The Premonition at Withers Farm by Jaime Jo Wright is fantastic. I’m not a fan of horror stories at all because I’m SO sensitive. They typically give me nightmares. I got so caught up in this story that I could not help myself, I had to keep reading. But I admit I had to do it in small doses over many days. The Premonition at Withers Farm creeped me out. Serial killers, ghosts, seances, and a farmhouse foundation constructed out of old graveyard markers…yeah, totally creepy. But I really had a ton of fun reading this book. The characters are my most favorite aspect to this story. Each one is so human. Their pain, their sufferings, their griefs, their joys — all so, so relatable. Of the many, many characters, my favorite is Molly. I don’t think I’ve related to a character more than I have with her. And I mean that on an emotional, mental level. This woman has been put through the ringer. She has endured so much grief and sadness that it has completely overwhelmed her. She wants to be better, to do better, but her grief and sadness have become heavy, lead weights she can’t get out from under. I appreciate how Wright illustrates Molly’s internal conflict. She mentally knows that her life is a blessing, her husband is amazing, her best friend is the actual best, and she should be grateful for all of it, but she’s so heartbroken she’s paralyzed. Boy, have I been there and it stinks. When you’re paralyzed in grief like Molly is the world sees you as selfish, as a jerk, as a bit narcissistic, but that is so far from the truth. It’s that life has metaphorically blown you up and now you’re missing limbs and hemorrhaging, and you have to all of a sudden figure out how to live life with all these missing parts and you can barely breathe. It’s a truly awful feeling. I LOVE how I got to journey with Molly as she works through her grief and sadness. And I love that chickens, in a small part, help Molly out of her sadness. The chickens brought me as much joy as they brought Molly. It made my reader’s heart happy to see Molly perk up and come back to life because of the joy her chickens brought her. It is reality that it doesn’t take much to bring a person back to life from utter grief and sadness. It just takes a small sense of purpose to get us back on our feet. And I was so, so happy to see Molly get back on her feet. It filled me with a sense of hope. This is my true favorite aspect to this story. I am leaving one of the creepiest stories I’ve ever read in my life with such a huge sense of thankfulness and hope. That’s truly amazing to me.

Jaime Jo Wright is an absolutely superb storyteller. The Premonition at Withers Farm is wonderful. I cannot recommend this book enough. If you’re in the mood for a good, creepy Halloween read, this is the book for you. If you’re in the mood for a thoughtful, poignant read that will leave you hopeful and smiling, well, then this is also the book for you. In The Premonition at Withers Farm there is something for everyone!