Watch Over Me
Ratings32
Average rating3.8
This is a really interesting take on grief, trauma and facing your past- in a way I would never expected or have ever read before. I really enjoy Nina LaCour's writing style- she just really makes you FEEL what the characters are feeling. I think going into this book not knowing what it's about is for the best. I'll be thinking about this one for awhile.
really 4.5 but..... WOW
read this on a COMPLETE whim because allisonpaiges recommended it as one of her fav books of all time and i saw it was short so sure why not??
i S O B B E D during this entire book in the best most spirit cleansing way possible. i needed this book.
“A leap. Look how precious you were. A spin. How worthy of love you were. A dip. Look at your heart, intact. Reach to the sky. What a miracle it was. Swoop to the grass. How steadily it beat for the people you love.”
y a quelque chose dans l'écriture de nina lacour qui m'impacte tellement à chaque fois, c'est horrible. la preuve elle vient de me faire revenir sur ce site.
ici elle traite de choses super lourdes, de traumatismes, de regrets, du deuil, d'erreurs, de solitude, de dépendance émotionnelle, d'imprégnations, de projections... et pourtant tu termines ta lecture, tu fixes le mur et t'as l'impression d'avoir lu un bonbon.
il a pas fait l'unanimité et je pense comprendre pourquoi, mais je suis beaucoup trop sensible à ce qu'elle fait. je l'ai trouvé sublime.
Summary
After turning 18 years old, Mila goes to live with a family out on a farm, which is obviously in the middle of nowhere. She's there as an intern where she works on the farm, has food and housing, and is responsible for teaching students (the children who live in the house). She gets close to a seven-year-old named Lee, who is also one of her first students. He is also new to the family, and she finds that she relates to him in more than one way. While on the farm, she sees ghosts who gather in the field — that's when she learns this is a nightly thing.
This book dives into themes of abuse, forgiveness, trauma, hardship, and learning to love and trust.
Final Thoughts from my notes:
I loved feeling like I wanted to reread it right after finishing it. This is a book I will be purchasing on hardcover so that I can annotate and read the book through different lens. I also really enjoyed the writing. Between this one and another book I was reading — Watch Over Me had me immediately hooked. I will definitely be reading more from this author. I also love a good slow burn — I love only knowing bits and pieces then seeing how it all comes together in the end. It's always incredible.
anyway i'm sending my next therapy bill to nina lacour
while i was enjoying this book for the subtly supernatural ghost factor and hoping it would be some sort of spooky story with a wicked family, i was humbly surprised to find out it was a story about overcoming childhood trauma, and the ways we may project our traumas unknowingly. i started the healing process of my childhood trauma last year, and reading this book felt like a warm hug with some tears falling on my shoulders. like mila, i found my healing family too, and it's incredible feeling
but y'all lmao idk what i'm going to do until yerba buena drops in paperback... lmao
I think I liked this book primarily because of the vibes rather than the actual plot but it's definitely not bad.
LaCour's writing is so easy for me to love, even if the overall story isn't my favorite. This was quietly sweet.
Beautifully written – haunting and emotional.
Unfortunately, even if it gripped me, even if I got teary-eyed I didn't fully like it. So, 3 stars for the narration, a beautifully written story, and because I know many others will find room for this one in their hearts.
It was a little more lyrical than I tend to like and I don't think I really understood the book completely or why certain things were included.
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.