I loved the synopsis for The Grave Digger. It’s historical - nothing like going back in time to read about the past. It’s a ghostly, creepy story that should give goosebumps and make for a compulsive read. It's middle grade which is one of my favorites - there can still be the depth of both character and plot.

A father and son duo who happens to be grave robbers at night sets in motion something supernatural while at the same time become involved in a mystery.

With so many 4& 5-star reviews I seriously wonder what I missed. It’s not that I disliked this book, I enjoyed it but feel there could have been more to the characters because I struggled to connect and feel any empathy for the lot of them. There was a lot of things going on here and at times I wondered about there a place in the whole scheme of things, some were more of a distraction and interrupted the flow.

For the mindset of the targeted age, I think it will work well but for this adult, it’s a 3 star for me.

My thanks to the publisher (via Netgalley) for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Cap's father is desperate for money so he agrees to dig bodies up from graves and gets Cap to help as well. Cap doesn't like it but doesn't have much choice. One night, after digging up a body, Cap discovers it is a friend of his. He can't let her be taken so he decides to take her body back to the orphanage where she was living. But, when he touches her, she wakes up!! At first, Cap thinks he might have a gift of raising the dead, especially after he is able to "raise" another dead man. But, after failing to "raise" some other bodies Cap learns that some of the dead aren't really dead and that something really evil is going on. But who is responsible? Can Cap figure it out or will he be the next victim?
This was a good bit of historical fiction albeit a bit gruesome. It had a bit of mystery to it as well which I enjoyed. I felt that there were a few holes in the plot that weren't explained but overall an enjoyable read.

I’ve read a lot of macabre middle grade books, but this tale of a father who forces his son to help him steal dead bodies might just be the oddest.

Due to the historical context of the 1870s, the author depicts segregation and old verbiage such as “colored.” There’s a note at the end of the book to explain this to young readers, but parents may want to use it as a springboard for discussion much earlier on.

None of the plot twists were difficult to guess, although the intended audience might be a bit shocked by a few scenes. Ultimately, the main character, Cap, has a good heart and wants to do the right thing. This helps soften the harshness of how he’s treated and some of the actions he gets roped into.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an ARC. This review contains my honest, unbiased opinion.

Once I started "The Grave Digger", I had trouble putting it down, and I took every little opportunity to jump back in, even if it was only for a few minutes at a time.

You can read a synopsis in other reviews, but I found the story to be well-paced and the basic plot fascinating. I have read other (fiction and nonfiction) "adult" books about the keen balance of cadavers needed for research versus the troubling ways they have been procured in the past. I don't know how accurate this book is in terms of history, but as a fictional book for younger audiences, it almost doesn't matter. My one big quibble is with the title: no one is digging graves, so much as disturbing them after the fact.

The premise of The Grave Digger sounded right up my alley - historical fiction with a paranormal twist, yet that is not the book that I read. The Grave Digger tells the story of 12 year old Cap Cooper, who is roped into digging up graves with his father, as their family is in great need of money. His father's grave robbing partner is a very unsavory character - very obviously a villain. While aspects of the novel were well-written and I loved the relationship Cal had with his mother, there was inconsistent pacing, one minute Cal is talking to a character, the next thing Cal finds out that character has died. Throughout the book, I never really got to know the characters - their motivations were never explained or examined, which left me unable to connect with anything. I think what this book suffers from, is having too much to explore in so few pages. Had the focus been just on the grave robbing and its consequences than I think it would have been a much better read, but the race relations, mysterious deaths, Cal's desire to invent, Mina and her prostitute mother, the orphanage, Cal's family struggle, immigration and education made the plot points too convoluted for true enjoyment. I would be interested in future Bischoff novels, as there was potential in her writing for a great story.

Meet twelve year old Cap Cooper who an aspiring inventor--and unenthused graverobber. Set in Ohio, after the civil war, Cap must help his father rob graves to aid in the surmounting bills being accumulated by his ailing mother. In the midst of robbing a grave, Cap discovers his touch can (gulp) literally raise the dead!
"The Grave Digger" by Rebecca Bischoff is a delightful middle grade read. Full of suspense, action, friendship, and a hint of the paranormal this book is a quintessential book to inspire young readers who love adventure with a sprinkling of spooky.

In this book, The Grave Digger by Rebecca Biscohoff, I found myself buried by all the plot twists and large amounts of characters to be able to concentrate enough to dig my way out of this one. It had a great premise, Cap and his father get mixed up in digging up bodies to help pay for their ailing mother’s medical bills but I soon found myself mixed into a large web of deceit that was a bit hard to follow at times. I did enjoy the history of book, that yes, grave robbing did happen.
I think this will fulfill the never ending request for something creepy by middle grade readers.

Thank you netgalley for the free ebook in exchange of an honest review.

My daughter and I really enjoyed this book. The storyline was intriguing and kept us entertained while the characters were easy to connect with. Could it have been expanded on in terms of characterization? Sure, but for a middle grade book, it got the job done. It's fast paced and has a lot of detail. Overall, it was a good read.

