OH. MY. GOODNESS. “Curses and Other Buried Things” was so much more than I expected - in the best way. I honestly can’t even articulate how beautiful, emotional, and moving this book is. It is hands down one of my favorite reads of 2023 and if I could give it more than 5 stars, I would. Please…someone out there…make a tv or film adaptation ASAP!

With vivid and atmospheric prose, Caroline George drops the reader into the Georgia wetland known as the Okefenokee. Using southern folklore and her own family history, she eloquently and exquisitely weaves the past and present with two primary characters: Suzanna Yawn and her great x4 granddaughter, Susana Prather. Both believe that their family is cursed whenever misfortune or tragedy strikes, but especially after they begin sleepwalking to the nearby Okefenokee swamp, experiencing hallucinations, and developing insomnia - symptoms that seem to repeatedly occur with only first born daughters after their 18th birthday. Susana Prather, however, also has dreams of Suzanna Yawn’s life, which eerily parallel events happening in her own life and start to reveal new truths about herself and her lineage. Meanwhile, she navigates jealousy in friendships, the uncertainty of first love, and the rumor mill in her small community. The question is: will Susana Prather break the so-called family curse or succumb to the same fate as her ancestors?

At its core, “Curses and Other Buried Things” illustrates how generational trauma can breed secrets, lies, shame, fear, and hatred - ultimately influencing the stories we tell each other, as well as the stories we believe about ourselves. Despite it being considered YA, I would highly recommend this book to adults as well - my only caution being that there is portrayal and/or reference to some heavy topics, which may be potentially triggering. See below for trigger warnings.

I am beyond grateful to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Trigger warnings: abuse (physical, emotional, and sexual), sexual impropriety, alcohol and substance use, death/grief/loss, lynching, social scandals, abandonment, and neglect

Recommended for readers interested in: young adult, historical fiction, southern gothic literature

Caroline George’s upcoming release, Curses and Other Buried Things, is a haunting tale that takes readers into the depths of the Okefenokee Swamp, bewitching them until the last page.

With her exceptional storytelling, Caroline George skillfully blends dark YA with thrilling suspense and rich folklore in Curses and Other Buried Things. Through her masterful narrative, this thought-provoking novel explores the power of words, the weight of generational curses, and the journey toward breaking free from the shackles of our past.

“What if the past has bled into the present? What if my life is nothing more than Suzanna’s story reimagined? I need the water’s relief.” ~ Caroline George

While curses typically bring witches and magic to mind, this novel cleverly explores how curses are used in our everyday language. As it says in James 3:9-10, “With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing.”

I’ll be honest; it took me time to understand the meaning behind Curses and Other Buried Things. I was so focused on Susanna’s curse and sleepwalking that I failed to grasp the impactful, real-life lessons and issues written within the story until I reached the author’s note. Caroline George’s words explaining her motivation to write this novel hit me like a punch in the gut, causing me to return to the beginning to re-analyze the characters through a brighter lens. It’s so easy to get lost in the words on a page, but the spaces between the lines often speak the loudest… if we let them.

“Everyone has their curses, Susana, except not all of us get the chance to break them.” ~ Caroline George

Written in a dual timeline, Curses and Other Buried Things seamlessly transitions between Susana Prather’s present-day struggles and the life of her ancestor, Suzanna Yawn, in the 1800s. Reinforcing the central theme of forging a brighter future without allowing fear to withhold you from the people you love, the characters brought these elements to life with their growth, strength, and love. Watching Susana transform into a young woman was a rewarding experience. As she confronted the past, tested the boundaries, and fell in love, I got to witness the power of reliving our family’s history but not letting our ancestors’ mistakes affect the outcome of our lives.

Masterfully unraveling her own family's history in the backdrop of this novel, Caroline George’s personal experiences added to her fantastic writing as she captured the essence of the setting. I could hear the characters’ southern twang in my ears as they spoke and feel the humid air on my brow as I followed the protagonists in their fight for freedom.

“He gazed at her as though she was more than curses and war.” ~ Caroline George

Curses and Other Buried Things is so much more than a dark YA novel; it’s a profound reminder that the past does not define you, nor does your bloodline. I love what Caroline George declared at the end of her author’s note, “I will not continue the cycle. I am not defined by my generational curses and trauma, not the pain, addiction, neglect, abandonment, and so on. I forgive the past, but I will not live there. I choose freedom, and so can you.”

