I can’t pinpoint exactly what it was that first drew me to apply for an advance reader copy (ARC) of If the Dead Belong Here by Carson Faust. It’s a great title and a gorgeous cover of course, but on the surface it looks to be outside of my usual genres and favored tropes. Perhaps it was simply the feeling that the blurb evoked, as the writing of this book is thoroughly poetic. Whatever it was, I knew in my bones I would love this one when I saw it on Netgalley, and I my instinct was right.

If the Dead Belong Here is officially out today, October 7th.

Summary:

In the dead of night, a young girl disappears from her bed. Her family awakens to find only her absence and everything else untouched. In the immediate aftermath once the cops have cleared out, her mother alternates between flailing and numbing herself. Her sister fixates and simmers. Their Aunt Rosebud does everything she can to keep them grounded, rooted.

She uses her knowledge of root medicine that’s been passed down in her family for generations. Aunt Rosebud followed her lessons closely. Not everyone after her did. The younger ones don’t all understand the importance of the flowers, or how to behave regarding the shadows between the trees: the Little People. Laurel had started learning about them, and had even been speaking with them for months before she disappeared.

My Thoughts:

Healing can be painful at times. It can be as painful as an injury, even if it prevents further harm. That’s very much how this book feels. There is a lot of darkness taking place. Long before Laurel’s disappearance there was grief and pain present in every member of her family. As readers, we see all of it, and at times it’s extremely difficult to watch. It’s real and it’s raw. Yet we also see how pain can be transmuted though love and intention.

If the Dead Belong Here is a tapestry of a story. Numerous points of view from several different time periods interweave into a captivating whole, all with thoroughly entrancing prose. Each thread is rich and lovely on its own, but together they form something far greater. Each character carries a separate personal grief. Even when the causes are shared, they often experience and deal with that grief very differently. It’s getting to watch this processing happen that makes this book feel so healing.

We also see examples of what pain becomes when its host chooses to ignore it. Everyone breaks, maybe partially or maybe completely. Not everyone can put themself back together. They may not ask for nor accept help. They may not know how. Watching someone make that choice from the outside, it can be easy to judge. When Faust puts you inside that person’s head, it’s impossible not to sympathize and relate. It becomes impossible to hate them for their mistakes, even when they hurt others. You feel their shame as your own and it makes you want to be better.

This is a story that will enthrall you from page one and push you along your own path to healing. It’ll also have you hugging your loved ones tighter and more frequently.

Content Warnings: Kidnapping, Child Loss, Domestic Violence, Self-Injury, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Grief, Vomit, Blood, Graphic Descriptions of Violence and Injuries, Child Abuse, Drug Use, Racism, Homophobia, Discrimination, Religious Bigotry, Suicide, Depression, Displacement, Colonization, Fire & Burn Injuries, Abandonment, Gun Violence

After I Finished If the Dead Belong Here

I have a lot of ARCs to read through before the end of this month. Therefore I’m diving straight into the next upcoming release on my list. I had scrolled past it a couple of times on social media when the author was first seeking ARC readers. Since my schedule was so full, I passed on it the first couple of times although I was interested. Then a few of my friends read it, and every single one of them was raving about it. They ended up opening applications for several waves of advance readers. When The Nerd Fam began recruiting even more ARC readers, I broke down and submitted my name.

My next review will be for Child of Shivay by JR Cathers.