DNF @5%

What the actual f*ck is this book?? I didn't even make it through two chapters and the number of racially insensitive (at the very least), fatphobic, ableist lines with terrible takes on mental health pregnancy and more is WILD in a YA book coming out in 2023. And so far, the writing isn't great either. It's choppy and makes odd choices at times with tense usage. And maybe the plot ends up doing something interesting with the horror elements, but I won't be able to tell you because I'm not wading through anymore of this garbage to get there. Other reviews get into details of some of the specific things said, but I can tell you I could make a lengthy list and I only read a tiny fraction of this book. I recieved a copy of this book for review via NetGalley, all opinions are my own.

I teach in a middle school and The Cherished would be a great novel for my students to read. Patricia Ward writes from the heart. The Cherished is a compelling coming-of-age story that follows a young woman as she navigates a tense yet loving relationship with her mother and the equally complex issues of identity, race, and class. The story is enriched by supernatural elements, which are seamlessly woven into the narrative.

Ms. Ward is no stranger to exploring issues of fraught identity and painfully and elegantly articulating complex relationships between family. I searched out The Cherished because I was blown away by a book of hers titled, The Bullet Collection. A literary memoir about growing up in Lebanon during the civil war.

In The Cherished, as in The Bullet Collection, Ms. Ward uses language that is pristine and beautiful. Jo, the main character, facing insomnia and depressive moments is described as follows:


"She empties her mind as much as she can, hollowing out the dark spaces, emptying, breathing, but there are always thoughts floating by in the darkness, like the squirming lines under a microscope slide. They never stop. They are the basic proof of life, these mismatched errant images and words. No matter how still she lies, no matter how black her clothing, how filmy and gauzy and soft (clothes of a long-dead person, lying in stillness, in darkness), the thoughts come."

Later in the book:

"The trees sway against the sky, too. The world never ceases motion. She might be still as stone, but everything in the world outside flutters, sways, shivers. Perhaps that’s what always frightens her from falling asleep, the knowing that when she lies unconscious, helpless, there is ceaseless motion all about. Life, continuing without her, changing, moving. "

The Cherished begins in the affluent suburbs of Boston and ends in rural Vermont. In another instance of inspired prose, the author describes Tom, who Jo meets in Vermont:

"He looks like a thing grown from this earth, a living gnarl of bone and flesh born from dirt and rock. His big hands haul things—stumps, logs—as if they have no weight at all. He chopped down the tree he’s sitting on, and pounded and baked the bread she eats in the morning, and slit the necks of the chickens in the freezer. Everything in this place has been touched by his hand, at one time or another. Sitting on his stump to stare across the meadow, he looks like the overseer of this land. Way more than she could ever be. . ."

The Cherished is an inspired novel that will resonate with anyone who has struggled to find purpose or grappled with complex relationships.

As I wrote, The Cherished would be an exciting novel for my students to read. Additionally, I could use it to introduce my more advanced readers to literary fiction by suggesting, if they liked Cherished, they should read The Bullet Collection.

I found this very difficult to read. The grammar, the storyline, characters were all over the place. Love the book cover but the story did not match.

Rating: 🌟🌟

The idea of Fairies we have based on stories we have come across as kids are the small mythical creatures with wings and magical wands. But what if their attitude changes from happy and friendly to ferocious without warning if they are somehow offended? That’s the idea Patricia Ward explores in her debut effort “The Cherished”.

Kudos to the author for exploring a relatively new theme in the fantastical genre(at least to me). Young Jo inherits her grandmother’s ancestral house, the source of her nightmares and childhood visions with her father. Accompanied by her mother, Jo decides to take a trip up to the house in an attempt to sell it, though unwillingly. The mysterious caretakers of the property, Tom and Hattie, warn Jo against selling the property and unveiling an “underworld” but as things go in such stories, the other world is unlocked and all hell is unfurled. Can Jo understand the mystery behind her visions and close the “door” forms the rest of the story.

The book gave me a bit of “Locke and Key” vibes but unfortunately the pacing was a major negative for me. Half of the book is wasted setting up the plot and the mother daughter relationship was a bit confusing. The book would have worked wonders if it was a 100 pages less in length but that’s just my opinion. The synthetic audiobook, though helped in pushing along the length of the book, was devoid of any emotional connect- another negative for me. But hoping for the actual human rendition to enhance the experience.

A very unique attempt but misses the mark for me. Thank you Netgalley, Harper Collins and Patricia Ward for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

#NetGalley #TheCherished

This book was wild. I thought the writing was great and I loved, loved, loved the concept (I won’t spoil!). But though, I did have some issues with the beings as the villains of the story, but that was my own personal preference. I did find the first half of the book quite slow and didn’t pull me in, but once I pushed myself through, and everything started to pick up, I thought it was really really good!

I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book.

Unfortunately, me and this book didn't hit it off as much as I wanted after seeing that cover. The main cause this book didn't work for me was the writing style. I can see why other individuals might adore this book but it just wasn’t cup of tea.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC copy of this book. I found it enjoyable but not unique. It also read a little younger than I would prefer.