"The Grave Digger" is a fun story for middle grade readers. I'll definitely be recommending this one to patrons.

The Grave Digger by Rebecca Bischoff is a very satisfying read for children of all ages. While aimed toward the middle school age reader, I believe that many older readers will enjoy it as well. The illustrations by Tambe at The start of each chapter are charming and right on the money.

The subject matter, grave robbing and the accompanying mystery is spooky but not not too scary. The characters feel real as do their dilemmas. The Grave Digger is a nice way to learn a little of our nation's history while enjoying a good story told well. I look forward to reading other offerings by Rebecca Bischoff.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. As always, my opinion was unaffected by the free copy.

This is the sort of historical fiction I enjoy: it gives the reader a good idea of what things were like back in those days while giving an interesting story to follow. I think this will be entertaining for middle grade readers because of the mystery, and it touches on a lot of issues from that time. A lot of the characters are very morally gray, which I think can lead to some interesting discussion between young readers and parents/teachers.

I think the blurb needs to be rewritten a bit, because it definitely makes the reader think there's going to be supernatural things in the story. Those who pick it up hoping for that are going to be disappointed and might be resentful. Even though I eventually liked the explanation behind the dead resurrecting, I don't know if younger readers will if they go in expecting there to be magic and supernatural stuff.

The antagonists in this book are a bit odd. One felt very Dickensonian and the other was out of nowhere. This character seemed fine until the last third, when they suddenly went crazy. I don't really feel like that was necessary to do. The gravedigging and community response was more than enough to go on. There's also a lot of little things going on that aren't given a lot of time, and young readers may or may not fully grasp. As I said, most characters are morally gray, which I like because even the "good" ones make mistakes and wrong choices. The ones more obviously "bad" are a little over-the-top.

Since this is a book about digging up corpses, there are some macabre descriptions that may be disturbing to readers. There's also a scene where a child is threatened and tortured. I grew up on Roald Dahl and Bruce Coville so I would've been fine if I read it as a kid, but parents should take care with this book.

I liked it overall, and I think kids will enjoy learning this little discussed piece of history.

This review is set to release on my blog on August at https://quillandbooks.com/?p=3916

Grave Digger
by Rebecca Bischoff
Amberjack Publishing
192 pages
Release date: October 2019


I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I’ve not heard of this author before now. This is her second book to be published. I’ve started a few books by new authors in NetGalley that were poorly written. (I chose not to review those) This one was really good though! Here is a screenshot of page one, so you get a sample of the writing. Also, each chapter has a lovely drawing by Tambe, an Italian artist. I confess I woke up last night and wasn’t able to sleep, so I continued reading this story. I finished it at 4 am. Good thing I’m on summer break and could sleep in a little!!

What’s this about?

It’s 1875. Cap Cooper is a 12 year old whose mother is pregnant with another child. She is weak and sick. Cap and his dad just want to be able to pay for her medicine, so they pick up a job of grave digging. Not to put bodies into, but to take them out. They are stealing the bodies to sell to medical facilities. It’s good money, for some rather unsavory people.

Cap feels bad about it. Then one of the bodies comes back to life! Did he cause that? Does he have some paranormal power? Or was she buried alive?

He is also an inventor and very curious. Unfortunately his curiosity gets the better of him and he starts poking around, getting himself into very deep water. Along the way Cap makes some friends and some enemies.

The townspeople are up in arms about their loved ones being snatched from the grave! Tension is high and Cap might be in over his head!

Who will like this?
This had a similar feel to Laurie Halse Anderson’s Chains in the setting except for the.100 year difference. The writing is not quite as rich as hers but it’s getting there. So if you like Laurie Halse Anderson’s historical fiction books this is the book for you!

Rating
I give this 4 quills. There were some tiny little foibles in the writing style and storytelling style that could be improved. Young readers wouldn’t notice this though, just writers. This is not a difficult read at all. I think 4th or 5th graders could read this and enjoy it if they like something a bit scary and intense. There is quite a bit of action to keep readers engaged.

Foul Language: None
Excessive or Vivid Violence: None
Sexual Content: None
Substance Abuse: None (It does contain smoking and alcohol, but Cap describes them as gross smelling.)

Set in 1875. In order to help pay his mother’s medical expenses, Cap is forced by his father to be a grave snatcher. When a mysterious epidemic starts killing people rapidly, Cap, his dad, and the rest of the team start getting a lot of requests for bodies. Soon, the community starts getting anxious because of the epidemic and the missing bodies of their loved ones. When Cap accidentally brings a school mate back to life, he begins to uncover some dark secrets in the town. Can Cap figure out what is going on before it’s too late? The characters in the book are intriguing and engaging. The plot is well-developed, full of twists and turns, and keeps the reader interested. Readers who like mystery, historical fiction, and horror will enjoy reading this book.