Freedom is within reach; will you take hold of it?

*Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher, for providing me with a pre-release copy of this novel. All thoughts and opinions are entirely my own.*

I received a complimentary copy of this book, Review is 100% my own opinions.

That said, I enjoyed the swampy, mysterious, sometimes spooky atmosphere of Curses and Other Things. I loved the slow reveals of more and more information on the original Suzanna, and I enjoyed continually being surprised by the twists and turns from the past and present. I liked how the curse and the deeply held beliefs of the characters fed into one another, and the ending nearly had me in tears, in a good way.

“Everyone has their curses, Susana, except not all of us get the chance to break them.”

Easy 5 stars

For seven generations, the women in Susana Prather’s family have been lost to the swamp. So when she awakes on her 18th birthday soaked in swamp water and no memories of how she ended up that way, she fears the curse is coming for her…unless she can be the one to break it. Through the help of friends, family and the flashbacks of the past, Susana will do whatever to create a new story for herself.

It’s been a while since I was absolutely blown away by the entirety of a book, but this book did it for me. From the writing to the unbelievably relatable lines, I hung on every word of this book straight to the end.

The vibes of this book are immaculate. Southern gothic-esque, folklore and just slightly witchy. I loved this cast of characters were are given and get to explore. They’re so dynamic and each one lends something to the overarching plot of the book. Even of the setting of the novel was immersive and made me feel like I was in the middle of small town Georgia.

My biggest take away from this book is how the existence of the curse and the hold it has over this family works really well as a parallel to generational trauma. In dealing with this curse and breaking it, you watch Susana heal these generations of trauma and loss in a heartbreaking and uplifting way. She breaks down years of secrets and lies, deals with the expectations her family has for her and the expectations she has for her own life. It’s masterfully handled and written.

To find out in the author’s note that this was all based on true events, fictionalized for this story, added another layer of depth to the entire thing. I loved reading about the author’s family and the influence they had over the characters and events.

The writing, my goodness, was oh so beautiful… ✨stunning✨. I am jealous of this author’s ability to weave such stunning prose with her word choices.
There were so many quotes I highlighted in this book. This story had mystery, intrigue, great plot, fleshed out characters, and good pacing, but I don’t know what it was exactly that I didn’t find myself blown away by the story like other reviewers. I don’t know how to explain it but it felt like something was missing for me to fully vibe with the story, which was why I couldn’t rate it 5 stars. It could just be me, so that’s why I still fully recommend this book as it depicts heavy themes in an elegant and thrilling manner. I will definitely be checking out other past works by this author. Thanks to NetGalley for giving me in ARC of this in exchange for my honest review!

Okay, at this point, Caroline George just cannot do wrong in my eyes. I adored—ADORED—Dearest Josephine. I binge-read the mysterious romp that is The Summer We Forgot. And now Curses and Other Buried Things—it was unexpected and intriguing and captivating. The loveliness of the writing, the depth of the story, the themes that both surprised me and burrowed into my heart, the plot that took me places I didn't see coming . . . I loved all of it. Every minute. Every page. I've seen the author note on social media that this is the most personal of all her books, and I could feel that. Loved it. LOVED IT. And I'm already looking forward to reading it again when my pre-ordered hardcover arrives in the mail.

Caroline George has done it again. I knew within a few chapters that this would be one of my favorite releases of 2023. There’s just something riveting about Caroline George’s writing. She easily sweeps you into the story and into the lives of her characters. Her settings are always so atmospheric, her stories compelling, and her characters captivating.

I’ve never visited Georgia, but after reading this book, I feel as if I’ve grown up alongside Susana, Godwin, and the others in the Okefenokee Swamp. Caroline George’s prose illuminates the places and people she chooses to write about, bringing them to life in such captivating and engaging ways.

I found the story of the generational curse absolutely fascinating. I love the parallels between Susana’s current life and Suzanna Yawn’s past. The way Caroline weaves the two narratives together using various aspects of the curse was so well done. I hope the final copy includes a full family tree because the arc formatting made that a little hard to follow. Still, I found myself eager to keep reading, to find out the truth about the past and what Susana would do with that truth in her own present life. And I love all the twists and turns the story takes. There were a few reveals that I guessed correctly due to the excellent use of foreshadowing, but there were a few that completely flipped me, which were just as satisfying and exciting. Those last handful of chapters were so intense!