DNF'd at 43%.

I enjoy a handful of YA, but the narrative voice for this felt middle-grade while still exploring YA themes. Additionally, there are some problematic representations of schizophrenia, and so I won't be recommending this to my followers.

I trudged through this one, it took me two weeks to finish it. While I loved the cover (it's absolutely gorgeous!) and thought it had potential, the execution just wasn’t there for me.

I felt like the beginning of the story droned on and on, and I found the main character to be incredibly annoying and grossly immature for the first half of the book. The second half she's a completely different person which didn't make much sense to me either. There were also several excerpts from old letters that added nothing to the story line and didn't really give you any insight. It was just extra fluff that I could have done without.

The synopsis and cover initially sold me on the story. It's labeled as horror, but it wasn't horror - not even with it being YA. I think if you enjoy YA fantasy, this would be more appropriate.

With all that being said, it wasn't to the point where I felt I needed to DNF it and while the ending was rushed, it was still okay to me. Many thanks to the author, Harperteen and NetGalley for my review copy. The Cherished will be available 4/18.

Thanks for the ARC netgalley!

Unfortunate DNF! Just couldn't really get into the writing style of this... Maybe I'll give it another try at a future date, but how it was written felt too jumbled up (may also be me at the time!)

The Cherished was a bit outside my normal reading comfort zone, but I'm glad I requested it, because I ended up enjoying it more than I expected! The pacing was a bit slow in the beginning, but I felt like it paid off as the creepy, horror aspects of the story picked up. I tend to enjoy stories about dangerous faeries, and that definitely played a part in my enjoyment of this book. For those who like YA horror, I would definitely recommend The Cherished.

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Collins for granting me an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

When I hear a "visceral horror thriller" I expect it to be...well, thrilling. The pacing was slow, there is so much of this story that could have been cut down... "In the vein is Midsommar" but it didn't feel like that at all, just creepy house and creepy man.... The writing was... interesting. It is chalk full of really long run-on sentences. Lots of unnecessary descriptions and then at times blunt and not adding to the story at all.. The characters just felt so meh as well..

I really liked the premise of this story. The execution was overall good, but I think the story moved a little slow for me. I also didn’t find the main characters as complex as I would have liked. The story though, was still compelling and interesting. If you like the genre, I would recommend the book!

I enjoyed the premise of this story and appreciated the way the mother-daughter relationship is written. It's messy and complicated and it makes the history of the story feel real. I also thought the story voice fit the book nicely. That said, the mystery reveals were nothing too exciting, and there were things that didn't makes sense to me even after everything was revealed. I wish there had been some explanation for why Jo had to be the one to complete the important task.

This book really seemed like something I would love. A teen girl that doesn't quite fit in, a haunted house, and a mysterious inheritance. That's the perfect combination. However, this book was a let down. The writing style made it difficult to read sink in and keep reading. It also just didn't like a horror book.

The Cherished has an interesting premise, but the writing and story fall a bit flat. The story follows Jo, who has just inherited her paternal grandmother’s old house. Jo, who has an extremely contentious relationship with her mother, has few memories of her schizophrenic father, and is intrigued by the idea of living where he grew up. Things spiral quickly out of control when she realizes that all is not as it seems.

While the book starts off well enough, the writing quickly becomes tiring and annoying, which makes the story drag. Jo and Abigail both have potential as characters, but never seem fully fleshed out. The fantasy element is fun, though, but not enough to save the book.

This was a bit slow and I did almost DNF it unfortunately, because I tried starting it about four times before managing to make my way far enough in to become immersed. That said, I did eventually get caught up in this story - although parts of it I felt were a bit misguided, or heavy handed in the development / portrayal of certain things.

I really thought I would DNF this based on reviews on GoodReads and Netgalley - I did make it through the whole book, but the first 10-20% are really rough and the writing is quite painful. However, I do think it got a little smoother as the novel progressed.

It does take a long time to get to the point of the story, and the second half is far more enjoyable. There are a ton of microaggressions in the first half of the book against Jo's father for his race and perceived mental health issues.

The plot about the fairies is okay - but I really just needed so much more world building.

The good (?) news is that this book is a quick read and it kept me engaged enough.

Landing at a 2.75 rounded up

Despite the negative reviews I did enjoy this story. The writing did throw me off a bit, but the story was worth it for me. I love all the creepy aspects and loved the cover of the book!

I was not expecting evil faeries! This book was way different from what I was thinking, but definitely a 4 star read that kept me wondering what the heck was going on. It starts off a little slow but has lots of things that you need answers for so it makes it easy to keep reading. The characters are very realistic and kind of hard to like at some points but it makes for a good read anyway. The villains of the book are refreshing in that faeries are almost always portrayed as evil but with some redeeming qualities that make them the main characters but these are straight up evil and the twist on their story is really sad and I wish there was a way to fix them but alas that would not make the book what it is .