Rounded up from 4.5 stars

I absolutely loved this book!! Since my mom first introduced me to Pet Semetary, I’ve obsessed over the idea of it. And now I get a modernized version with revenge in mind? Absolutely amazing.

I loved how this book was written in third person so we could get the thoughts of absolutely anyone at any given moment. This helped to keep the story going at some times that it lagged.

Soojin is essentially an unreliable narrator because she refuses to see anything that isn’t what she wants or imagines, which is especially the case when it comes to her sister.

This was an absolutely fabulous book that should be read by everyone. The vibes, the plot, the characters: amazing.

The only reason my review is a 4.5/5 stars is because I felt like the plot lagged a bit starting near the 40% mark. Things were happening, but they were a little slow, so my focus momentarily wavered.

Thank you very much to Random House Children’s Books and NetGalley for an ARC of this book. All opinions are my own and in no way are influenced by the manner in which I received it.

5/5 stars
Recommended if you like: fantasy horror, resurrection, sisterly bonds, came back Wrong

This review has been posted to Goodreads as of 4/25 and will be posted to my review blog 6/5 and to Instagram 6/11.

I'm going to be honest, I think Soojin shows a lot of restraint regarding her sister. The blurb makes it sound like she does ahead and resurrects Mirae right away, but in reality it takes her almost a year before she finally hits the point where she can't imagine continuing the rest of her life without her sister. She knows her dad wouldn't like the resurrection, and she figures she knows her sister's thoughts on it, but at the end of the day, grief is grief, and sometimes it can be too much. If you could bring back the dead...would you?

It's clear from the get-go that Soojin is prickly. But she's prickly because she feels deeply, and life has not been kind to her family. Her mother died when she was 10, resulting in her father retreating into himself for a while, and then seven years later her sister dies and due to her father's work, he yet again can't be around. She also doesn't particularly have a social life, leading to her being very lonely and often just left with her grief. Soojin loves her family, and her sister, dearly and it's clear in the way she's willing to risk everything just to have her sister with her again.

Over the course of the book, we see Soojin start to unfurl a little and open herself up to the other people around her. Part of that is borne from a desire for connection, and part of it is the joy of having Mirae around again. But clinging to the past just makes it that much harder to let go, and when you have a dead girl living in your house, things inevitably start going wrong. A lot of Soojin's journey in this book is about letting go, but it's also about seeing the family dynamics beyond herself and understanding that life has been unfair to her sister as well.

We don't get too much insight into Mirae, but we know that drowning has given her a special connection with water. She enjoys being alive again, getting to experience the delights of food and sunshine, but at the same time, vengeance calls to her. The Han family has been wronged more than once, by people still living happy lives in their town, and newly risen Mirae can't resist the call of revenge.

While this book is, in some ways, about vengeance, it's also about sisterly bonds and family responsibility. Soojin wants her sister back, but Mirae? Mirae wants life. She has since before she died. When Soojin brings her back, the whole family has to contend with their past and the actions they took that lead to where they are today. It was kind of cathartic to see Soojin and her dad finally talk about something of substance. They definitely needed that chat, but it was also a good reminder to Soojin that everyone makes small mistakes, but that doesn't mean they're at fault for the terrible things that happen.

The other character who's featured a lot in this is Mark, a childhood friend of Soojin and Mirae's whom Soojin drifted away from after their mother died. He provides somewhat of a stabilizing and soothing influence for Soojin as she grapples first with her sister's return and then later with the fact that the Mirae who came back isn't quite the same as the one who died. I liked Mark, he's very understanding and is pretty much a go-with-the-flow kind of person. He also is the one who finally puts his foot down regarding Mirae's behaviors, and though Soojin fights him on it, she knows he's right, and I think it was helpful to hear from someone outside the family.

Overall this is an excellent slow-burn horror with sisterly bonds, ancestral magic, and vengeance.

I DEVOURED this book within 24 hours, oh my gosh. I'm not familiar with the author's work, but I could immediately tell she's a poet. I LOVE when poets write novels, because their poetry comes through with their word choices, sentence rhythm, and narrative. I love how Jihyun Yun tackled grief and the idea of reincarnation through the vehicle of a horror novel. The setting—ocean and mulch and a tourist town drowning in rain—is the perfect atmosphere for Yun's story. Mirae and Soojin's dynamic was so so well done, and I practically inhaled this book, reading each page faster just so I could unravel the story's threads. I think this book is going to be one of my favorites of the year. Truly unmatched and beautiful.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review.

A deliciously creepy YA novel about a family with a gift…or is it a curse? The women in Soojin’s family can resurrect the dead, but can only do it safely with small animals. When Soojin brings her sister back, she is overjoyed…until it turns out her resurrected sister may be very different from the one who passed.