Eventide by Sarah Goodman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
**3.5-stars**
In 1907, Verity Pruitt and her little sister, Lilah, arrive in Wheeler, Arkansas, aboard an orphan train.
The girl’s mother has passed away and their father, apparently suffering from overwhelming grief, has been committed to an asylum.
With no family to take them in, the girls become wards of the state, in spite of the fact that Verity is close to turning eighteen.
When they arrive in Arkansas, it is clear that a family is already waiting for Lilah, but poor Verity will not be going with them.
She does still luck out though, as an amazing family is willing to take her in and they live only a couple of miles from Lilah’s new home.
Of course, Verity’s position is more as a farmhand initially, than an adopted child. She’s okay with that though, a little hard work never hurt anybody.
As Verity settles in at her new home, enjoying her work on the farm and her new friendships, she discovers that something lurks in the woods surrounding the town.
It’s unsettling the things she sees as she accidentally ventures into the woods one night.
As she works to uncover the truth behind the strange things she has seen and experienced, Verity begins to uncover some truths about her own family instead.
Goodman definitely succeeded at bringing a fun, creepy atmosphere to this historical fiction tale.
I really enjoyed the setting and the cast of characters.
Some of the plot was a bit too simple for my tastes, as well as slightly campy towards the end, but it was still a quick, enjoyable read!
I definitely recommend this to readers who like the idea of a creepy read, but they don’t actually want to be scared.
Thank you so much to the publisher, Tor Teen, for providing me with a copy of this to read and review.
As a debut, this is impressive. I look forward to reading more from Sarah Goodman. I hope she stays in this lane. It works for her!
