Review: Picture the Dead

Picture the Dead by Adele Griffin, Illustrated by Lisa Brown
Genre: YA Historical fiction
ISBN: 9781402237126
Published May 1 2010
Rating: 4

When Jennie's fiancé dies in war and only his brother, Quinn, comes home, Jennie is heartbroken. She soon learns there is more to Will's death than she thought. She is haunted by his ghost, and by the mysteries left unanswered. Piece by piece she begins to uncover his secrets… and at the same time starts to fall in love with Quinn. But there is always more to a story when there are ghosts involved.

Picture the Dead had a lot of thought put into it. The mysteries presented and the way they were unearthed were fabulous—there were questions and surprises and answers that I didn't expect all the way up to the last page.

I liked Jennie, though I didn't like Quinn at all, even after she grew to love him. I had never met Will, since he was dead in the beginning of the story, but by the end of the book I felt I knew why Jennie had loved him.

I will say that the ending didn't have nearly enough closure for me, and I am left feeling slightly confused, though satisfied by how all the events played out.

The illustrations were very good, although I had a very hard time reading what was written on them. Hopefully in the finished copy of the book the words will be easier to read.

Content/recommendation: clean, mild language. Ages 13+