Jennifer's Reviews > The Whispered Tales of Graves Grove

The Whispered Tales of Graves Grove is a decent book. The premise of creating a novel out of a series of short stories is interesting and unique within itself. Each story has its own sense of horror and intrigue that, no matter which way the story goes, it always leads back to the mystery of Graves Grove and it’s founder, Samuel Graves.

I find that there is a set base of characters that reside within and give the town it’s own strange qualities with their own distinct mannerisms. Each of these people adds to the mystery and heart of what is actually going on while each story gives a hint as well. Some are briefer than others, while a few stories are a nice length, delving deep into the bizarre events of the Grove. The one thing I feel holding this book back is the vast amount of characters beyond the main few. Because there are so many instances and so many characters and the majority of the stories are so short, I cannot find an emotional connection with any of them. Everything happens so fast that there isn’t time for much emotion, and once that emotion is presented, the story is quickly shut down only for me to have to restart completely fresh with another. This had me taking several days between reads; having a sit down for two or three stories, the most, so I could digest them and not get them mixed up.

The writing is old fashioned, often with a somewhat backwoods twang that I think goes well with this type of story. It appears, as said in the book, to be targeting teens and children but in the horror-like fashion of Grimm’s Tales. The language is clear, distinct, but lacks the power of creating an extensive and realistic atmosphere, which I feel is mainly because of the shortness of the sections.

Overall, The Whispered Tales of Graves Grove is okay but not something I would write home about.