Watch Over Me by Nina Lacour. Dutton, 2020. 9780593108970
Format: Hardcover
Rating: 1-5 (5 is an excellent or a Starred review) 4
Genre: Ghost story
What did you like about the book? Mila has aged out of the foster care system, and is unsure about leaving her current home, where she feels relatively comfortable. A teaching opportunity at a farming community on the northern California coast seems like a dream come true – a job and a home where she will be accepted and loved. She loves teaching nine year old Lee, but ghosts from her past follow her to this new place. Indeed, the ghosts of all of the inhabitants, all of them kids with no families, come out each night. Will teaching another person help her move beyond her pain? This is an atmospheric and mystical look at childhood pain and guilt, with gentle ghosts of unfinished psychological business seeming realistic and non threatening. The sense of place – the mists, the ocean, the farm – are all new to Mila and form part of her healing. Through her first person narrative, she tells snippets of her past, but it is really her present journey of healing which is the focus. The drama is internal, and readers will be comforted to feel the loving support of her new community. The way it is written, it is almost like the mists of the farm cover and then reveal new insights into how Mila can move forward.
Anything you didn’t like about it? No
To whom would you recommend this book? For fans of the author’s other books, ages 15 and up, and those who like introspective fiction.
Who should buy this book? High schools and public libraries
Where would you shelve it ? Fiction
Should we (librarians/readers) put this on the top of our “to read” piles? No
Reviewer’s Name, Library (or school), City and State: Stephanie Tournas, Robbins Library, Arlington, MA
Date of review: October 18, 2020
Youth Services Book Review 
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