Overview

Age range 13 to 18 A new neighbour awakens Olivia from a fog of grief — but this could hurt her as much as it heals her. Olivia Foster hasn't felt alive since her little brother drowned in the backyard pool three years ago. Then Kara Hallas moves in across the street with her mother and grandmother, and Olivia is immediately drawn to these three generations of women. Kara is particularly intoxicating, so much so that Olivia not only comes to accept Kara's morbid habit of writing to men on death row, she helps her do it. They sign their letters as the Resurrection Girls.But as Kara's friendship pulls Olivia out of the dark fog she's been living in, Olivia realises that a different kind of darkness taints the otherwise lively Hallas women — an impulse that is strange, magical, and possibly deadly. 'The lovely, assured prose draws on ancient archetypes and a lingering sense of dread to pave the way for a strange but satisfying conclusion…a heartbreaking but hopeful exploration of death and grief.' — Kirkus Reviews 'It is a raw, captivating exploration of grief, friendship, and the reclamation of life.' — Booklist

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9780807569405

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Reviews

The lovely, assured prose draws on ancient archetypes and a lingering sense of dread to pave the way for a strange but satisfying conclusion...a heartbreaking but hopeful exploration of death and grief. --Kirkus Reviews Resurrection Girls is first striking because of its arresting, gorgeous prose. The text is full of slick metaphors and genuine introspection. Literary without being too verbose, the sheer language of the story qualifies it as a fantastic read. --Foreword Reviews starred review It is a raw, captivating exploration of grief, friendship, and the reclamation of life. --Booklist Ava Morgyn's passion and tenderness shine like a candle, guiding readers through the darkness of Olivia's story. Her compelling characters are made all the more real by the eerie undertow of myth. A beautiful, deeply emotional debut! -- Sarah Porter, author ofVassa in the Night andNever-Contented Things A thoughtful novel about overcoming grief perfect for readers who enjoy emotional stories. --School Library Journal A raw, poignant, unflinching examination of grief and healing wrapped up in a compelling story. Resurrection Girls is a brilliant debut. --C.J. Redwine, New York Times bestselling author of the Ravenspire series Resurrection Girls is a heartbreak of a book, where love and loss write letters to the strange things that lurk in the darkness. It's a stunning story that blends the inexplicable and the beautiful with the bittersweet. --Rin Chupeco, author of The Bone Witch trilogy and The Never Tilting World This book skillfully illustrates that everyone deals with grief in their own way and in their own time. --School Library Connection Resurrection Girls is a powerful examination of grief and loss, captivatingly woven with magic and ultimately hope. A compassionately rendered debut. -- Emily A. Duncan, New York Times bestselling author of Wicked Saints

Resurrection Girls is a powerful examination of grief and loss, captivatingly woven with magic and ultimately hope. A compassionately rendered debut. -- Emily A. Duncan, New York Times bestselling author of Wicked Saints This book skillfully illustrates that everyone deals with grief in their own way and in their own time. --School Library Connection Resurrection Girls is a heartbreak of a book, where love and loss write letters to the strange things that lurk in the darkness. It's a stunning story that blends the inexplicable and the beautiful with the bittersweet. --Rin Chupeco, author of The Bone Witch trilogy and The Never Tilting World A raw, poignant, unflinching examination of grief and healing wrapped up in a compelling story. Resurrection Girls is a brilliant debut. --C.J. Redwine, New York Times bestselling author of the Ravenspire series A thoughtful novel about overcoming grief perfect for readers who enjoy emotional stories. --School Library Journal Ava Morgyn's passion and tenderness shine like a candle, guiding readers through the darkness of Olivia's story. Her compelling characters are made all the more real by the eerie undertow of myth. A beautiful, deeply emotional debut! -- Sarah Porter, author ofVassa in the Night andNever-Contented Things It is a raw, captivating exploration of grief, friendship, and the reclamation of life. --Booklist Resurrection Girls is first striking because of its arresting, gorgeous prose. The text is full of slick metaphors and genuine introspection. Literary without being too verbose, the sheer language of the story qualifies it as a fantastic read. --Foreword Reviews starred review The lovely, assured prose draws on ancient archetypes and a lingering sense of dread to pave the way for a strange but satisfying conclusion...a heartbreaking but hopeful exploration of death and grief. --Kirkus Reviews

