A Pocket Full of Posies by Shawn Sarles
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Special thanks to Scholastic for sending a copy for review.
Summary:
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. Ring around the rosie For long ago the seed was sown. A pocket full of posies A sacrifice must be made. Ashes, ashes One must die for the town to survive. We all fall down The Rose Duchess must follow in her footsteps. Offering herself up to the flames.
Vengeance is its own reward (Goodreads).
Thoughts:
I liked this book. The plot and idea were exciting, and the plot twist was very unexpected; however, I also felt this story was forgettable even though everything was done perfectly. It was not gripping enough to pull me into the horror mood.
The plot was very great overall. I did not spot any plot holes, all the details were well-explained, and I didn’t feel confused. The reasons for each action or scene were reasonable; for example, Rider is very well-developed. As a supporting character to Parker, the protagonist, Rider isn’t just a character who only offers his advice and does reckless things to mess up Parker’s plan. His backstory was as equally captivating as Parker’s.
I figured that many readers will dislike Parker for her ignorant and stupid personality, but I honestly liked her character. Undoubtedly, she is a little bit (just a little bit) oblivious, but take in the fact that she is only a teenager, I feel like most of her actions were just acts of teenage naivety. Reading about her as a high school student myself, I did not find her unreasonable at all. For instance, many reviewers are frustrated with how Parker insists on staying in the spooky town Coronation despite it being haunted by evil spirits; however, I understand that she just wants to get over the pain of losing her best friend. More importantly, she simply wants peer acceptance (she did become the popular girl in Coronation eventually), which is such a common goal for teenagers. Since Coronation offered all of this to Parker, I don’t see Parker’s decision to stay in Coronation as ignorant.
Despite that, the whole novel is very forgettable. As soon as I closed the book, I started to forget what it was about. For the most part, it’s because it’s not scary enough. It was such a pity that the plot was beautiful, yet the execution was horrible. The jump scare scenes that were supposed to send chills are just simply not enough. I would only realize that it’s supposed to be a jump scare after I read Parker’s reaction. For example, Parker’s nightmares about the evil spirit Rosamund were not creepy enough. These scenes were meant to scare readers with details about blood flowing out of Rosamund’s eyes or Parker being burned alive on a cross; however, not enough was described and everything was pointed out so straightforwardly with limited use of vocabulary. All the nightmares had potential to scare the soul out of me, but the descriptions were not good enough to frighten me.
This book was a great read, but it has the potential to be better. Given its great plot and good character development, this book could’ve been way more enjoyable if only the horror elements were scarier and more gripping.
Reviewed by Kiki F.