In addition to a compelling narrative and fantastic setting, this book has swoon-worthy romantic tension, heartwarming dynamics between a granddaughter and grandfather, and such fun banter between a group of friends. Caroline George knows how to write people, place, and plot, and it’s absolutely spellbinding.

Highly, highly recommend. I’ll be raving about this one for a long, long time.

✨ Curses and Other Buried Things by @authorcarolinegeorge ✨

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book surprised me in the most tender of ways.

Full of simple poetry and quotes that will now live in my home forever, it tells the story of a family cursed, destined to rinse and repeat the same cycle over and over and over. The belief in the curse is so deeply rooted, that there doesn't seem to be a way out, no matter how much research is done.

There are flashbacks to provide more context and clues, but a majority of the book feels like a means to an end... Until you actually get to the end.

Generational trauma and epigenetics are discussed through the lens of southern folklore and the author's personal genealogy. There is an author's note at the beginning and end of the book that felt like a warm hug from someone who truly understands.

I'm thankful to have read this book, it's just what I needed currently.

*I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you to @authorcarolinegeorge, #thomasnelsonfiction and @netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book*

➡️ Curses and Other Buried Things will be available to read on October 10th!

Two women; Suzanna Yawn in 1897, and her great x4 granddaughter Susana Prather in the present. A lineage of curses, secrets, and trauma destined to keep repeating. This story is atmospheric, small-town southern, and steeped in superstition and family folklore.

This is a story that beautifully handled breaking toxic generational cycles. It is the best contemporary YA novel (based on real events) I may have ever read. It reflected perfectly to me some of my own experiences of breaking free from lies that had burdened and cursed my own life.

I am so thankful that this book exists, and I strongly recommend it to basically everyone. It is YA for a reason, and deals with a lot of heavy topics, so maybe not for the younger crowd, but it is exquisitely written.

Thank you to Thomas Nelson and Netgalley for the DRC in exchange for an honest review.

Almost 18 year old Susanna has never really considered her future because her mother, grandmother, and great grandmother became cursed on their 18th birthday. In this book, Susanna has to wrestle with her past to help save her future and avoid the swamp that keeps calling to her.

I really wanted to love this book because I've really enjoyed every other Caroline George book, but this one fell flat for me. While I grew up in the South, I don't identity with southern culture, so I think some of it was lost on me. I also have a low tolerance with magical realism and the last few chapters of this book had a lot of that going on. I left those chapters wanting to know more/why/how, but the curse was not really fully explained which is a loose thread for me. The characters felt underdeveloped compared with characters in George's other books.

The lack of communication between the characters was frustrating at times but George turned that into something beautiful at the end of the book and in the author's note. The lush, descriptive prose was beautiful and it felt like the swamp had a personality (similar to the marsh in Where the Crawdads Sing).

I loved this. Very emotionally invested in the characters. It felt like home to me. I can’t wait to buy this book.
Highly recommend.
10/10

Thank you, Netgalley and Thomas Nelson Fiction, for approving my request to review this lovely book by Caroline George

Oh, hail to those southern witchy vibes.
I felt it.
The backyard barbecue, apple pie freshness, sweat, buzzing mosquitoes, small-town gossip, generational trauma, and witchy curses!

The first scene with Susana Prather waking up after her birthday was amazingly written! Creepy, as one might expect, with a swamp clearly viewed from the protagonist's bedroom window.
The author is skilled in painting a portrait of South Country goodness and a gothic touch of horror, but sadly, I need a bit more bite to my plot, so the rest of the book was not so much my cup of southern coffee.

I was all in when something was happening on the page, but between setting up the stage with scenery, family history, fixing up pipes, chores...I was lost in the weeds.

If you like cozying up with this slow-burn, atmospheric beauty come autumn(Think Adrienne Young), this book is most definitely for you.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This was by far the best book I've read this year. I loved the ambiance of the stories setting and the characters. It could not have been better unless it would have been just a tad darker and closer to NA vs. YA. Lord that would have been INSANE!! As it sits though this book gave me the heebee givees and I could not put it down. There is a reason George is a multi-winning author!!

This read is definitely set in the South, the Georgia Swamp area, and we find people whom have lived together for generations. Some of the happening are not what you expect, and sure not southern hospitality. There is hate and curses, and then there is the deep believing of lies, until unfortunately they become truth.

This is a time slip read, and with young women dying or coming up missing, from the same family, and in the end will Susana Prather survive?

