A Box Full of Darkness is honestly a smidge spookier than I can tolerate. I had to read this only during the day and also over a long period of time because child ghosts just scare me. Keep reading this book review of A Box Full of Darkness for my full thoughts.
Summary
Strange things happen in Fell, New York: A mysterious drowning at the town’s roadside motel. The unexplained death of a young girl whose body is left by the railroad tracks. For Violet, Vail, and Dodie Esmie the final straw was their little brother’s shocking disappearance, which started as a normal game of hide-and-seek.
As their parents grew increasingly distant, the sisters were each haunted by visions and frightening events, leading them to leave town and never look back. Violet still sees dead people—spirits who remind her of Sister, the menacing presence that terrorized her for years. Now after nearly two decades it’s time for a homecoming—because Ben is back, and he’s ready to lead them to the answers they’ve longed for and long feared.
Review
(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
A Box Full of Darkness is a story about the past. Not only is it a story with ghosts, and some not so nice ghosts, but it’s also a story about confronting our own actions with the past. We are able to see each of the sibling’s thoughts and the different ways in which we can never shake off the past. We think we have processed it, moved past it, but when they all return back to their childhood home and the scene of their brother’s disappearance, old ghosts between them return. The first chapter immediately sets the tone of eerieness, and St. James starts digging into the ghosts of the past.
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It’s a bit of a slow burn in terms of plot. A Box Full of Darkness keeps up the spookiness, but unfolds slower in terms of what actually happened in the past. We are being confronted with the unfinished business and scars, but it actually begins clicking into place a bit later than I expected. This was just a smidge over my comfort zone in terms of spookiness, but if you like your mysteries and paranormal fantasy with a HUGE focus on family dynamics and drama this is for you. I appreciated seeing each of the siblings and the ways in which they are forced to confront their own ghosts. Find A Box Full of Darkness on Goodreads, Storygraph, Amazon, Bookshop. org, Blackwells, & Libro. fm.