WHERE ECHOES LIE

There’s a ghost in the woods, and she’s angry.

Rena Faye is having a horrible start to the summer before her senior year of high school: Her mother has vetoed the road trip she was supposed to go on with her beloved grandmother, and instead she’s expected to work at her family’s motel again, for no pay. The rural Kentucky motel’s main attraction for tourists is the moonbow—a washed-out rainbow appearing monthly over the falls. There’s also the local legend of the ghost bride, a tragic story of a young woman who fell to her death into the river—exactly why she fell varies by the storyteller. Rena Faye’s grandmother insists the story is based on fact and affects the women in their family, calling it a curse. But Rena Faye doesn’t believe in ghosts; she’s a photographer and focused on what she can see. In fact, she wants to go to art school, but her family doesn’t support her dream. But even she can’t deny that there is something in the woods. The narrative is lengthy and banks on sensationalism for its appeal. Schuren does tap into oral history traditions from a feminist perspective, but this is largely overshadowed by the glaring misogyny and emotional abuse from Rena Faye’s family and boyfriend. While the protagonist acts against and largely breaks free from these unhealthy circumstances, it is a hard slog to get there. The cast defaults to White.

Disappointing.