Mine

Lily is a total drama queen. Her antics though went terribly wrong back in her Colorado hometown. Bad enough that her father felt they needed a fresh start. They move clear across the country to Florida to an old abandoned house with lots of secrets. Secrets that might involve a ghost who wants Lily and her family to leave.

What worked: Creepy twist on the usual ghost tale. Who doesn't wonder about abandoned houses? When I was nine years old my cousins found one such house and our imaginations ran wild about why anyone would leave a house with everything still in it. In MINE the author shows Lily moving to a house littered with tons of trash and secrets. I really liked how readers see Lily's experience with having to move and with each cleaning of the house, more secrets come to light.

There's hints about why Lily's family had to move throughout the book. We know that Lily loves drama and has a tendency to exaggerate things. Only in this case when spooky things start happening to her and later to Rachel, a neighborhood girl, no one believes Lily. Her own father calls her a drama queen. I really felt bad for Lily.

And there are some creepy unexplained things that go on inside Lily's house. Add to that finding books in her room addressed to a Britney; tons of Amazon boxes; a lost dog named Buddy who apparently used to live at the house; and even creepier? A paranormal game that the girls find under a stair.

Good pacing and enough tension to have readers wondering who lived in the house? And finally, why is Britney haunting Lily?

Spooky ghost tale that also shows healing and moving past old wrongs. Fans of Victoria Schwab's CITY OF GHOSTS are sure to enjoy.

Lily isn’t thrilled about her family’s move from Colorado to Florida. In Colorado, she had her drama club and her friends. In Florida, she has a house full of garbage and boxes and a room full of things another girl owned. Lily tries to be on her best behavior and stop her natural dramatic tendencies that her parents keep punishing her for, but as more and more strange things start happening around their new home, the more frightened she becomes. It seems the ghost of the girl whose room she now has doesn’t want to give it up yet…

MINE is a middle grade horror novel from Delilah S. Dawson that features an absolutely terrifying ghost, Britney. There were several scenes that had me literally shuddering (especially the ones involving spiders). What takes Britney’s character to the next level is the sense of sadness behind her story. We don’t get answers until close to the end, but the clues along the way give the impression that, while nothing excuses the terror Britney is inflicting on Lily, she isn’t pure evil.

Change is a major theme in MINE. Moving, especially to a completely new state far from home, is a challenging experience, especially for a 12-year-old. Lily is navigating a completely changed environment while also trying to change her own behavior. She feels shame and guilt over what she did that led to the move, but she also struggles with fighting against her own dramatic personality. She has to learn the balance of being herself and forgiving herself when accidents happen, all while trying to figure out what Britney wants.

Overall, MINE is a fast-paced story of ghosts, change, healing, and moving on. MINE is a great readalike for those who enjoy Mary Downing Hahn and Lindsey Duga.