There is hate here, and sadly lynching, but there is a hope, and in the end we have a page turner for answers! Keep reading!

I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher Thomas Nelson, and was not required to give a positive review.

Curses and Other Buried Things was EXCELLENT. I loved the exploration of the theme of generational curses. Caroline George presented the theme in a supernatural way, but I appreciated her application to real life and encourages readers to not stay stuck in the same cycles as their families of origin. The character development was wonderful although sometimes you wanted to shake the main character for the choices she was making. Overall an enthralling story that I didn't want to put down!

I'm a sucker for Southern Gothic Horrors, and this one didn't disappoint!
Susana comes from a long line of cursed women, where each first daughter is cursed to an early death and trapped in their small town on their 18th birthday. Her family has secrets, trauma, and a long line of complicated history that ties them to the land they live on and the other people of the town.

This was an incredible exploration of what it is to be a girl growing up in a small town. You can grow up not knowing more or wanting more and just content yourself with being thought of as cursed. Everyone knows everyone in a small town, and it's easy to become what others tell you you are.
Susana is constantly drawn into the swamp that claimed every first daughter, and at the beginning, she does everything she can to stop the curse - boarding up and locking doors, enlisting help from an old friend. But none of it gives her relief. Towards the middle, we see her give into her "fate" with relief. She lets herself be claimed by the swap and accepts that it's just a matter of time until the land takes her for its own. Susana resigns herself to becoming what everyone has told her she is - she's cursed, and she's never leaving the town. After she becomes an adult, she's a lost cause. Growing up she was warned about what not to be. Don't be promiscuous. Don't talk to boys. Don't fall into the trap that your mother did - pregnant at 17 and dead. The only thing that anyone does believe about her is that she's cursed, and she believes it. She never got to discover who she was. She was never allowed to hope for a future after high school. She had accepted that there was nothing for her outside of her small town.

I think that this book won't hit the same if you didn't grow up in a small town. Small rural towns tend to eat girls up or trap them. Everyone tells you who you are before you get to discover who you want to be, and most of the time, they don't say that you're anything good. I loved this book for being spooky and gripping, but mostly, I loved it for being capturing what it can be like to be a girl growing up in a rural space.
4.5 stars rounded up - I read this during a slump, but it was a fantastic book.
Thank you to NetGalley, Thomas Nelson publishers, and the author for an eARC of this book. All thoughts and opinions are wholly my own.

The book reminds me heavily of [book:Impossible|3188580] based off of myth and curses of women in a family, but this one is a leveled-up because of George's family connection to this "historical" fiction title with magic/witches. Set in the South, which is almost its own character, there is the nonlinear timeline of the past and the present with generations of women in between.

And the message is stronger than the characters and story itself because we've come so far (and still have farther to go) to understand the complexity of relationships, that people make mistakes, and that generational trauma is a thing.

Lovely story with all of the parts working together to make an impact by the end that allow reflection for the reader and a confrontation for the main character and by default the author writing about her family's past. Creative.

Thank you netgalley and the publishers for letting me read this book. I don't know why I waited so long to read this book it was great. I really enjoyed the characters, the premise and the characters the story overall was great I read it in two sittings it had me right into the story from the first page. Highly recommend 4 stars

read if you like
-family secrets🔒
-generational curses🌾
-small town mystery🔍
-friends-to-lovers romance💛
-Georgia setting🍑
-ethereal writing📖
-dual timeline🕰️

this book was EVERYTHING I hoped it would be. full of spooky season vibes, lovable characters, slow burn plot, intrigue, romance, secrets upon secrets. A dual timeline, YA version of Where the Crawdads Sing. Similar in their twists, and settings but with a grittier swamp vibe. Pick this one up JUST in time for halloween🎃

3,5⭐️

I'm thinking how to approach this book properly. On one hand, it's gorgeously painted atmosphere of Southen US, generational trauma and family secrets, full of chilly moments. It's dark and mysterious, which were my favourite parts. On the other hand while I had breaks from reading I asked myself what are my real feelings about this title. Because it lacked something; besides the hypnotising thrillerish chapters, doomed from the beginning characters and incredibly interesting plot it wasn't a full picture. I'm not able to fully grasp what was missing, as all those things that are present in CaOBT are enough to write a great story.

Besides that, full recommendation. I've read a surprising amount of books connected to swamps and curses this year, and Caroline George did not disappoint me with her one either.