Reviewed by Jeanne
The first James woman walked alone out of the Forest in Cabal
Hollow, West Virginia generations ago.
Since then, all the James women have had certain gifts. The current
James family has them too. They are
somewhat small gifts as magic goes; for example Rowan James knows when someone
is lying and Sorrel James can charm bees.
Linden James can taste emotions: she knows exactly what people are
feeling, whether or not she wants to.
What Linden can’t do is remember what happened last summer
when she went missing in the woods during the festival. She was found with a head injury and no
memory of what happened or how she ended up where she was. Some people seem dubious about her claim of
amnesia, but then the James women have always been the object of suspicion even
as people come to them for tonics and creams.
Now the summer solstice is here which means festival time: the Moth Festival, celebrating the legend of
the Moth-Winged Man, a folkloric figure who may bring death or at least warn of
death. Linden’s friend Dahlia Calhoun has come home from college for the
festival. Dahlia is the reigning Moth
Queen, and it’s time for her to relinquish her crown.
But Dahlia goes missing the night of the festival, only to be found
dead. Linden knows that she is going to have to discover what happened to her
the year before if she is going to be able to solve Dahlia’s murder. She’s also
going to have to uncover a lot of secrets—including some about her own family.
Sometimes a novel just has you by the opening paragraph. That’s what Bittersweet in the Hollow
did for me. I liked the writing and the
imagery from the start, and the story just drew me in. This is a beautifully
written YA novel set in West Virginia. Appalachian traditions are represented
without condescension or judgment. The
book is a wonderful blend of mystery with some supernatural elements, romance,
coming of age, and family. Characters
were well developed, and the setting was very vivid. I liked that Pearsall took the Point
Pleasant’s Mothman legend and reshaped it into something else, drawing more on
traditional lore. I was drawn to all the characters and the book left me
wanting more. I liked all the sensory
descriptions Pearsall employed. In some
ways, the book reminded me of those written by one of my favorite authors,
Sarah Addison Allen.
I understand there is going to be another book in the series,
and I’m already looking forward to it.
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