan.

Story Synopsis:

Susana Prather’s family legacy involves a generational curse that ensures that every first-born daughter loses her mind and kills herself within a few months of her eighteenth birthday. Now that Susana has turned eighteen, she feels like the countdown to the end has begun. Can she do anything to stop this horrid familial endowment?

The story comes to us in two timelines, with the contemporary time containing Susana’s arc in first person, and a historical timeline detailing in third person the life story of the person with whom the curse began.

Bookish Yays:

🌹 The book begins with a striking note penned by the author. She speaks about how the story was inspired by her family’s history and folklore, and how much it derives from the life of her own great-great-great-grandmother Susana Godwin.

🌹 I did, and still do, like the premise. The idea of a generational curse and its impact on the mind is depicted well. It’s an innovative take on intergenerational trauma.

🌹 I loved the use of the swamp in the story. It is incorporated into the plot much better than in Delia Owens’ “Where the CrawdadsSing”. The alligators added to the atmospheric fun.

🌹 A couple of the secondary characters, such as Aunt Missouri, are interesting.

🌹 As a Southern Christian fiction, the book hits the right note in terms of the depiction of the southern lifestyle. Right from the food to the culture to the beliefs and superstitions, the writing represents that part of the country wonderfully. (Except for the hooey about the curse.)

🌹 I hadn’t expected the writing to be YA in style. Thankfully, inner monologues, so common in YA writing, are mostly avoided in this book.

Bookish Nays:

🌵 I had expected a much darker story, almost on the lines of psych horror, considering the mention of curses and witches in the blurb. But somehow, the darkness is sporadic. This is partly because romance plays a strong role in the narrative, thereby diluting the impact of the core plot. (All the more as the romance was typical YA in style, filled with tropes that I never enjoy.)

🌵 The book has two timelines, and each contains a love triangle. With the two Susana’s of each timeline battling two distinct Romeos, this triangle-hating reader lost her patience.

🌵 I didn’t like the main character from the contemporary timeline. She acts her age, which is good for YA readers but not for me. I was tired of her secret-keeping, which was quite ironic as she kept blaming others around her for having secrets. Her decisions and actions were almost always illogical.

🌵 I hate the miscommunication trope with all my heart. When Susana Prather already knows how much danger she is in after her eighteenth birthday, why does she not seek help from anyone? Why tackle such a serious curse alone, despite there being no shortage of love and support?

🌵 There are some silly things in the plotting. For instance, the family already knows that every firstborn girl child will go through the curse. And yet, they name every such girl ‘Susana’. It’s almost as if they are marking the baby for death with such a trend. This tendency of maintaining the same first names also makes the plot slightly confusing to follow, despite the change of narrative voice between the two Susanas.

🌵 Except for minor historical elements, there is nothing much to distinguish between the two timelines and they feel quite repetitive. The middle of the book drags a lot because of the feeling of déjà vu between the timelines.

🌵 The ending was absurd. It didn’t spring up logically from the rest of the plot, and felt bizarrely out of place. I hate pull-the-rug endings of this kind.

🎧 The Audiobook Experience:

The audiobook, clocking at 13 hrs 37 min, is narrated by Hallie Ricardo. She handled her job really well, and I loved her voice. But I wish she had used two distinct pitches for the two Susanas.

If you are interested in this book, the audiobook would be a great option, as long as you are attuned to hearing books in this format. With its dual timelines and multiple characters – some with the same name, it doesn’t make for easy listening. Won’t recommend this format to audio newbies.

All in all, this would have been more interesting to me had I been the right reader for this content. I picked this up expecting a psychological horror, not a cheesy YA romance with just a few dark scenes.

If you are a YA fan, you will certainly experience this book much differently. So please try the book depending on your reading preferences rather than on my review.

My thanks to HarperCollins Christian Publishing and NetGalley for the ALC of “Curses and Other Buried Things”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the audiobook.