Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me free access to the digital advanced copy of this book.

Where the Lost Ones Go, by Akemi Dawn Bowman, follows Eliot, a girl who becomes obsessed with ghosts and paranormal activity when her grandmother passes away. When her family moves to a small town and she hears rumors of ghosts in a nearby house called Honeyfield Hall, she immediately tries to investigate. She finds the ghosts she is seeking, learning that they are trapped between worlds and need her help to move on, enlisting the help of Hazel, Honeyfield Hall's owner's granddaughter, to do so.

I really enjoyed this book! I don't always love ghost stories, but the promise of a middle-grade novel dealing with memory and grief while also featuring a queer romance was too good to pass up, so I'm really glad I gave this a try.

This is fundamentally a story about grieving and coming to terms with the death of a loved one, so if you're just looking for a paranormal mystery then this probably isn't the book for you. If you're looking for a poignant and touching story that happens to be set amid a mystery, however, then I think you'll really enjoy this book.

Eliot's relationship with her Babung is truly at the heart of the story, and I think that that was done really well. There are some books about grief I've read that truly don't flesh out the relationships enough for the reader to truly invest themselves in it, but that's absolutely not the case here. You truly fall in love with all of the characters, even those who aren't present.

I also really appreciated the low-key queer representation between Eliot and Hazel. I know that seeing casual queer rep in middle grade books would have meant the world to me as a middle schooler, so I'm really grateful to see that becoming more of a thing.

My only criticisms about the book are the fact that the plot could have been a bit better placed (it felt quite slow at times), and the fact that Eliot desperately needs a lot of therapy, but her parents aren't really coping with their own grief, much less helping her. Overall, though, I'm giving this 4/5 stars and highly recommend it for anybody looking for a thoughtful middle grade novel.

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Children's for providing me with a free eARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I kept forgetting that this supernatural mystery is targeted to middle grade readers; even in fiction for adults, I don't know that grief and loneliness have been captured as movingly. I, love, too, the depiction of differing filial relationships, and how the longing for connection drives not just the MC but all of the characters. Without giving anything away, I'll share that I was pleasantly surprised by the twist towards the end, appropriately bittersweet.

This was so so so good! Truly a magical and moving middle grade that I look forward to rereading. It's honestly better the less you know but there is a whole shit ton of queerness and there's ghosts and there's a haunted house and there's a lot of grief but I cannot get over how much I love this one.

Eliot is grieving Babung, her paternal grandmother and she is not happy that her parents have uprooted her from where they all lived. The new house just isn't right and she feels like she can't even speak of her Babung without being chastised. So what if she's looking for a way to speak to ghosts so that she can finally say a proper goodbye to her grandmother...
It also doesn't help that the first girls her age she meets are less than friendly and taunt her by telling her Honeyfield Hall, an old house on a hill is haunted and that Mrs Delvaux, her owner, is a witch. Because of that encounter, Eliot finds herself having to help Mrs Delvaux fix up her garden. But this punition turns out to be a blessing in disguise when Eliot realizes there's more to this old house and Mrs Delvaux's granddaughter, Hazel, is actually very nice (and cute.)

This was all kinds of great. I loved how it approached grief and family and friendship even. I also loved the main character and how the town felt so real.
I also loved the friendship Eliot had with Hazel.
The ghost stories also captivated me, it was just so different and interesting. I honestly loved everything about this book.
The parents were also complex and flawed but in such an interesting way. They kinda infuriated me at times but they meant well and I could tell.
Basically, this was a great ghost story in a very grounded way, and it was captivating. I definitely recommend it, it made me want to catch her on the Akemi Dawn Bowman books I've missed in the last couple years.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing this eARC.

Where the Lost Ones Go follows twelve year old Japanese American girl Eliot, who struggles with grieving her recently departed grandmother, Babung. When Eliot’s parents move their family across the country, Eliot searches for signs of ghosts on the chance she may get to see Babung again. Instead, she finds a house rife with ghosts, and embarks on a journey to solve the mystery behind the ghosts’ lives.

If you’re a fan of Coco or if you’ve lost a grandparent, this book is going to hit particularly hard. As someone who fits both criteria, though neither grandparent I lost struggled with severe memory loss in their final days, the story of Eliot’s grief and loss often felt like looking in a mirror, and her journey throughout the novel did offer a small sense of healing. This story is one of loss, but it is also one of love and of family, of joy and of hope.

This story really did work for me at every level. The ghosts and their riddle was a fun primary plot to follow, especially as Eliot began figuring things out and discovering the ghosts’ memories. The twist was surprising, yet very evident in retrospect (in my opinion the best twist is the one you’ll never see coming but that ends up making more sense than anything you could think of). The story was often fun and fast paced, yet still took the time and care to foster depth and nuance in its characters and themes. Just overall a really, really spectacular middle grade read.

5✨

This is the perfect spooky middle grade novel!! I was in love with the vibes and the cute story that was told. I felt for our main character the entire time and I heavily recommend it for this year's fall season

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.

I have heard a lot of good things about Akemi Dawn Bowman’s work, although I have never picked up one of her books until now. However, if they’re all as good as Where the Lost Ones Go, I’m excited to explore more.

Having just read a book about expressions of grief mingled with paranormal elements, I find it continually fascinating how people worry about stories being “too similar,” for whatever reason, especially from marginalized voices, as apart from those elements, they’re so different…even the expressions of grief are different! I loved following Eliot on her journey as she reckoned with her grandmother’s passing, including attempting to make contact with her spirit.

Eliot is very easy to relate to, as I also lost my grandmother around a similar age as she did. This was a very nostalgic read for me as a result, and while my process of grieving wasn’t identical to hers, I couldn’t help but enjoy living vicariously through her.

