Day’s YA: WHERE ECHOES DIE

WHERE ECHOES DIE by Courtney Gould
9781250825797
6/20/23
Wednesday Books
Ages 14-18

E-galley available on Edelweiss and NetGalley

Backravel, Arizona. This strange small town in the middle of the desert has had a hold on Beck for years, in one way or another. For as long as she can remember, her journalist mother, Ellery, would leave their home in Washington and travel to Backravel over and over again to do research for a story she was writing. But now Ellery has died, leaving behind a letter that sends Beck and her sister Riley on their own trip to Arizona. 

When the sisters arrive in Backravel, they notice that things are a little strange. There are no cars, no cemeteries, no churches, and there are abandoned military buildings scattered around town. And the residents of Backravel are odd in a way Beck can’t seem to put her finger on. Their memories are inconsistent, and none of them can tell Beck how long they’ve lived there. Using Ellery’s mostly-incoherent notes from the story she never finished writing, Beck launches into an investigation of her own, determined to find out why her mother was so drawn to this mysterious town and what it has to do with her death. 

Courtney Gould’s sophomore novel is creepy in all the best ways. The haunting desert town atmosphere where things just aren’t quite right gave me some definite Don’t Worry Darling vibes, and the self-appointed town leader who thinks he can fix everyone is reminiscent of cult novels like Courtney Summers’ THE PROJECT. The heaviness of the grief explored in the book is balanced perfectly with the sweet and tender romance developing between Beck and Avery, the daughter of Backravel’s leader. This is a poignant and inventive story about grief, pain, mothers and daughters, and sisterhood, with an eerie and riveting supernatural mystery at its core. 

Happy reading!
<3 Emily

YA Resources:
2023 Books for Teens
Day’s YA Archives
2023 Adult Books for Teens