What would you sacrifice to survive? Would you rob a bank, perhaps an individual? What about a body from a grave?
This is was a book hard to put down as you become entangled with the father and son as they travel into the darkest of employment for income. It's hard to define one's moral compass and what sacrifice you're willing to overlook during one's own darkest hour but this novel provides a good example.
I won't hash out any specifics that can be liable as a spoiler. The writing is good, the plot is enticing and the characters tug at your curiosity. This would make a great read for any teenage reader though I feel that it wouldn't appeal all that must to the younger.

Having been born and raised just outside of Edinburgh I have grown up with stories of the Body Snatchers who supplied the medical universities of the city, none more prominent than the infamous Burke and Hare, so when I came across this novel I had to read it! Especially as this book is not based in Scotland but America. Interestingly, there are elements to body snatching that I haven't experienced such as the snatching of 'coloured' people and what was considered legal and illegal corpses. This book is well researched and tells an adsorbing story at a good pace while highlighting social and political issues. The heart of the story is love because character's actions are motivated by love. Those snatched have been loved and those who have passed have loved. I highly recommend this book and look forward to future works by this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher Amberjack Publishing for an advanced electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a lovely book. It was interesting and different. Definitely falls under the historical category. I'm not sure that younger readers would enjoy or understand everything that takes place in the book - I would recommend it for older or more advanced younger readers. Some of the old school slang was a little odd or difficult to get into. It's quite a short book so not a difficult read, but at the same time it's not as gripping as I had hoped. The action comes more towards the end. The book does become a bit dark, which is why I wouldn't recommend it for young readers. However, it had a very sweet ending.

A little slice of history, The Grave Digger centers around 12-year old Cap Cooper, residing in Ohio in 1875. His father get himself and Cap roped into a body snatching ploy to bring the family that bit of extra money, and Cap is quick to figure out that something is amiss when people are mysteriously dying and neither his father nor their accomplice will tell him what the bodies they dig up are for.

There were a lot of characters, and none of them seemed much more developed than whether they were "good" or "bad" - even Cap, who seemed like a good kid with a good moral compass, but other than that didn't he have much of a personality. All the other characters had a purpose, but there were so many plot points flying about because all the characters had a purpose, the book wasn't long enough to give any proper detail to them all, and definitely not to give them closure, so it would have benefited from being an extra 50 pages or so. A bit unfortunate, but nothing something that too away too majorly from the story altogether,

Most likely something a middle-grader would enjoy - it's a bit gory, but not in a nightmare-inducing way (I'm squeamish, but The Grave Digger didn't bother me) and Cap is a great protagonist if you're not looking for something deep and can suspend disbelief.

The Grave Diggers was a fun read. I liked the topic of the family needing to become Resurrectionists (grave diggers/body snatchers) to earn money for living. The macabre and supernatural elements to the story added a nice touch. There is just the right amount of suspense and surprise that will keep the reader wanting to finish. This is a great book for middle schoolers that like some sort of twist to their regular fiction.

I wasn't sure what to expect going into this book as far as how spooky or supernatural it would be, and now that I've finished, I'm still unsure of how supernatural the story actually was., and have mixed feelings on the story overall.

What I liked:
Cap was a decent main character, and I enjoyed that the book showed a boy on the verge of becoming a teenager struggling with morals and his faith that his father would always do what was best.

The historical fiction aspect - I enjoy reading about lesser known parts of history, and while I was aware of the grave robbing in the 19th century that occurred to obtain bodies for medical schools, The Grave Robber is the first fiction novel I've read that focused on this topic.

Jessamyn - I wished she'd been featured more in the book, and I'd be curious to know how her and Cap's friendship developed following the events of the novel.

What didn't work for me:

The supernatural aspect (if it existed at all). I was expecting this to be focused on Cap's ability to truly resurrect the dead, and shortly into the book it seemed to be going that way, before turning into a story grounded in reality. There were hints at the supernatural, but there also seemed to be scientific/realistic explanations as well.

The fact that Cap's family is in such a struggle for money that they resort to grave robbing, but they still keep on a housekeeper, seem to have a decent house, plenty of food, etc.? It never really seemed believable that they were truly in need of money, or if they were, that other, more legitimate options, wouldn't be available.

A rushed ending that seemed to be lacking in consequences or resolutions in some areas.

And, while it worked okay for me, an adult, I was shocked with how dark and violent this book was. Several cold blooded crimes occur, a child is tortured, and there's corpses everywhere. The book is at a middle grade level, but I feel the story would be too dark or disturbing for several in the 8-12 range.

Overall, this read was decently entertaining and quick-paced enough for me to finish, but left me neither disliking it or loving it.

Thank you Net galley for the free ARC. Cap helps his father earn money by digging up bodies. But some f them come back to life and Cap is trying to find out why and what is going on. This novel was very dark and Dickensian in its characters. I really only liked Cap because of his inventor's streak.