I enjoyed the “haunted house” aspect and the twist on the ghost story. It’s subtly creepy and atmospheric, and I enjoyed following Eliot as she explored and unearthed the Hall’s secrets.

I also love the romance that develops between her and Hazel. It starts as a friendship, and blossoms slowly into something more. There’s a twist where Hazel is concerned, and while I found it pretty obvious, I’m also not the target audience, and I appreciate how it was written in a clever way without overly spoon feeding it to the audience.

This is a fun paranormal middle grade, and one that for the most part, holds appeal for older audiences as well. If you enjoy ghost stories that also explore grief and loss, I recommend keeping an eye out for this one.

Eliot is still grieving Babung, her grandmother, when her parents move her across the country. She's not sure why it seems like her parents have moved on so quickly. Eliot isn't ready to let her grandmother go. That's why she's so determined to prove that ghosts are real. If they're real, that means she can get back Babung.

When Eliot's paranormal investigation leads her to Honeyfield Hall, she finds proof that ghosts are real. However, she also learns that ghosts can lose their memories. In order to help them crossover, she needs to help them remember. With the help of Hazel, a resident of Honeyfield Hall and Eliot's new crush, they might be able to help the ghosts move on.

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Children's for an advanced copy of Where the Lost Ones Go by Akemi Dawn Bowman to review! I don't know how she gets so lucky, but Bowman always has the best covers. They are all absolutely breathtaking, including this one!

This isn't Bowman's first middle grade, but it's the first middle grade of hers that I've read. And I'm not surprised that I loved it! Bowman nails the voice in this, authentically communicating Eliot's feelings and her struggles with grief. It could be a great jumping off point to discuss death and grief with kids or tweens. You can feel how much Eliot is hurting and trying to figure out how to move forward from that hurt. I do wish some sort of therapy would have been represented, because that could have been such a positive thing. I get why it wasn't, plotwise, but including would have given the book that extra edge.

We also get some twists on the classic ghost story for middle grade. While some of the plot twists were easy for me to spot, they might not be as easy for kids reading it. Bowman plays with your expectations throughout the book, and it really makes the entire story engaging. It made me want to see what Bowman was going to do next!

All in all, if you're looking for a new middle grade to jump into that might deal with some difficult topics, I would recommend this!

DNF 34%

I love this premise and I love Eliot and I’m so curious about Hazel and why she can’t leave the house, but the writing just isn’t hooking me. It could be a case of wrong timing so I may come back to this when I’m in a different head space. The mystery and paranormal set up is fascinating and unique, and I love how pieces of Japanese culture are interwoven and impact Eliot’s experience and how she’s going about trying to contact Babung. The whole bit about memories and how memories create who we are is such a great thread, and I think this will explore that well. But for me, this isn’t a book that’s holding my attention.

This is by far my favourite middlegrade I've read so far this year, and a definite all-time favourite. It's both a ghost story about a haunted house and a story about a girl grieving her grandmother and trying to find closure and come to terms with her loss, and these aspects of the story are combined in the most phenomenal of ways. Parts of the story are really fun, but it's also a really heartfelt, emotional read. Particularly the ending made me tear up.

A girl finds herself helping ghost find a way to cross over to the other side in her own desperate attempt to get into contact with her grandmother who had recently passed. Elliot is grieving the death of her grandmother who had just passed away, it does not help that her family has also decided to move to a completely new place to get a fresh start. Elliot firmly believes that she can find a way to contact her grandmother’s ghost and she’s willing to do whatever it takes. When she finds proof of spirits at the presumably haunted Honeyfield Hall. Elliot realizes that these ghosts have lost their memories and are stuck between this world and the next. With the help of the granddaughter of Honeyfield’s owner (and Elliot’s new crush) she will attempt to help these ghosts pass and just maybe get into contact with her grandmother at last. This is a story about grief and healing, about losing a loved one and the way we cope and deal with it. It was such a beautifully told story that truly touched me. As someone who lost her grandmother at a young age, it also deeply impacted me. I found that I would do anything to just recall the memories of her and this story truly captures that yearning we all have for those we love.

*Thanks Netgalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group, Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR) for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

Thank you, Macmillan Children's Publishing Group, for allowing me to read Where the Lost Ones Go early.

This middle grade story is a gem! Elliot's grief splashed of the pages and made this story poignant and heartbreaking at times. A wonderful addition to this genre and actually recommended for all ages.

Where the Lost Ones Go is about twelve year old Eliot who's recently lost her grandmother and has been forced to move to the opposite coast. Eliot already has an interest in the paranormal and after a dare to knock on the door of a "cursed" house in her new town, Eliot stumbles on to a way she thinks she may be able to contact her grandmother's ghost and get the goodbye she's been wanting for.

Eliot is a very strong little girl and her desperation to be able to say goodbye and make sure her grandmother remembers her is just as strong to read about. Hazel and Eliot's friendship and the solace they find in each other was so sweet and the way the story progresses leaves you feeling for both of them. I could tell how it was going to end pretty much right from the beginning, but this is meant for older kids/young teenagers so that's understandable and did not at all take away from my enjoyment of the book.

This story was lovingly bittersweet in the best way and I was crying by the end. I liked how the story was not only about grief and moving forward but also about loneliness and how you deal with it as a family and a friend.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for making this available in exchange for an honest review!

Akemi Dawn Bowman is one of my favorite authors who is on my autobuy list. I love her writing style and how much emotion she captures in her writing. I can always relate to the characters as well. Even though this book is a middle grade title, grief is explored beautifully and written so well. I like how the author doesn’t dumb down the book for a middle grade audience as well. This book can really be enjoyed by all ages! Thank you so much to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of an arc in return for an honest review!