[Book Review] Seeing Things by Sonora Taylor

Seeing Things by Sonora Taylor is a tale about family, secrets, and a lot of blood…

Being a teenage girl is difficult enough as it is, but when Abby Gillman begins to see blood that no one else can, her life is about to get even more troublesome.

Let’s dive in!

My Thoughts on Seeing Things by Sonora Taylor

My goodness, Sonora Taylor absolutely nailed the teenage girl persona in this story. Her writing style moves so fluidly, her character development is always perfect for each role, and her dialogue is wonderfully realistic. When reading this book, I felt like I was sitting on the sidelines really watching it all play out.

I won’t get too much into the plot, as this is something that you should really just jump into on your own! I will say that I was HOOKED. I couldn’t wait to see what happened next and I thought each plot point that was included was so interesting. I loved how the overall story played out!

The last element that I wanted to touch on was that I really enjoyed that the author didn’t stray away from including some really deep topics. I would have loved to see things like this in the books I was reading when I was a teenager.

One that really stuck out to me was when Abby and Uncle Keith were talking about dating, and that Uncle Keith made it a point to say that control and obsession isn’t love. That is such an important lesson that many teenagers and adults alike need to really hear. I know that I personally learned it a bit too late when I was a teenager as I dated two boys back to back that were incredibly controlling and manipulative.

Another topic was forgiveness when it comes to family. This was approached a few different ways and I appreciated each as they didn’t stick to the “nothing you can do, they’re family” toxic trope. One message that really stuck out here is that just because someone is family, doesn’t mean you have to talk to them. It was a statement that was made in passing, but boy was it powerful.

My Favorite Passages from Seeing Things

One thing Abby learned about growing up was that there was a lot of blood involved. 

Forest green windowsills added some life to the place, but they too had fallen victim to age and saltwater breezes. They looked like dried sheets of seaweed, the only extra color coming from splotches of seagull poop splattered against the slats. The house stood on a small bluff away from the tide, but it’s height over the beach gave it a lopsided appearance, as if the bluff was in league with the ocean and would soon cash in on their deal to topple the structure into the water with the next full tide. 

She stared at Abby with more hate than she’s ever seen in her life. She opened her mouth and let out a scream that sounded like the harshest, fastest wind of a hurricane.

My Final Thoughts on Seeing Things

If you enjoy stories that keep you on edge while you equally eagerly await and dread learning new information as you nervously wait for the big reveal of the story, then this is a great book for you!

I had so much fun reading this and I would highly recommend checking it out. Also, take a peek at the digital book cover. See anything in the locker?

Thanks for reading!
And thanks again to Sonora for sending me a signed copy!

I also have a quick story for you all-

When was about halfway through this read, I couldn’t help but explain what had happened so far to my husband. Shortly afterward, I got a message from Patrick R. McDonough asking if I was available later that evening to guest host again on the Dead Headspace podcast. And the author? None other than the amazing Sonora Taylor! WHAT ARE THE CHANCES?! Of course I said yes! Click below to listen to the episode!

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Related Reading:

• Little Paranoias by Sonora Taylor