Curses and Other Buried Things

By: Caroline George

Narrated by: Hallie Ricardo

Blood holds all kinds of curses.

Seven generations of women in Susana Prather’s family have been lost to the Georgia swamp behind her house. The morning after her eighteenth birthday, she awakens soaked with water, with no memory of sleepwalking. No matter how she tries to stop it, she’s pulled from her safe bed night after night, haunted by her own family history and legacy. Now, the truth feels unavoidable: it’s only a matter of time before she loses her mind and the swamp becomes her grave.

Unless she can figure out how to break the curse.

When she isn’t sleepwalking, she’s dreaming of her great-great-great-great-grandmother, Suzanna Yawn, who set the curse in motion in 1855. Her ancestor’s life bears such similarity to her own that it might hold the key she seeks. Or it might only foretell tragedy.

As Susana seeks solutions in the past and the present, family members hold secrets tighter to their chests, friends grow distant, and old flames threaten to sputter and die. But Susana has something no one else has been able to seize: the unflagging belief that all curses can be broken and that love can help a new future begin.

Based on her own family history, award-winning novelist Caroline George’s latest novel is a staggeringly beautiful work of hope.

• Stand-alone young adult contemporary Southern gothic
• Perfect for fans of Wilder Girls, Dark and Shallow Lies, and Swamplandia!
• Book length: 97,000 words
• Family trees are included in the audiobook companion PDF download.

Critic reviews

'Caroline George spins an immersive, beautifully crafted tale about overcoming the life-defining words we've always heard about ourselves and finding the courage to live in freedom. Unforgettable.'

'A teenager strives to break a generations-old curse in which the firstborn daughter always meets a tragic end in this propulsive story by George (The Summer We Forgot) . . . Sumptuous, dark details increase the creeping atmosphere of this judiciously rendered psychological exploration of blame, healing, and trauma.'

'Caroline George creates an authentic sense of place for her deep south small town--it feels like sitting in someone's living room listening to local gossip.'

'Caroline George weaves an intricate, soul-stirring story that wonderfully illustrates the power of our words--both spoken and unspoken--and the authority we grant them over our lives. Brimming with poetic and lyrical language, Caroline breathes vibrant life into her characters and into the hearts of everyone who reads them.'

'Full of mystery and an eerie resonance, Curses and Other Buried Things explores the bonds, the beauty and the bitterness of family inheritances against a southern gothic setting that seeps into the reader like swamp water.'

'Past and present are richly intertwined in this gorgeously written, atmospheric novel.'

'Pulses with Southern Gothic mystery and atmosphere like the hum of summer-night cicadas, and glows with hope and love like the fireflies that illuminate the sultry dark. The only thing that will slow your page-turning is pausing every other line to read a perfect sentence a few more times.'

'This story shows the power of both forgiveness and hatred . . . If you are looking for a tale with more depth, this is the book for you.'

LOVED IT!!

I loved it. I even listened to the author’s note at the end. I loved the symbolism, and the historical legend/folklore that was woven throughout the story. I LOVED the psychological aspects And the underlying theme of breaking generational curses. It had a kind of a surprise ending with a somewhat apocalyptical feel, but yet still hit the realm of believable as well as symbolic.

More Christian romance than Southern Gothic

I think the blurb does this book a disservice. If I’d known it had so much YA Christian romance in it, I’d never have chosen it. I don’t fault the author for that though. I do give the book low marks though because it is repetitive and overlong, and topics are explained to death.

Nothing!!!!

One of the hardest books to keep track of from characters to storyline. Added to my least favorite audible books.

Monotone narrator.