Three years ago, Olivia Foster's 3-year-old brother, Robby, drowned in the backyard pool while she flirted with her crush, Prescott Peters.Since then, the pool has been filled in, her mother rarely emerges from her room, her dad's work hours have mysteriously gotten longer, and 16-year-old narrator Olivia occasionally raids her mother's prescription pill stash to dull her own pain and guilt as she assumes a lion's share of the responsibility at home. The scorching Houston summer takes a transformative turn when Kara Hallas moves into the long-vacant house across the street with her cigar-chomping maternal grandmother, Sybil, and flame-haired mother, Rhea. The wild and vibrant Kara is a magnet for everyone, including Prescott, whom Olivia has barely seen since Robby's death. Friendship, and maybe something more, blooms, and Kara convinces Olivia to help her write letters to death row inmates as the Resurrection Girls, claiming that they're giving them hope in their last days. A dark and unearthly something simmers in Kara that awakens a fire in Olivia and may be the key to finding a way out of the endless parade of days they've marched through like automatons since Robby's death. The lovely, assured prose draws on ancient archetypes and a lingering sense of dread to pave the way for a strange but satisfying conclusion. All characters are assumed white (the Hallas family are Greek American). Morgyn's supernaturally tinged debut is a heartbreaking but hopeful exploration of death and grief Kirkus Reviews Starred Review. Mystical and paranormal while at the same time all too real in its portrayal of grief, Ava Morgyns searing Resurrection Girls is a refined, startling debut that brims with authorial skill. Though geared toward young adults, it doesnt shy away from adult conversations about death and its destructive power. Captivating, enchanting, and slightly macabre, the story centers on Olivia, whos barely coping with the death of her younger brother a few years ago. His memory haunts the household, driving her fathers absence and her mother to drugs. Then the Hallas women move in across the street. Something isnt quite natural about them, and the distraction is just what Olivia needs. The youngest of the Hallas women, Kara, is confident and otherworldly. Kara has a morbid side, but shes also eager to shake Olivia out of her grief-stricken stupor. Resurrection Girls is first striking because of its arresting, gorgeous prose. Every line is crafted in a tender way and with obvious skill. The text is full of slick metaphors and genuine introspection. Literary without being too verbose, the sheer language of the story qualifies it as a fantastic read. The books characters and story are just as outstanding. Olivia is deep and authentic, especially as she interacts with her childhood crush, Prescott, and with mysterious Kara. Her grief colors the novels rich, dark tones, grounding its speculative elements in the harsh reality of loss and helping it to straddle the realms of realism and surrealism in an expert way. Only the books final turn toward the overtly fantastical is abrupt. Resurrection Girls is a promising debut from a talented writer. Equipped with hypnotic prose, tangible characters, and an immersive environment, it handles the heavy reality of grief with a healthy dose of the supernatural. Foreword Reviews Sixteen-year-old Olivia Foster and her family have not moved on since her little brother Robbys death three years ago. Her mother numbs herself with pills, her dad is mysteriously absent, and Olivia lives in a fog believing her brothers death was her fault. Then the Hallas women move across the street. Sybil, the grandmother who is blind but sees everything; Rhea, the vibrant and full of life mother; and Kara, the daughter who lives exclusively in the moment. When Olivia and Kara become friends, Olivia begins to emerge from the world of death she lives in and re-enter the world of the living. As Kara introduces Olivia to her obsession of writing to inmates on death row, they become the Resurrection Girls: pen pals to murderers and serial killers. Magical realism and heartbreak collide in this tale of grief and rebirth. Olivia goes through the stages of grief as she works toward re-entering the world that is moving on without her. Kara helps Olivia work through her grief as well as re-introduce her to her childhood friend and current crush, Prescott. Different types of love are shown throughout the story as Olivia begins to experience feelings beyond friendship for Kara while still harboring her crush on Prescott. The Hallas family is mysterious and magical and readers are left to interpret exactly what their family secrets may be. While told through Olivias perspective, all the characters are well written and fully fleshed out. VERDICT A thoughtful novel about overcoming grief perfect for readers who enjoy emotional stories. School Library Journal Its been three years since Olivia Fosters younger brother drowned in the familys swimming pool, an accident for which she feels responsible. She has lived in a veritable vacuum ever since. Now 16, Olivias life changes when Kara Halles moves into the house across the street, along with her mother and grandmother. Reckless, fearless Kara convinces Olivia to venture out and even join in Karas pen-pal correspondences with lifer convicts. Fantasy and realism meld in the heat of the Houston summer as the teens wade deeper into drugs, alcohol, and lightly macabre activities; meanwhile, Olivia and her parents finally begin to emerge from their sorrow-induced hibernations. As hope begins to infiltrate their grief, things take a bizarre turn when the Halles women disappear as mysteriously as they had appeared. Debut author Morgyn began writing Resurrection Girls before her own daughter died, but spent the year following incorporating an understanding of the deep sorrow wrought by a childs death. It is a raw, captivating exploration of grief, friendship, and the reclamation of life. Booklist Ava Morgyn's passion and tenderness shine like a candle, guiding readers through the darkness of Olivia's story. Her compelling characters are made all the more real by the eerie undertow of myth. A beautiful, deeply emotional debut! Sarah Porter, author of Vassa in the Night and Never-Contented Things A raw, poignant, unflinching examination of grief and healing wrapped up in a compelling story. Resurrection Girls is a brilliant debut. C.J. Redwine, New York Times bestselling author of the Ravenspire series Resurrection Girls is a heartbreak of a book, where love and loss write letters to the strange things that lurk in the darkness. It's a stunning story that blends the inexplicable and the beautiful with the bittersweet. Rin Chupeco, author of The Bone Witch trilogy and The Never Tilting World Resurrection Girls is a powerful examination of grief and loss, captivatingly woven with magic and ultimately hope. A compassionately rendered debut. Emily A. Duncan, New York Times bestselling author of Wicked Saints

Author Information

Ava Morgyn is a native Texan who grew up falling in love with all the wrong characters in all the wrong stories. She studied English Writing & Rhetoric at St. Edward's University and now resides in Houston. She writes a blog on child loss, ForLoveofEvelyn.com, and is author of the widely praised Resurrection Girls.

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