Who will be the one to fall? In this terrifying spin on the old rhyme, a family moves to a seemingly perfect town only to discover that it is anything but normal.
The scent of the town engulfs Parker in its perfume the moment she enters the gates. So much so that she nearly forgets all about the life that she left behind and the best friend she abandoned. Coronation is a place where she and her parents can have a new start. And as soon as Parker gets there, its peacefulness puts her at ease. Everyone is nice. The tennis team immediately accepts her. Even the boys are easy to talk to. The only thing that she can’t quite understand is the town’s history—its devotion to the saint, Rosamund, who helped the original town settlers survive their first winter all those years ago.
But she isn’t the only skeptic. Whatever you do, hold on tight. Don’t fall down, the boy tells her frantically before the town’s yearly Spring Festival—thrown in Rosamund’s honor to encourage the harvest. But Parker can’t help it. The vibrant festival immediately draws her into the gardens, the rows of flowers, the food, the laughter. Linked together with the other girls, Parker finds herself spinning with the other girls, struggling to stay in sync. Tilting forward, it’s as if her balance has been taken from her.
Because Rosamund has been waiting. Parker has been chosen. Coronation’s next Rose Duchess has been crowned, destined to fulfill her role unless she can find a way to uncover the truth.
I finally picked up Shawn Sarles' A Pocket Full of Posies as I get myself into the spooky reading spirit! This was definitely a creepy and chilling read! I might have hoped for a few more scares than what I had but the mystery itself was intriguing...yet I couldn't help but want more.
The story opens with teenager Parker and her best friend, Dani, committing a bit of B&E at a rival's school to mess with their tennis rackets, as they are on the tennis team at their own school. It was sort of an initiation with the older girls on their team. Except mid-prank, they are caught by school security and Parker pulls a runner and leaves her best friend behind.
But then there's a turning point for Parker and her family. Her father had been struggling to find work when suddenly an amazing job offer came up and the family leaves their D.C. home to live in a rural Midwestern state in the small town of Coronation. Everything is quite quaint in this little town. The people are super friendly, and there's the smell of roses permanently in the air. It's picturesque.
When Parker stars her new school, things continue to go well when the headmaster's daughter, Beth, befriends Parker on the first day. They make the tennis team together and things honestly couldn't get any better, until they do once more! Parker is named Rose Duchess for the upcoming festival where they honor a past historical figure, Rosamund, who apparently helped save the town hundreds of years ago from a harsh winter. But it's after her "crowning" that Parker starts to see things, strange, inexplicable things, terrifying things.
What Parker soon learns is that the town has a dark and terrible past that is about to come into play once more and Parker is at the deadly center of it.
This book was quite chilling indeed! True, the spookier moments do take a little while to pop up, but once they do, it was pretty spooky! One thing that always gets me is when characters start to see things out of the corner of their eyes and when they take a second look the "thing" isn't there, but then it pops up again at another corner! Just that spooky feeling where you can't be sure of what you're seeing and if it's real or not! Speaking of which, Parker is plagued with terrifying nightmares that feel real and will likely have you steering clear of hedge mazes from here to eternity!
The twist at the end was one I did see coming, but confirmation is always nice! I did feel like a few more details could've been had to explain things, but I guess Sarles didn't want to have one of those villainous monologues where the villain reveals everything in great detail. Which I can understand, but I still felt like a little more explanation wouldn't have hurt.
A Pocket Full of Posies is a perfect read for this time of year! It's just spooky enough to give you chills and a few jump scares. It may not be the stuff of nightmares exactly, but is just scary enough that you may not want to plant any roses anytime soon!
Overall Rating 4/5 stars
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