Reveiw of Graveminder

Well, shoot. I just realized today is June 12th and not tomorrow which means the #WeekofReview challenge begins today. Which also means I need to post my first review to my blog. Luckily, I just finished a book this afternoon and I can use it for this first blog post of the challenge. And today is a day that losing myself in a book is a requirement.

The Graveminder by Melissa Marr

• Pub. Date: 2011
• Publisher: Harper Collins eBooks
• Format:Kindle
• page number:341
• Source: I bought it from Amazon.
• 3 stars

Rebekkah has lost most of her beloved family, Here step-father Jimmy and beloved sister Ella. And now she has received word that her grandmother Maylene is gone and she must return to her adopted hometown Claysville to bury her. And important mysteries and secrets go with Maylene, the graveminder, to the grave.

Waiting in Claysville for Rebekkah are those mysteries. What is a graveminder and why is Rebekkah expected to take that role instead of Maylene’s daughter Cissy? Why is Rebekkah’s former lover Bryon so important to the graveminder? And the biggest mystery of all, who killed Maylene and why is no one looking for the killer? Rebekkah and Bryon togethr try to solve these and other mysteries, and discover their role in the town of Claysville. And on top of all of this work out their relationship. There is a lot going on in this story.

I like the premise of the story. It kept me turning the pages eager to discover the answer to all of the mysteries of the story. Especially what a graveminder is and what it is they do. And for the most part that question is answered. And think about what a cool idea it is. A town where one woman is tasked with keeping the dead in the ground. Its quite original. And the dead that don’t stay put? Well, then the graveminder must take them to the land of the dead. And the taste we get of that land is fascinating. The world Melissa Marr builds her and in Claysville is well done. i would like to spend more time is this world she has created.

But that is part of the problem of this story. Too much time building up an introduction to this world and not enough time in it. Too much time watching Rebekkah trying to tentatively understand what is going on and why, and not enough time with the important part of the tale. So many things are lightly touched upon and never mentioned again. Minor characters come out of nowhere to give important information, and then are never seen again.  I have questions about plot points and characters, both minor and major, which are never answered. And so I thought this means she is writing this as a part of a series. She writes YA series according to her Goodreads page, so this could explain the all unanswered questions. But. I can find no indication that she plans of writing book 2. Which is too bad because I would like to visit Rebekkah and Byron again and see what is going on in this world she has created.