This book was a beautiful mashup of genres. I read it so quickly and truly loved it; will definintly be strongly considered for the collection. By turns sweet, poetic, intense, and magical.

The Ghosts of Rose Hill by R.M. Romero

Personal Rating: ★★★★★/5 Stars

Book Statistics:
Genre: Poetry, Young Adult Fiction
Year of Publication: 2022
Pages: 452

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Firstly, I would like to express my gratitude to everyone who helped with the creation of this beautiful story and most importantly to R.M. Romero for writing this wonderful book.

I loved everything about 'The Ghosts of Rose Hill'. It made me feel so much with such few words. I experienced a different world come to life, filled with magic, love, hate and death and I could never be more happy than I did.

The format of the book helped me devour the book in just a few hours. In these hours I felt everything Ilana did, I loved with Ilana, I felt betrayed and I felt lonely but I also felt seen.

There were many moments were I had to put the book down because I was angry, sad and felt every emotion that leaked from Ilana's mind and became my own.

This was quite a heavy book in terms of subject. It was filled with the loneliness that came when death arrived in our door to take someone we love and it was only filled with sorrow about the loves that stay frozen in time.

But there were positive feelings about the future and about our world, where we will all be one and we will all be the heroes of our own lives and stories.

I can not just recommend this book but I encourage everyone to read it. You will not regret it.

The Ghosts of Rose Hill was an incredibly beautiful and intriguing atmospheric novel. I adore magical realism books and this did not disappoint. I enjoyed the characters, and it was a quick read. I found the writing to be engaging and entertaining; I had an enjoyable time reading this and it held my attention the entire way through that I finished it within the day! I enjoyed every page and thought that the plot/story was very unique. Would recommend to anyone!

I loved the cover and was very intrigued by the blurb... but I should not have read it diagonally. I have trouble with verse texts. This is entirely on me, the rhythm of poetry, in general, stresses me and I just couldn't finish the book, which is a shame because the main character is very likable and the story really interesting. I just think that this format might not be for everyone and I would recommend it to more musical people with a sensibility for modern poetry.

I am in awe of the way that R.M. Romero tells stories, weaving poetry into a story that technically takes place in our world, but certainly doesn’t feel like it. THE GHOSTS OF ROSE HILL has a shorter word count than most novels, but its story felt like it stretched out like a cat in the sun (in a very good way). This book creates a world that sucks you in and nearly drowns you in it, but gives you the time to learn how to swim. There were times where I felt a little less entranced than others, but I can’t say I didn’t enjoy being along for the ride.

Romero excels in storytelling, and in creating an entirely new world within one that we already have. This book has no pretenses about being completely made up or without source, instead immeshing itself within culture, tradition, and religion like a second skin. I personally can’t speak for the relations to Latin or Jewish culture, but the heart is there. For me, the story sank the deepest as Ilana referenced Orpheus, another musician doomed to the dark. They are stories of pain as much as triumph, but ones that echo truth and echo strength, in the same way this one does.

Ilana is an interesting protagonist, and the other characters in this story are as well. Though there is certainly an antagonist who is also the villain, it feels wrong to call any of them heroes. In truth, everyone is achingly human, or trying very hard not to be. There are very much run of the mill YA teen worries, but Romero looks to the best of the genre by going deeper. Ilana may only be sixteen, but it’s true she is sometimes more monster than girl, and that her story runs thousands of years before her, and will run thousands of years after.

At the end of the day, my simplest reaction to this book, is that it is definitely worth the read. It crafts remarkable characters you don’t want to look away from, and slides in twists and turn throughout its slow, winding path. Romero has created a world you could sink your teeth into, and frankly I’m excited to see what she writes next.

Thank you to Netgalley for giving me an ARC of this novel!

WOW. I went into this not knowing what to expect. I don’t read a lot of work in prose, and it’s often very hit or miss for me - this was a HIT. It was the perfect way to tell the story of Ilana and the ghosts she cared for. The lyricism blends so well with the entire concept as well as Ilana’s characterization as a musician - the two aspects enhance each other well. It was very reminiscent of old-world fairytales as well as being a modern exploration of the trauma of being displaced from your homeland, the burden of remembering the dead.

Evocative, dark, but still hopeful, this is a great novel to start if you want to read more novels in prose, or more modern fairytales in general. A great start for Peachtree’s new publishing imprint!

Really interesting use of prose! I'm not a huge poetry person but I really enjoyed this! The characters were believable even in the restrictive format and I think the cover is absolutely gorgeous.

