Thank you to Dutton Books for Young Readers and Netgalley for providing me with an arc for review!

Watch Over Me is such a delicately soft book that talks a lot about trauma, grief, and finding your own found family. LaCour had a unique take on ghosts and what other significance they could have. It's just so tender and haunting in a way I was not expecting.

This is a hauntingly beautiful story. It's about loneliness but even more so it is about found families and healing. LaCour's prose is, unsurprisingly, lyrical without being flowery. Every scene is intentional and none were too lengthy. This book shows the difference between loving someone and wanting to own someone, and it does it so wonderfully. There were some characters I wished we could have learned more about and some plot points I would have liked more details about; that being said, this is very much Mila's story and changes such as these may very well have ended up harming the story rather than helping it.

This book is grief, pain, heartache, loneliness, and most of all healing all wrapped up in a beautiful package. Another reader said that no one does loneliness like Nina La Cour, and I couldn’t agree more. This book has so many wounds, you could just feel it bleed from every page. There was also this sense of mystery where the reader is trying to put all the pieces together. I will say, I was not disappointed. The last chapter was WONDERFUL. The writing style was everything. I can’t wait to recommend this to everyone at our library.

ALSO...I loved Mila's relationship with her social worker. It made me want to become a social worker so I could be that one friend in these kids lives that they could consistently count on. It was PERFECT.

*Thank you to the folks at NetGalley for a digital ARC*

Rating: 3/5 🌟
Author: Nina LaCour
Publisher: Dutton Books for Young Readers
Release Date: 9/13/20
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I want to start by saying thank you to Penguin Teen for the review copy of Watch Over Me by Nina LaCour.
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!! REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS!!
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Oh boy, where do I begin. The barely flushed out characters? The confusing story? or the slow build up? While I did enjoy this book it wasn’t until the last 20ish pages that I really got into it. We spend most of the book learning about Mila’s past , and boy is it dark. What drew me to this book was the description: “Mila is used to being alone. Maybe that’s why she said yes to the opportunity: living in this remote place, among the flowers and the fog and the crash of waves far below.But she hadn’t known about the ghosts.” I’m not sure what I was expecting but it was not this. While I knew it was about a girl who had aged out of foster care and went to work and a farm, in the hopes of finding a place to belong my main draw was the ghost. Which were not that spooky. I was hoping for more Haunting of Hill House, what I got was Casper the Friendly Ghost. However these aren’t your typical ghost. They are the ghost of your past and you have to accept them , and welcome them in order to start heal which I thought was really cool m. That was my favorite part of this book. It is apparently a follow up to her book We Are Okay. Maybe if I read that one first this one would have made more sense? Overall I did enjoy it. While it is not for me, and has confirmed contemporary is definitely not my thing. I would gladly get this for a friend.
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Nin LaCour is a fabulous author, whose books take an unexpected turn. This one is no different - love this setting, I was a little on edge reading it and I think it will be good for my students who are looking for something that is a bit different than a traditional storyline.

Watch Over Me is a haunting book full of grief and overcoming that trauma and learning to love others and be loved back. Nina Lacour knows how to write a very atmospheric book, that had you so immersed with the characters it was like you were experiencing everything too. I really loved how this book was written with the sad and eerie flashbacks and how real the main character seemed. Mila had raw emotion and was filled with such utter loneliness that was written so beautifully. Mila just wants to overcome her grief and be wanted and loved. Seeing her growth was such a heart wrenching thing and I really loved this book.

While I enjoyed this book and loved the memory flashbacks and the point of this story, I didn’t end this book feeling any type of way. I really loved reading it and it was a powerful story, but it didn’t linger with me and I don’t feel the need to think about it. Other than that, I devoured this book and absolutely loved the magical writing style, descriptions, and characters.

