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I had the absolute pleasure of receiving an ARC of “Grave Mistakes” by Kitty Curran in exchange for an honest review. “Grave Mistakes” follows Molly Dade, a sixth grader in the small town of Roehampton, Maine who has a supernaturally extraordinary family. Her mother? A ghost. Her twin? A poltergeist. Her little sister? A zombie. It's only Molly, her older brother, and father who are still around in the land of the living. But that doesn't mean the ones who aren't alive aren't still around too! They are a perfectly normal family. Or at least Molly is trying to make them be.
This book is heartwarming, exciting, and mysterious at parts. But if I had to think of one word to describe this book it would be: convenient. Middle grades are never (necessarily) going to have the depth and complexity that adult or even young adult books have but this really fell flat in terms of plot, characterization, and pacing. Let's break down each one of those.
First plot: I actually really enjoyed the plot. The majority of the book is Molly and Marty (her twin poltergeist) trying to figure out who is responsible for cursing the Dade family which has already resulted in two family deaths. It's a pretty big deal because it looks like whoever it is is targeting the rest of them now, a year after the first incident. This book is 100% plot motivated and I think that's a strength of this book. It has an interesting, intriguing hook and it keeps readers wanting to figure out what happens next. However, there were a lot of plot holes and loose strings that don't necessarily NEED to be wrapped up, but also don't really need to have been in there at all. Without spoiling too much, there's just a ~lot~ of useless red herrings used in this book. And for what reason? Nothing came full circle.
Secondly: the characters. The characters in this book were charming when they had a chance to show themselves but because the book is so plot heavy you really don't get to see the characters shine much and even when they do you are desperately left wanting more. Some character's motives seem completely out of character in moments and then back again. I don't know if this makes sense but bear with me: the characters act like characters. Not people. Also the character of Marty (remember he's a poltergeist) is weirdly un-fleshed out for a character that gets used so much. Readers are told that he cannot be seen by anyone but Molly, being his twin, can sense him. Great, fine, love it. But that means you can't have lines like “his gaze” or “as he craned his neck around”. Make it make sense.
Lastly, the biggest gripe I have with the book: pacing. I'm just still amazed that there is a three week gap between chapters and readers are supposed to believe that nothing important or worthwhile happens in those weeks? It's really mind boggling that choice. But besides that, there's really no rhyme or reason when chapters end. Sometimes multiple chapters will feature the same event or action whereas (like said before) there will be multiple time jumps between chapters. I don't know if it's a middle grade thing or if it's just poor pacing but chapters don't always have to be the same length. Ya know?
I have a lot of feelings about this book but let's break it down to this.
Did I enjoy myself: yes, but mostly a “love to hate it” situation
Would I re-read it: no thank you
Would I recommend it: no thank you
I'm disappointed in this book because it could have been really good. I think that even children's books can be good. Even groundbreaking. But this read more like a chapter book for an elementary school student than a middle grade.