The ghost of rose hill
This book was incredibly deep and left me with so many good quotes and moments. This book was written in the style of poetry so I wasn’t sure if I was going to like it but, the style was easy to adapt to and made reading way more fun and such an immersive experience. I love how fleshed out the characters were, and how moving them story was, it was deeply emotional, insightful and touches on horrors of the past in a way that was respectful.
Cons: pacing in the second half of the book, I felt like the major conflict was how to bring down this monster and it was done extremely fast. I feel like there were too many dull moments where we just learned and experienced Prague which was interesting hit those moments could’ve been shorter and the climax of the book a bit longer

"He and I are made of endings.
And that's why
I need to kiss him--
so we can have a beginning too."

!!!!!! I'm so in love. This book is absolutely beautiful and I am feeling...feelings! It's a modern fairytale set in Prague and it's written entirely in verse prose. At first, I thought the prose might be too distracting, but it ended up working wonderfully (it helps that the writing is gorgeous). It's like one long beautiful poem.

Ilana is a fantastic character. She's selfish, headstrong, and also a romantic at heart. It's fun reading how she takes agency of her own life. I also love the way music is described in this book. All in all, it really makes me want to visit Prague again!

Usually I’m not the biggest fan of novels in verse but this was such a good read. Really beautifully written it made me want to read it all over again. The author’s imagery was amazing I didn’t want it to end. Such an interesting story that was fast paced but gave a good background into all the characters and the story. I would definitely recommend it as a quick but gorgeous story.

A girl is at odds with her parents about her future. She is sent to stay with her aunt in Prague. There she meets a ghost boy, comes face to face with a monster, and finds her voice.
The Ghosts of Rose Hill is a colorful and well written book that entrances you from the start. The lyrical and beautiful writing brings the story to life. It’s almost as if you can see this poetic story unfold. I enjoyed the verse in which this book was written. It is fast paced and full of emotion. I couldn’t put it down. The story was predictable in some ways, but it was so compelling and enjoyable that being predictable doesn’t hinder the story.
This story has so many interesting elements to it. The main character has a realistic and complicated relationship with her family, which many can relate to. She has an internal struggle between who she wants to be and the person whom others want her to become. Her passion, struggle, and empathy can be felt and shared through the story. It also contains this fantastical romance with a ghost boy whose Jewish heritage she relates to. They share passion, art, and history. Added to this fantasy theme is a mysterious folklore character, his black violin, and other ghost children.
This lyrical book is full of emotion, history, hope, and passion. I very much enjoyed this story and would highly recommend it to anyone.

I loved this! This was the first novel in verse I have ever read and I just loved the story. At first I was confused about what was going on, but I really loved the way the main characters relationship developed and how the history of Prague was there as well. I really appreciated the slavic fantasy aspect as I feel that most teen books shy away from that route. This was excellently written and the poetic structure was lovely and moving and heart wrenchingly good. I highlighted several lines so that I can reread them at a later date. I highly recommend this book!

This book was absolutely fantastic. I've already added it to our list for order this year and will recommend it to students.

I struggled with this book. I liked the idea but it ended up being just kind of forgettable for me. Fairly early in the book when She gets to Prague I knew were the author was going. Another stumbling block for me was I didn’t have the knowledge base about Judaism or Prague so I wasn’t always sure what was going on. In a normal book I think there would have been more background to explain things to the reader but being written in prose there isn’t a chance for that. I think it’s a well written story but it didn’t do much of anything for me.

Absolutely lovely. The characters are incredibly beautiful and rich, the writing is magical in all the right ways and this was everything. It broke my heart in a way it needs to be broken. And I'm so appreciative to read such a powerful story written about a Jewish-Latinx character BY a Jewish-Latinx author. Beautiful job. I'll reread it throughout my life for sure.

This book took my breath away and stole my heart.

Both the writing and story are beautiful. The verse flowed so well while covering such a comprehensive range of topics. Love and romance, the rich but complicated history of Prague, the immigrant experience, being biracial and coming of age, folklore, magical realism — you have it all and I enjoyed every moment.

An immersive and dazzling read that will stay with you for long!

Much like a symphony this book starts out slow and ends with a beautiful, explosive crescendo. I found it to be cleverly written with many lovely and thought provoking passages. While exiled to Prague for the summer, Ilana Lopez is forced to confront both her Jewish past and her own future plans. In an attempt to escape her parent's expectations of who they think she should be, Ilana begins to clean up a Jewish cemetery behind her aunt's home where she meets Benjamin, a boy with startling blue eyes. She also meets the mysterious Wassermann who offers her the opportunity to escape into a fairy tale world of music and magic. However, things aren't what they seem and Ilana must find the strength to fight for her future and the future of those she loves, even if it means giving everything up. While reading this book, I was compelled to look up the different places and events in Prague mentioned - which to me is always a sign of a good book. The Ghosts of Rose Hill thoughtfully mixes history, romance, horror, and ghosts in this beautifully written novel in verse.

