The Promise of Lost Things by Helene Dunbar

Abstract

Reviewed by: The Promise of Lost Things by Helene Dunbar Amanda Toledo Dunbar, Helene The Promise of Lost Things. Sourcebooks Fire, 2022 [320p] Paper ed. ISBN 9781492667407 $10.99 E-book ed. ISBN 9781492667414 $9.99 Reviewed from digital galleys R Gr. 9-12 Ghosts aren't fiction in St. Hilaire, New York, a small enclave where those with powers to commune with the dead live according to rules established by a corrupt Guild. Russ, a teen eager to prove himself as student leader of the Guild's Youth Corps, mixes addictive herbs from his grandmother's garden to enhance his powers and is helped further by the ghost of powerful teen medium Ian Mackenzie, who is no less charming for being dead. Outside the town gates, seventeen-year-old Asher wants to mourn his sister in peace, but his parents, hosts of the reality TV show Ghost Killers, want to film a special episode proving the mystics of St. Hilaire are [End Page 319] frauds. Asher befriends Russ to help his parents but finds he doesn't want to take down the town of the boy he's slowly growing attached to. Meanwhile, Willow, the delightfully wicked medium training Russ, has plans to bring prominence and power to herself and the town, and she's not letting anyone get in her way. The three narrators bring a lot of moving pieces to this plot, but the story unspools with intriguing suspense and satisfyingly resolves leftover mysteries from the first novel in the series, Prelude for Lost Souls. In a book dealing with the ethereal, Dunbar's writing is grounded in richly detailed descriptions of physical sensations and emotions, and those qualities shine in a brief but exhilarating kiss Russ and Asher share. Fantastic elements layered in with poignant, human moments of grief make this ghost story a solid sequel. Copyright © 2022 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois