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Lily Dale #2
Believing
After her tumultuous summer in Lily Dale, Calla has decided to stay, hoping to unearth more about her mother's untimely death. As she starts school at Lily Dale High and begins to explore her relationships with Jacy and Blue, her visions begin to occur with greater urgency. There may be a killer on the loose, and he may be after Calla for her role in solving his first victim's disappearance. Now that Calla believes in her ability, can she learn to use it properly before it leads her into more danger? In this thrilling sequel to Lily Awakening , readers will find an even larger dose of mystery, suspense, and romance that will keep them coming back to Lily Dale.
256 pages, Hardcover
First published April 29, 2008
52 people are currently reading
797 people want to read
About the author
Wendy Corsi Staub
81 books1,891 followersNew York Times bestseller Wendy Corsi Staub is the award-winning author of more than ninety novels, best known for the single title psychological suspense novels she writes under her own name. Those books and the women’s fiction written under the pseudonym Wendy Markham have also appeared on the USA Today, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Bookscan bestseller lists.
Her current standalone suspense novel, THE OTHER FAMILY, is about a picture-perfect family that that moves into a picture-perfect house. But not everything is as it seems, and the page-turner concludes “with a wallop of a twist,” according to #1 New York Times bestselling author Harlan Coben.
Her critically acclaimed Lily Dale traditional mystery series centers around a widowed single mom—and skeptic—who moves to a town populated by spiritualists who talk to the dead. Titles include NINE LIVES; SOMETHING BURIED, SOMETHING BLUE; DEAD OF WINTER; and PROSE AND CONS, with a fifth book under contract.
Wendy has written five suspense trilogies for HarperCollins/William Morrow. The most recent, The Foundlings (LITTLE GIRL LOST, DEAD SILENCE, and THE BUTCHER’S DAUGHTER), spans fifty years in the life of a woman left as a newborn in a Harlem church, now an investigative genealogist helping others uncover their biological roots while still searching for her own.
Written as Wendy Markham, Wendy’s novel HELLO, IT’S ME was a recent Hallmark television movie starring Kellie Martin. Her short story “Cat Got Your Tongue” appeared in R.L. Stine’s MWA middle grade anthology SCREAM AND SCREAM AGAIN and her short story “The Elephant in the Room” is included in the Anthony Award-nominated inaugural anthology SHATTERING GLASS.
A three-time finalist for the Simon and Schuster Mary Higgins Clark Award, she’s won an RWA Rita Award, an RT Award for Career Achievement in Suspense, the 2007 RWA-NYC Golden Apple Award for Lifetime Achievement, and five WLA Washington Irving Prizes for Fiction.
She previously published a dozen adult suspense novels with Kensington Books and the critically-acclaimed young adult paranormal series “Lily Dale” (Walker/Bloomsbury). Earlier in her career, she published a broad range of genres under her own name and pseudonyms, and was a co-author/ghostwriter for several celebrities.
Raised in Dunkirk, NY, Wendy graduated from SUNY Fredonia and launched a publishing career in New York City. She was Associate Editor at Silhouette Books before selling her first novel in 1992. Married with two sons, she lives in the NYC suburbs. An active supporter of the American Cancer Society, she was a featured speaker at Northern Westchester’s 2015 Relay for Life and 2012 National Spokesperson for the Sandy Rollman Ovarian Cancer Foundation. She has fostered for various animal rescue organizations.
Her current standalone suspense novel, THE OTHER FAMILY, is about a picture-perfect family that that moves into a picture-perfect house. But not everything is as it seems, and the page-turner concludes “with a wallop of a twist,” according to #1 New York Times bestselling author Harlan Coben.
Her critically acclaimed Lily Dale traditional mystery series centers around a widowed single mom—and skeptic—who moves to a town populated by spiritualists who talk to the dead. Titles include NINE LIVES; SOMETHING BURIED, SOMETHING BLUE; DEAD OF WINTER; and PROSE AND CONS, with a fifth book under contract.
Wendy has written five suspense trilogies for HarperCollins/William Morrow. The most recent, The Foundlings (LITTLE GIRL LOST, DEAD SILENCE, and THE BUTCHER’S DAUGHTER), spans fifty years in the life of a woman left as a newborn in a Harlem church, now an investigative genealogist helping others uncover their biological roots while still searching for her own.
Written as Wendy Markham, Wendy’s novel HELLO, IT’S ME was a recent Hallmark television movie starring Kellie Martin. Her short story “Cat Got Your Tongue” appeared in R.L. Stine’s MWA middle grade anthology SCREAM AND SCREAM AGAIN and her short story “The Elephant in the Room” is included in the Anthony Award-nominated inaugural anthology SHATTERING GLASS.
A three-time finalist for the Simon and Schuster Mary Higgins Clark Award, she’s won an RWA Rita Award, an RT Award for Career Achievement in Suspense, the 2007 RWA-NYC Golden Apple Award for Lifetime Achievement, and five WLA Washington Irving Prizes for Fiction.
She previously published a dozen adult suspense novels with Kensington Books and the critically-acclaimed young adult paranormal series “Lily Dale” (Walker/Bloomsbury). Earlier in her career, she published a broad range of genres under her own name and pseudonyms, and was a co-author/ghostwriter for several celebrities.
Raised in Dunkirk, NY, Wendy graduated from SUNY Fredonia and launched a publishing career in New York City. She was Associate Editor at Silhouette Books before selling her first novel in 1992. Married with two sons, she lives in the NYC suburbs. An active supporter of the American Cancer Society, she was a featured speaker at Northern Westchester’s 2015 Relay for Life and 2012 National Spokesperson for the Sandy Rollman Ovarian Cancer Foundation. She has fostered for various animal rescue organizations.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 100 reviews
September 22, 2022
I love this series and this book deals with the death of a mother which was really relatable to me. I felt like sometimes I was just reading my own thoughts. But I can’t wait to read the third book because of course it was left on another click hanger. Highly enjoyable read especially if you like books about spiritualism and mediums.
August 30, 2016
First of all, let me just start by saying how much I appreciated this book. It got me out of the. Worst. Reading. Slump. EVER.
True, I did give the first book in the series five stars, so why would I rate this one four? Well, let me just say that I expected so much more from this book than what it gave me. ESPECIALLY after that horrible (yet fantastic) cliffhanger at the end of the first book. I expected to get answers to it. And QUICK. But no, I guess not.
This book literally went nowhere. All that happened was a couple of dates and a visit from her dad. I thought I was going to find out at least ONE more thing about how her mother was murdered (which, by the way, is supposed to be the main purpose of this series), but NO I guess NOT.
The book overall was still quite interesting, and definitely was an easy read. It even had a good cliffhanger. Actually, let me rephrase that. It WOULD HAVE been good if it wasn't the SAME DARN THING AS THE PREVIOUS BOOK'S CLIFFHANGER.
*sighs* What to do with my life now, guys... I have so many mixed feelings about this book...
True, I did give the first book in the series five stars, so why would I rate this one four? Well, let me just say that I expected so much more from this book than what it gave me. ESPECIALLY after that horrible (yet fantastic) cliffhanger at the end of the first book. I expected to get answers to it. And QUICK. But no, I guess not.
This book literally went nowhere. All that happened was a couple of dates and a visit from her dad. I thought I was going to find out at least ONE more thing about how her mother was murdered (which, by the way, is supposed to be the main purpose of this series), but NO I guess NOT.
The book overall was still quite interesting, and definitely was an easy read. It even had a good cliffhanger. Actually, let me rephrase that. It WOULD HAVE been good if it wasn't the SAME DARN THING AS THE PREVIOUS BOOK'S CLIFFHANGER.
*sighs* What to do with my life now, guys... I have so many mixed feelings about this book...
April 12, 2010
Lily Dale: Believing is the second book in the Lily Dale series of ghost mysteries by Wendy Corsi Staub. I enjoyed this second a book a lot less than the first book and may not have finished reading it if it wasn't for the mystery component and my boundless curiosity.
After the cliff hanger ending of the first book in the series, Awakening, I was very eager to start this book. Unfortunately the author spends a lot of time especially in the first few chapters rehashing the first novel in a manner that detracts from the story. I realize that some people may be continuing with the series after an absence, but I would rather have a synopsis of the first book at the beginning, than a lot of "by the way" statements just randomly inserted throughout the book.
Also this novel is a lot scarier than the first one, and I wasn't ready for the more realistic horror component. I had a nightmare that day I started reading this.
Although I was a bit disappointed with this novel, I will continue with this series. There is little conclusion at the end of each book, and I want to finish the series to find out the rest of the story.
After the cliff hanger ending of the first book in the series, Awakening, I was very eager to start this book. Unfortunately the author spends a lot of time especially in the first few chapters rehashing the first novel in a manner that detracts from the story. I realize that some people may be continuing with the series after an absence, but I would rather have a synopsis of the first book at the beginning, than a lot of "by the way" statements just randomly inserted throughout the book.
Also this novel is a lot scarier than the first one, and I wasn't ready for the more realistic horror component. I had a nightmare that day I started reading this.
Although I was a bit disappointed with this novel, I will continue with this series. There is little conclusion at the end of each book, and I want to finish the series to find out the rest of the story.
June 3, 2009
This is book two in a three book series about a young girl named Calla Delany. the on going story through the three books is about Calla coming to terms with her mother's accidental death, moving to Lily Dale, NY to "temporarily" live with her maternal grandmother, and learning she along with most of the town has some sort of supernatural abilities, Calla and see and hear spirits. And the longer she stays in Lily Dale, her mother's childhood home, the more she learns about her mother and starts to realize her death may have not been an accident.
The secondary plot in this novel is that a killer is still on the loose. A killer of teenage girls and because she has inadvertantly helped to find one of his victims, Calla may now be in the killers crosshairs.
The first two books have been light, enjoyable reads for an adult. You definitly have to read all of them though if you want to find out what happens with the mystery around Calla's mom. Because we are only given a few more clues or bits of info in book two.
The secondary plot in this novel is that a killer is still on the loose. A killer of teenage girls and because she has inadvertantly helped to find one of his victims, Calla may now be in the killers crosshairs.
The first two books have been light, enjoyable reads for an adult. You definitly have to read all of them though if you want to find out what happens with the mystery around Calla's mom. Because we are only given a few more clues or bits of info in book two.
October 1, 2009
The second book in the Lily Dale Series. Calla is still in Lily Dale, and is...somewhat happy. She's got Blue slayton on her case twenty-four seven and her new friend Evangeline by her side. After she helped to find Kaitlyn Riggs' body in the last book, she still can't seem to get rid of the Spirit. Kaitlyn Riggs' killer is still out there, and her spirit wants Calla to stop him. Only pone problem--Calla has no idea how. This book was a great addition to the first one, Calla's character is so likeable and really easy to admire, this book was good and i thank Danielle Pierce for recommending this series to me!
September 11, 2011
Just started this book and it is seriously irritating me.
I can't remember the first one being this bad but this book the tense is all mixed up and it's not from Calla's point of view yet instead of saying things like 'her dad' it just says 'dad' as though it is from her point of view. It's really confusing!
It's so bad I may have to give up and possibly finish at a future date when I'm feeling more patient.
I can't remember the first one being this bad but this book the tense is all mixed up and it's not from Calla's point of view yet instead of saying things like 'her dad' it just says 'dad' as though it is from her point of view. It's really confusing!
It's so bad I may have to give up and possibly finish at a future date when I'm feeling more patient.
April 13, 2010
Loved it. I think the ending should have more impact. It was all this build up with the tiniest ending. Can't wait to read the next one though!
July 4, 2018
It has been several years since I found Lily Dale Awakening at a used bookstore and read it because it sounded interesting. I loved it and wanted to read the rest of the series, but it wasn't until this last winter that I finally acquired the next three books. Wendy Corsi Staub writes amazing suspense and romantic suspense novels. As far as I know, this is her only young adult series. I was as captivated by this book as I was the first one.
After her amazing summer in Lily Dale, Calla has decided she wants to stay in Lily Dale a while longer in hopes of finding out more about her mother's death through the psychic gift Calla has discovered runs through her family. In Awakening, Calla's visions led her to the body of a child who had been killed, but now that child's spirit has appeared to Calla asking her to help stop the man who killed her. When Calla's visions save the life of another of his victims, the killer focuses his rage on Calla, putting her life in danger. All the while, Calla is trying to deal with her messy love life, her absentee father, and being the new girl in school.
This book was as enjoyable as the first, but I wish a little more time had been spent on the mystery surrounding the serial killer, but overall, an engrossing read. I now look forward to reading the rest of the series starting with the next book, Lily Dale Connecting.
After her amazing summer in Lily Dale, Calla has decided she wants to stay in Lily Dale a while longer in hopes of finding out more about her mother's death through the psychic gift Calla has discovered runs through her family. In Awakening, Calla's visions led her to the body of a child who had been killed, but now that child's spirit has appeared to Calla asking her to help stop the man who killed her. When Calla's visions save the life of another of his victims, the killer focuses his rage on Calla, putting her life in danger. All the while, Calla is trying to deal with her messy love life, her absentee father, and being the new girl in school.
This book was as enjoyable as the first, but I wish a little more time had been spent on the mystery surrounding the serial killer, but overall, an engrossing read. I now look forward to reading the rest of the series starting with the next book, Lily Dale Connecting.
April 28, 2022
Believing is the second of four books in the Lily Dale series. I enjoyed these YA books very much and now want to visit the actual town in western New York! It's my opinion that the story should have been condensed into 1 book, instead of being divided into a series. None of the books can stand alone so much time and text is spent on refreshing the reader on characters and events from previous books... and I got weary of the repetition. I enjoyed learning about psychic mediums, I enjoyed the characters (although Calla does lie too often to the adults in her life), and the writing kept me interested and wanting to read more (minus the repeated reminders) so I give the series a solid 4 stars.
January 8, 2018
Staub, Wendy Corsi Lily Dale: Believing, 256 p. Walker (Bloomsbury), 2008.
Calla has started feeling at home in Lily Dale and with her own psychic abilities. High School has just started and Blue, the BMOC is definitely paying attention to Calla, but Calla has affections for Jacy Bly. To complicate matters, her psychic powers are drawing her on the path to finding a killer, putting her life in danger. More good things with ghosts and danger from Staub.
Is there a third Lily Dale book in the offing? I certainly hope so, because I certainly have questions!
MS – ADVISABLE
https://kissthebook.blogspot.com/2008...
Calla has started feeling at home in Lily Dale and with her own psychic abilities. High School has just started and Blue, the BMOC is definitely paying attention to Calla, but Calla has affections for Jacy Bly. To complicate matters, her psychic powers are drawing her on the path to finding a killer, putting her life in danger. More good things with ghosts and danger from Staub.
Is there a third Lily Dale book in the offing? I certainly hope so, because I certainly have questions!
MS – ADVISABLE
https://kissthebook.blogspot.com/2008...
April 11, 2021
I couldn’t get enough of Lily Dale after reading the series for adults that starts with Nine Lives. There were references to Calla, the main character of the youth novels and I was curious to learn more. I just loved all of these books. And I loaned them to a friend who felt the same. It wasn’t just typical teenage drama. There was so much more going on. The books have subplots along with the main mystery that isn’t resolved until you read all four. Well worth your time. Believing takes a deeper dive into Calla’s gift, her relationships and the choices she makes as she tries to help others.
December 20, 2018
So I still want to read the next book although this one wasn’t as intriguing as the last one. I love reading about Lily Dale and continuing Calla’s story. however, There was too much rehashing of the first book in this one. Still no need to be YA.
May 8, 2017
Second in this Y.A. series about a Gated Spiritualist community in Western N.Y. While the focus is on the young people the adult characters are credible . Fun
July 16, 2017
see review of the fourth book: Lily Dale: Discovering
July 9, 2018
Wow! Just keeps getting better! Grabbing #3 now :)
November 5, 2018
I love this series!!!
November 23, 2018
Heart warming
I absolutely love this book to the point where I could not put it in words! Next book in this series here I come!!!
I absolutely love this book to the point where I could not put it in words! Next book in this series here I come!!!
January 29, 2019
Fun.
Great reading a local author. Nice to hear about my childhood stomping grounds and feel like I’m truly in Lily Dale.
Great reading a local author. Nice to hear about my childhood stomping grounds and feel like I’m truly in Lily Dale.
September 4, 2019
Easy teen read.
Read
September 7, 2020Can't wait to read the third edition.
June 2, 2021
OMG loved his book. Kept me on edge the whole time
November 1, 2024
Quirky characters and a fun easy read read.
April 10, 2009
From dust jacket:
"LOCAL GIRL LAID TO REST: GRIEVING MOM CREDITS YOUNG MEDIUM
The air squished right out of Calla's lungs.
"My daughter might never have been found if it weren't for a special girl her own age who happens to have an incredible gift," Ms. Riggs said.
Without warning, the screen goes dark.
Calls looks around. It's not a power outage, because the computer is still running and the lights are on.
So what hap-
Huh?
The screen is back up.
Only it's jumped to a completely different page.
Calla's eyes widen as she realizes she's looking at a Web site that was created for a missing girl.
A girl named Erin Shannahan.
She has long blond hair and freckles, and she's smiling because she doesn't know what's going to happen to her.
NO. BUT I KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO HER.
Calla closes her eyes, seeing the bloodied figure facedown in the woods.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Will Calla's special abilities put her in extraordinary danger?
For most people, seeing is believing. But Calla is finding some of the things she's "seen" in Lily Dale very hard to accept. There's a killer out there targeting beautiful teen girls, and he has no problem believing that Calla's newfound gift enabled her to find the location of his last victim's body - exposing his handiwork to the world.
Unless Calla starts trusting the warnings she's receiving from the spirit world, she just might be his next target.
Bestselling author Wendy Corsi Staub ramps up the fright factor in the second book of her eerie paranormal series set in the mysterious town of Lily Dale."
Note: Oh, I can't wait until the 3rd book comes out in November 2008!!!!!
"LOCAL GIRL LAID TO REST: GRIEVING MOM CREDITS YOUNG MEDIUM
The air squished right out of Calla's lungs.
"My daughter might never have been found if it weren't for a special girl her own age who happens to have an incredible gift," Ms. Riggs said.
Without warning, the screen goes dark.
Calls looks around. It's not a power outage, because the computer is still running and the lights are on.
So what hap-
Huh?
The screen is back up.
Only it's jumped to a completely different page.
Calla's eyes widen as she realizes she's looking at a Web site that was created for a missing girl.
A girl named Erin Shannahan.
She has long blond hair and freckles, and she's smiling because she doesn't know what's going to happen to her.
NO. BUT I KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO HER.
Calla closes her eyes, seeing the bloodied figure facedown in the woods.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Will Calla's special abilities put her in extraordinary danger?
For most people, seeing is believing. But Calla is finding some of the things she's "seen" in Lily Dale very hard to accept. There's a killer out there targeting beautiful teen girls, and he has no problem believing that Calla's newfound gift enabled her to find the location of his last victim's body - exposing his handiwork to the world.
Unless Calla starts trusting the warnings she's receiving from the spirit world, she just might be his next target.
Bestselling author Wendy Corsi Staub ramps up the fright factor in the second book of her eerie paranormal series set in the mysterious town of Lily Dale."
Note: Oh, I can't wait until the 3rd book comes out in November 2008!!!!!
April 11, 2011
I will admit, this book held a special appeal to me because the setting is local, Lily Dale; and the plot was solving murders with the help of those who have passed on, something else I truly believe is possible. This is the second book in a series of four.
When the 'accidental' death of her mother occurs shortly after her father has accepted a sabatical in California, seventeen-year-old Calla leaves Tampa, Florida to temporarily stay with her grandmother, a spiritualist medium residing in Lily Dale, NY. Shortly ater arriving, Calla is confronted by a young woman, just slightly older than herself; she will later realize that this woman is a murder victim, her mother having just made an appointment with Calla's grandmother in hopes of contacting the spirit of her daughter.
Calla is shown clues which she uses to determine where the body of the victim is hidden. The victim's mother telephones to speak to Calla's grandmother concerning her recent reading, instead of giving the telephone to her grandmother, Calla tells the victim's mother where she can locate the body of her daughter. This leads not only to the discovery of the body, but to the location of another victim of the same killer as well as information concerning his next victim. Unfortunately, it also leads to a minor piece of information concerning Calla in a newspaper article; enough information to allow the serial killer to track her down.........
When the 'accidental' death of her mother occurs shortly after her father has accepted a sabatical in California, seventeen-year-old Calla leaves Tampa, Florida to temporarily stay with her grandmother, a spiritualist medium residing in Lily Dale, NY. Shortly ater arriving, Calla is confronted by a young woman, just slightly older than herself; she will later realize that this woman is a murder victim, her mother having just made an appointment with Calla's grandmother in hopes of contacting the spirit of her daughter.
Calla is shown clues which she uses to determine where the body of the victim is hidden. The victim's mother telephones to speak to Calla's grandmother concerning her recent reading, instead of giving the telephone to her grandmother, Calla tells the victim's mother where she can locate the body of her daughter. This leads not only to the discovery of the body, but to the location of another victim of the same killer as well as information concerning his next victim. Unfortunately, it also leads to a minor piece of information concerning Calla in a newspaper article; enough information to allow the serial killer to track her down.........
February 9, 2016
The story starts with a girl being kidnapped. Then it recaps what happened in the first book in the series, and how Calla Delaney found out she has psychic powers and can see and communicate with the dead.
Her mother is dead, yet the bracelet Calla accidentally dropped into her mother's grave appears in Calla's jewelry box. Then, going to her first day of school there, a ghost she had seen before appears and tries to communicate with Calla.
Calla is also still thinking about the possibility that someone murdered her mother, and that her mother's death was not an accident.
Some insight is given into the mind of the murderer.
Calla's father is coming to visit. He would be upset if he finds out about the spiritualist stuff, and quite upset if he knew that Calla was seeing spirits and helping find missing people.
The killer vows to find out who has been interfering with his killing spree, and murder her. Namely, Calla. He finds out where she lives in Lilydale.
Calla attends a mediumship class at Lilydale. She gets home after a date and is attacked by a guy with a knife. He's the guy who had killed the one girl and attacked another, and was stalking a third.
Calla is determined to continue to investigate her mother's murder, and plans to get her mother's laptop and find if there are any clues on its drive.
Her mother is dead, yet the bracelet Calla accidentally dropped into her mother's grave appears in Calla's jewelry box. Then, going to her first day of school there, a ghost she had seen before appears and tries to communicate with Calla.
Calla is also still thinking about the possibility that someone murdered her mother, and that her mother's death was not an accident.
Some insight is given into the mind of the murderer.
Calla's father is coming to visit. He would be upset if he finds out about the spiritualist stuff, and quite upset if he knew that Calla was seeing spirits and helping find missing people.
The killer vows to find out who has been interfering with his killing spree, and murder her. Namely, Calla. He finds out where she lives in Lilydale.
Calla attends a mediumship class at Lilydale. She gets home after a date and is attacked by a guy with a knife. He's the guy who had killed the one girl and attacked another, and was stalking a third.
Calla is determined to continue to investigate her mother's murder, and plans to get her mother's laptop and find if there are any clues on its drive.
May 24, 2015
This short series of Teen Fantasy books is an odd oxymoron.
Clearly aimed and written for a young teenaged audience, there are moments of violence, deep emotional devastation, and adult emotional themes. (not sex. there is no sex.)
Each book stands alone, although they really should be read together and in order.
Calla has just lost her mother, who buried her own teenaged years behind a wall of efficiency and 'normalcy.' This death is handled very well, and gives good insight into the grieving process. Now Calla is trying to figure out who she is, and who her mother was at the same time.
Maybe teens are ready for the level of fear that this book would have raised in me at 15, but I found it a bit shocking.
The writing was overly simple, and repeated to carry on through the four books in case someone picked up one out of sequence. While the emotions dealt with in grief were complex, some of the other parts of the book were unsatisifyingly glossed over or not explored in depth.
Clearly aimed and written for a young teenaged audience, there are moments of violence, deep emotional devastation, and adult emotional themes. (not sex. there is no sex.)
Each book stands alone, although they really should be read together and in order.
Calla has just lost her mother, who buried her own teenaged years behind a wall of efficiency and 'normalcy.' This death is handled very well, and gives good insight into the grieving process. Now Calla is trying to figure out who she is, and who her mother was at the same time.
Maybe teens are ready for the level of fear that this book would have raised in me at 15, but I found it a bit shocking.
The writing was overly simple, and repeated to carry on through the four books in case someone picked up one out of sequence. While the emotions dealt with in grief were complex, some of the other parts of the book were unsatisifyingly glossed over or not explored in depth.
February 13, 2013
Ms. Staub is continuing her Lily Dale series with this fascinating story. Calla has begun to accept her abilities and take on new responsibilities, some that can get her killed. Of course, she doesn't tell her grandmother about what's going on and sets herself up for disaster. Still, the book is a clear portrait of someone discovering herself, and expanding as she learns more and more.
Ms. Staub writes with real feeling, and I really got into the story, whether I was reading about the give and take between Calla and her friends, or the killer's reaction to Calla's interference. I also like the description of Lily Dale and the people who live there. That is a town I would like to live in, or at least live close to. I believe there is a splinter group that broke off and started a town somewhere in Florida, as well. I don't remember the name of the town. Anyway, this series is very interesting, and I am glad I found it.
Ms. Staub writes with real feeling, and I really got into the story, whether I was reading about the give and take between Calla and her friends, or the killer's reaction to Calla's interference. I also like the description of Lily Dale and the people who live there. That is a town I would like to live in, or at least live close to. I believe there is a splinter group that broke off and started a town somewhere in Florida, as well. I don't remember the name of the town. Anyway, this series is very interesting, and I am glad I found it.
April 6, 2014
I really enjoy this series...probably because I've always loved ghost stories - or, in this case, stories about people who can communicate with Spirit(s). I also love mysteries/thrillers and this had both. Lily Dale is on my list of places to visit before (and/or after?) I die. I was actually really surprised (for no good reason) to see Akron, OH mentioned as well. Was also a little creeped out since one of my favorite cousins went to school at Ohio University (in Akron) - and she just happens to be named Haley.
July 17, 2008
I would probably give this book 2.8 stars because it was a bit better than just OK and although I liked it, it wasn't as good as the first book.
This book suffered from "middle child syndrome." In the first Lily Dale book, Calla had just lost her mother, found her grandmother, moved to the spiritualist community Lily Dale and discovered she had psychic powers...a great beginning to a series. In this book, Calla decides to stay in Lily Dale with her grandmother in order to figure out the potential mystery behind her mother's death and to work on her burgeoning psychic powers. Some interesting things happen - although most of the book seems like filler, but we don't really learn anything new about Calla or the continuing mystery (we do get one potential clue - but it's a spoiler, so I can't say). However, book three seems promising and I'm looking forward to it.
This book suffered from "middle child syndrome." In the first Lily Dale book, Calla had just lost her mother, found her grandmother, moved to the spiritualist community Lily Dale and discovered she had psychic powers...a great beginning to a series. In this book, Calla decides to stay in Lily Dale with her grandmother in order to figure out the potential mystery behind her mother's death and to work on her burgeoning psychic powers. Some interesting things happen - although most of the book seems like filler, but we don't really learn anything new about Calla or the continuing mystery (we do get one potential clue - but it's a spoiler, so I can't say). However, book three seems promising and I'm looking forward to it.
May 23, 2010
Not a bad little book! This YA novel resonnates with me, I suppose, because Calla is a teenager grieving the death of her mother and is distanced from her father even while she's committed to staying in Lily Dale with her "gammy". She feels closer - sometimes - to her mother by staying in the house her mom grew up in, going to the high school her mom attended and meeting the people that knew her then, sorta. Calla also begins to see that her mom may have kept secrets from her dad, and one of them caused her death.
Lily Dale is a unique and real northern town where most of its inhabitants are psychic, clairivoiant (sp?) or spiritualists. It sounded like a great center for a book, so Ms. Staub began the Lily Dale series. The books are realistically angst-filled and my emotions were with Calla and her family from the "Beginning" (Book 1).
Lily Dale is a unique and real northern town where most of its inhabitants are psychic, clairivoiant (sp?) or spiritualists. It sounded like a great center for a book, so Ms. Staub began the Lily Dale series. The books are realistically angst-filled and my emotions were with Calla and her family from the "Beginning" (Book 1).
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