The Moss

By Author / Illustrator

Lisa Lueddecke

Genre

Suspense & Thrillers

Age range(s)

14+

Publisher

UCLan Publishing

ISBN

9781916747296

Format

Paperback / softback

Published

07-11-2024

Synopsis

There are two things 17-year-old Emma Carver is known for: the fact that she grew up beside a sprawling bog, and that her sister went missing over a year ago. No leads, no clues, no trace. Having spent much of the past year trying to heal from the tragedy in the golden sun of the West Coast, Emma has just returned to Maine, feeling like three thousand miles wasn't enough to escape the ghosts of her past, both literal and metaphorical.

Her return to New England brings her little comfort or closure. Her father seems convinced she should have stayed away, and the family's old farmhouse that stands by the bog - known as the Moss - seems particularly upset to see her again. Darkly familiar shadows and specters fill her dreams, her periphery, the quiet spaces between her thoughts.

But something else is following her, pulling her in to the Moss, and it's growing stronger by the day. With the help of a local boy, who had confessed his feelings for her just before she went away, Emma delves deeper and deeper into the mystery of the growing hauntings - and learns that not only might her sister still be alive, but if she's willing to put herself in grave danger, there might just be a chance to save her.

"It reads like a long-lost fable, rich with beauty and imagination. A world you won't forget." Samantha Shannon, international bestselling author of The Bone Season, on A Shiver of Snow and Sky.

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Reviews

Clair - Age 14

This book is phenomenal; an eerie, atmospheric ghost story that slowly but surely builds up the tension. Emma's mother disappeared, followed by her sister a year ago, and Emma could be next. Emma returns to their house which is next to a sprawling bog called 'The Moss'.

The main protagonist, Emma is a strong, resilient girl, haunted by the loss of her sister but determined not to lose hope. She is haunted by the events of the past and The Moss is now calling to her, drawing her in… "Don't go into the Moss. It was our one rule, the one we could never break. Now I wish I hadn't. I wish Eve hadn't. I wish Mom hadn't. I wish none of us had ever stepped foot into this godforsaken place."

In The Moss, author Lisa Lueddecke uses a wonderfully rich and descriptive writing style to slowly build up a chilling atmosphere; it is full of ghosts, local history and mystery. Indeed it is so absorbing that it is the first book that has ever made me physically jump as someone called my name while I was reading it.

This eerie horror story very subtly builds to the finale at the end. It is advertised as young adult fiction and I would say that it would be suitable for ages 14+.

Content of note: Bereavement, drowning

330 pages / Reviewed by Clair, school librarian