{Early Review} of The Weight of Souls by Bryony Pearce

The Weight of Souls by Bryony Pearce
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

GENRE: Young Adult Urban Fantasy
THEME: Ghost, Romance, and Supernatural
RECEIVED: Publisher
AUTHORS BLOG: Bryony Pearces' Site

BLURB:

Sixteen year old Taylor Oh is cursed: if she is touched by the ghost of a murder victim then they pass a mark beneath her skin. She has three weeks to find their murderer and pass the mark to them – letting justice take place and sending them into the Darkness. And if she doesn’t make it in time? The Darkness will come for her…

She spends her life trying to avoid ghosts, make it through school where she’s bullied by popular Justin and his cronies, keep her one remaining friend, and persuade her father that this is real and that she’s not going crazy.

But then Justin is murdered and everything gets a whole lot worse. Justin doesn’t know who killed him, so there’s no obvious person for Taylor to go after. The clues she has lead her to the V Club, a vicious secret society at her school where no one is allowed to leave… and where Justin was dared to do the stunt which led to his death.

Can she find out who was responsible for his murder before the Darkness comes for her? Can she put aside her hatred for her former bully to truly help him?

And what happens if she starts to fall for him?

REVIEW:

A clever ghost story with an interesting take on an Egyptian curse, Pearce takes the readers on a scary but mysterious journey with a sixteen-year-old girl who has a big responsibility. Ghost may be scary but the darkness that takes the souls who have sinned is the thing everyone should be afraid of.

The Weight of Souls follows Taylor Oh a young teen who is living with a curse that has been passed down each generation. She sees ghosts and the ghost who were murdered want revenge and Taylor can help them. Her curse allows ghosts to mark her then to pass the mark to their murder, which will send them into darkness. Even though her life is already complicated enough, her school bully Justin is murdered and he leaves his mark, now she must find his murder before the darkness decides to take her instead.

Taylor Oh is an outcast, a girl who has been picked on for quite a while by the “popular” kids. But she also has the curse to deal with, the loss of her mother and a father who insist she’s crazy. Her life is far from easy and I give her a lot of credit for not going crazy with all the emotional set backs in her life. Pearce does a great job creating a character with some backbone that understands her responsibility and tries her best to get through each day. The hardest part for me was Taylor’s relationship with her father; he is a stubborn man who is doing more harm than good. She needs all the support she can get and he keeps nagging her about how she ill, I felt so bad for her since she really needed a dads comfort. She also has a great friend, her only friend Hannah who is a sweet girl that really wants Taylor to open up to her. Their friendship has its ups and downs but I felt it was written well and realistic. In the end Taylor is just starting to get a handle of things and has a lot to learn and look forward too.

Justin is a complex character; the readers learn a bit about his past but are probably not going to like him at the beginning. He has secrets, has been misunderstood and also just wanted Taylor to open up to him as well. He works with Taylor to figure out what happened to him and that there is a whole secret society that’s affecting kids and adults. His life is tied to a club called V and it’s dangerous and they’re in way over their heads. I actually liked Justin’s characters once I got to know more about him, there are still a lot of unanswered questions that I’m hoping the next book will dive into it.

Overall I found this story really unique; there are many books about people who can see ghost, but not because of an ancient curse. I can tell there is so much potential with the curse and that there is a lot more to discover with Taylor’s family history. There are bits and pieces that were pretty creepy and the darkness is something I never would want to encounter. My only negative was Taylor’s father; it may be because I’m close with my dad but I hated how much he didn’t listen to her and was actually hurting her by not being supportive. I’m also super curious about V Club and how big and what dangers lie ahead for Taylor. The ending was great and a new beginning takes place for what ever ghost she must help next.

RECOMMENDATION:

This is a young adult novel with some darker tones that set the eerie scenes. Fans of Tara Hudson’s Hereafter series and Michelle Hodkin’s Mara Dyer series will enjoy The Weight of Souls.

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