Wow. This was such a beautiful book to read. Illana was a very moving character, and I thoroughly enjoyed seeing her growth throughout the book. I particularly liked the verse and lyrical writing which really transcribed the emotions of the story well. This book left me with a bittersweet but dream-like feeling. I am looking forward to R.M. Romero’s future work.

"And the most impressive monsters,
are always the least impressive men."

I don't even know where to start with this review. There is always something so hard about writing reviews on books you absolutely loved. And I am in such a predicament right now.

This book follows Ilana, a biracial Jewish girl, who goes to Prague for the summer. She goes to visit her aunt, the city where her father was born, and the city he doesn't want to return to. Both of her parents moved to the US to escape the oppressive regimes of their countries, her dad left Prague, her mom left Cuba. Ilana wants to pursue music, she plays the violin and that's what she sees in her future. Her parents, however, want her to choose something different, something practical. She travels to Prague, to stay with her aunt Žofie, to study without distractions. Her parents are right, Prague gives Ilana a new outlook on life, but perhaps not the one they hoped for.

The book is written in verse, and while I don't often read in this format I immensely enjoyed it. This book feels magical and lyrical and this way of writing brought so much more emotion to this story. Throughout the whole book, I was astonished by how the author managed to pack emotion into every single line. This book breathes with history and balances the understanding of the utmost sorrow of history preceding you and the fire of wanting to be alive.

I loved Ilana as the main character, she seemed so real to me reading this novel. This book deals quite a lot with her trying to balance quite a lot of difficult stuff. She is trying to figure out who she is, and find her own identity amidst her very complex family history. She is stuck between wanting to please her parents and wanting to be true to herself. Wanting for once not to be careful, but to be selfish. When she comes to Prague she seems somewhat lost, and by the end of the novel she has grown so much, she is more sure of who she is.

While cleaning the cemetery, Ilana meets the ghost of a kind-hearted boy Benjamin. Careful at first, the two of them strike a friendship and wish they were two regular teenagers at the same stage of life. Benjamin tells Ilana about Prague's history but is hesitant to talk about himself and why he is still here. Ilana also becomes acquainted with Rudolph Wasserman, a seemingly normal man - but without a shadow. He encourages her love of music, but she realizes there is something sinister surrounding him and the other ghost-children she meets through him and Benjamin.

While Prague holds her personal family history, it also holds a more sinister history (and present) that Ilana uncovers accidentally. Behind her aunt's house, she finds an abandoned Jewish cemetery, it's been forgotten by everyone and Ilana comes back every day to clean it and restore it. I loved this aspect of the book - because the way she goes about it is with so much love and so much genuine sorrow for the people buried and essentially forgotten by the world. The book deals quite a bit with the topics of atrocities dealt upon Jewish people in Prague (and Europe in general) during the second world war, but also after. Such as the horrifying fact of using headstones from a Jewish cemetery as cobblestones after the war ended.

I loved how this book incorporated different aspects of Ilana's heritage, how it mixed her Jewish identity with the Slavic mythology ingrained in Prague. I also loved the relationship Ilana develops with her aunt, Žofie. Žofie gives her some much-needed space, but still provides advice and is a trusted parental figure. She is also an artist, so she understands Ilana's urge to create. I loved the mutual respect they have for each other - her aunt realizing how important the cemetery is to her and giving her the space to take care of it.

This book deals with the topic of men who are monsters, and of personal strength needed to confront them. When Ilana uncovers the monstrous nature of Wasserman, and his mistreatment (and that is saying it very lightly) of the ghost-children under his "protection", she puts all of her purpose, all of her force into doing the right thing and helping them. I was in awe by how strong she was, how full of passion, and how unyielding.

Just like Ilana, this book is passion, it tells the story of endurance. I loved reading about Ilana's journey of discovering herself, her history, her strength, and most importantly, what she finds important and worth fighting for even against all odds. I cried several times while reading this book, it got me feeling very emotional. I would highly recommend this book, but be aware that it is dealing with difficult topics which I discussed in this review.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Well, I confess that I was drawn to this book because of this cute cover, So I didn't notice that the entire book was written in verse. But it wasn't a bad surprise. on the contrary. It was quite greatly organized and indeed the verses tells Us the author's story and memories, and experiences mixed in a fantasy narrative. Cool idea.