Nina LaCour is the queen of quiet, powerful novels. Watch Over Me reminded me of We Are Okay in that both novels revolve around a girl suffering from a great emotional trauma. Mila, the protagonist of Watch Over Me, has aged out of foster care, and takes a job as a teacher at a remote farm that houses foster children. It's not until she arrives that she learns about the ghosts. The farm, while a beautiful, welcoming place is also haunted -- both literally and figuratively. As Mila tries to find a place for herself at the farm, she must also come to terms with a past trauma that threatens to swallow her whole.

LaCour did an incredible job setting the mood at the farm, drawing realistic characters, and using the ghosts. The ghosts felt natural in this story, which is as much about the past as it is the present and future. Fans of LaCour's past novels will love this one too. It's a little bit mystery, a little bit magical realism, and full of so much emotion. I wanted to hug Mila and tell her how much she deserved to be loved. This was such a lovely, emotional read.

This is a moving story about finding strength in your chosen family and facing the demons of your past so you can move on. Mila's journey from foster child to finding a sense of belonging in the world drew me in and had me cheering for her. I also appreciated the presence of a character who uses they/them pronouns and is completely accepted by those around them.

This book was beautiful and haunting, tackling themes of trauma, family, friendship and ultimately healing. I absoutely adored it.

Loneliness, trauma, grief so all consuming. Nina Lacour writes in such a moving way that I don’t think the chills from reading this book will leave me for the rest of the night. Hauntingly beautiful.

No surprise that the writing was absolutely incredible. Nina LaCour can do no wrong, and she is easily one of the best writers of YA. I will always love Nina LaCour, and this is a fantastic novel of hers.

This is not the book I thought I was reading, but it was still amazing! I think reading this book after reading a Rory Powers novel really got to me! I was looking out for spooky things the entire time when that isn't the intention of this novel. I kept trying to piece together the supernatural when I really should have been focusing on the growth of our wonderful main character. I think this is the only reason Watch Over Me wasn't a five star read for me. I will always be astounded at the amazing character development Nina creates in her books. I always feel like I'm going on a journey when I read LaCour's books. It was truly an epic adventure from start to finish!

“Watch Over Me” is a chilling supernatural drama that will leave your gut churning and soul hollowed.

PLOT

Mila is a woman adrift. Aged out of her foster home and desperate for connection, our protagonist receives an invitation to move to a remote farm and take on the role of teacher to a young boy. As Mila adjusts to life on the farm, the troubled teen is haunted by her past, both literally and metaphorically.

WRITING

LaCour is a gifted storyteller, who pays particular attention to details, setting, and apt metaphors without appearing heavy-handed. At times, “Watch Over Me” flows like exquisite poetry, throwing the narrator’s fragile mental state in sharp relief as her thoughts slash across the page like discordant notes.

TOPICS

“Watch Over Me” is not for the faint of heart. The novel grapples with feelings of isolation, otherness, unworthiness, and gaslighting, to name a few.

The narrator’s past trauma puts the reader in the troubling state of wondering whether her perception can be trusted, a question she herself is facing. With each passing chapter, her voice is more and more unreliable and we fall deeper and deeper into discovering the truth of her dark past.

OVERALL

I struggled to read this in one sitting (I couldn’t, in fact). LaCour’s writing left me twisted and reeling, desperate for warmth. A solid work worthy of hype.

4.5/5

Abandonment, grief, ghosts. This book is told my teenage Mila, who was raised by her young mother. Having given birth to Mila as a teenager, her mother made loads of mistakes in raising her. The biggest was that she got incolved with a man who emotionally abused both of them and had them live in squalor in what seemed to be a homeless camp. This book jumps back and forth from life with her mother and her life today. and how she deals with everything.

An emotional heart rending read, with a slight back story of ghostmired guests, leading the way to become a part of the family circle. Will Mila follow her haunted past and learn from the ghosts, will she abandon all hopes of ever belonging anywhere. Will Mila earn the prized possess-sion cherished by all other family members?

