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Summary
Summary
Growing up in the dark tourism capital of the United States, sixteen-year-old Olive should be comfortable with death. But ever since an allergic reaction almost sent her to the wrong side of the grass, she's been terrified that there is no afterlife. And after the death of her surrogate grandmother, Olive has kept everyone at arm's length because if there's Nothing after we die, relationships and love can only end in sorrow.
When she summons a spirit to answer her questions about death, Olive meets Jay, a hitchhiking ghost trapped in the woods behind the poorhouse where he died. Olive agrees to help Jay find his unmarked grave in exchange for answers about the other side and what comes next.
Meanwhile, someone--or something--is targeting Olive's classmates, and the longer Jay lingers, the more serious the attacks become. Blaming herself for having brought Jay back, Olive teams up with maybe-nemesis, maybe-crush Maren, ex-best friend Davis, and new girl Vanessa to free Jay's spirit before he's trapped as a malevolent shade and the attacks turn deadly. But in doing so, Olive must face her fear of death and risk losing another person she loves to the Nothing.
Reviews (3)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Anderson presents a fresh, multilayered exploration of grief and trauma set against an engaging supernatural mystery that evokes urban legends and ghost stories in this atmospheric debut. Ever since nearly dying due to an undiagnosed shellfish allergy several years ago, 17-year-old Olive has been obsessed with discovering what happens after death, in the process closing herself off from friends and family. Hoping to find someone to answer her questions about the afterlife, she conducts a ritual to summon a spirit and encounters Jay, a ghost who died a century ago. In exchange for information, Olive agrees to help him find his grave so he can finally rest. She's aided by her ex-best-friend Davis, popular Maren, and newcomer Vanessa, each of whom has their own motives for assisting Olive in investigating the dark history of their New Mexico town. But something is stalking the teens in the night, and it may be tied to Jay's presence among the living. As Olive slowly relearns emotional vulnerability, her complicated rivalry turned romance with Maren unfolds naturally into an undeniable growing chemistry. A melancholy tone and soulful prose support the book's careful attention to complex issues . Most characters are white; Davis is of Navajo descent. Ages 14--up. Agent: Sharon Belcastro, Belcastro Agency. (Oct.)
Kirkus Review
A goth girl in New Mexico grapples with death--and what comes after it. Death-obsessed Olive lives in a town known for dark tourism thanks to its history of a tuberculosis sanitarium that drew in Hollywood celebrities and other elites and which was built by the Seymour family on stolen Navajo land, compounding its morbid legacy. Olive has been terrified ever since her shellfish allergy caused a near-death experience: "instead of going to Heaven, I was alone in the Nothing." She's distanced herself from others, including her parents and best friend, Davis. Seeking answers about the afterlife, Olive decides to ask a ghost and summons Jay, who experienced atrocities at the sinister Seymour House Asylum for the Poor, a nightmarish institution "full of forgotten people." Jay is at risk of becoming a shade, and Olive must help him find his grave so he can move on. In the process, she hopes to learn the answer to her enduring question, "where do you go after you die?" The book maintains levity through its pleasantly gothic energy, which will appeal to earnest believers in the paranormal and those in the throes of mortality-related existential crises alike. Davis is Diné; Olive, Jay, and the Seymours are white. This morbid tale that's just as playful as it is unsettling explores race and cultural legacies in the context of New Mexico's historical and contemporary politics of development. A creative and surprising mixture of upbeat and macabre make for an engaging read. (Supernatural horror. 14-18) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
A quick brush with death can make anyone anxious, but Olive knows what's beyond this life--nothing. Filled with existential dread, Olive finds herself drawn to the spirit world, and summons one to answer her questions. At the same time, a series of strange attacks start on her classmates. Anderson's debut is a slow-burn horror story that tackles colonialism and dark tourism in a small American town, drawing solid comparisons to real-life places like Salem. While seasoned fans of the genre may find the plot predictable, Olive's belated queer epiphany shines, and will appeal to fans of the enemies-to-lovers romance. White Havens, a town that charmingly celebrates the macabre, also stands out as a place full of chilling contradictions, the horror grounded in real atrocities: stolen native land, paupers' graves, and a testament that the scariest ghost story is local history. Here Lies Olive fits on the shelf next to The Dead and the Dark (2021) by Courtney Gould and Prelude for Lost Souls (2020) by Helene Dunbar.