First off, thanks so much to the hosts of the SLJ Day of Dialogue which gifted us galleys of this book and holding a phenomenal virtual con.

The biggest let down of this book is the fact that I devoured it in two days. Turn of the Screw has been receiving the royal treatment lately and Nina's rendition is by far my favorite. Is there anything better than a good ghost story during a summer (or autumn when this is released) storm? For those who loved the atmospheric quiet crafted in We Are Okay, Watch Over Me provides that same lush imagery. The way she is able to so accurately write all the nuances of aloneness is beyond my comprehension. I grew up on the east coast, but in a very rural area where farmer's markets are part of the routine summer fun, wildflowers grow in everyone's yards. Terry and Julia's farm felt as though it could be just down the road from me, a short walk and I'd be there in this healing place safely tucked away from the chaos of the world right now. Even if your story is vastly different from Mila's, I feel anyone could connect to her need for growth and come out of this book tempted to face their fears head on.

Okay first of all, so excited to have won an e-ARC of Watch Over Me!! Thanks, Penguin Teen. But now to the review:

I stand by my proclamation of Nina Lacour as the queen of writing sad girls. This I thoroughly enjoyed how this book talks about grief, trauma, and finding the ability to trust and be loved afterwards. But this slow and quiet story didn’t pack the same emotional punch for me as We Are Okay. I felt like Mila’s character development went from very gradual growth to hyper speed because the book needed to end. It could have been longer and not packed so much in to the last 30 or so pages (read a galley so I’m not sure how accurate that page count is).

I loved getting to know Mila and sifting through the air of mystery that the farm held, so the setting and characters kept me engaged. However, I wish we could have spent more time getting close to other characters. It felt like while the story was actually quite slow some aspects like that were just skimmed over. My biggest issue was definitely pacing, but overall the writing was beautiful and the story idea is really interesting.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3425321071

Firstly, I would like to thank Penguin Teen for hosting a sweepstakes for a digital arch (delivered via NetGalley) of this novel. Watch Over Me is a quick read and beautifully told first-person story about a teenager trying to overcome her past and adapt to a new way of life. Having recently graduated high school, Mila comes to work as a teacher for foster kids in a North Carolina farm. She draws from her own experiences in foster care to relate to the children. Longing for a place to call home and people to call family, Mila tries to fit in while getting over her haunting visions and memories. I particularly enjoyed the interactions between Mila and her first student Lee. We see Mila grow as an educator in helping Lee overcome his fears while getting over her own reservations about trusting people. I also loved the way Nina LaCour used the tittle as a motif that echoes throughout the novel. The author does a great job at building suspense and revealing pieces of Mila’s past at select points in the book to drive the story forward. Watch Over Me is a story of a young lady finding her place in the world: overcoming her fears, coming to terms with past mistakes, and finding family in the most unexpected places. I recommend it for those looking for a quick, past paced, suspenseful read.

Nina LaCour is one of my favorite YA authors and her new novel did not disappoint! She is an exceptional writer and being from Mendocino County, this story has a special place in my heart. I can't wait to recommend this!

This story captured my interest. I was intrigued by the home Julia and Terry provided and in awe of the ghosts and the way they were received by the children. I finally understood the relationships revealed as the story unfolded. I loved this book and the way it dealt with pain and recovery.

Thanks to Penguin Teen for providing a digital ARC of this book through NetGalley for my honest review.

This book was about a young lady named Mila. She had grown up spending much of her life in foster care. Her mother was a teen mom and made a lot of poor choices. When she graduated high school she was given an opportunity to live on a farm and teach young foster children. It was a wonderful opportunity for her to join an an unconventional family and feel like she belonged. She was worried about the ghosts of her past following her.

This was a YA book but was a great story. It's about struggles and overcoming struggles. It's recommended for older students 14+. I definitely would have it in my 8th grade classroom for students to read. It kept my attention and was quick to read.