THE CHERISHED

A slow-building character study about living up to a dangerous, unusual destiny.

Sixteen-year-old Jo inherits a house in Vermont from her estranged paternal grandmother, Gammy Maureen, a place that holds memories of a traumatic past Jo struggles to recall. Although her pregnant mother and stepfather pressure her to sell, Jo remains curious about the possibilities of owning a home despite an ominous letter from Gammy indicating that there is difficult work to be done and that Jo, as a member of the Lavoie family, is responsible for carrying it out. The house’s tenants, Hattie and her guardian, Tom, have been named as beneficiaries of a trust providing them with housing and financial support. As Jo learns more about the weird town where the house is located and her grandmother’s role in it, a child’s disappearance triggers echoes of past events. By the time Jo confronts the otherworldly forces whose stronghold on the town have been a constant threat, Jo’s perspectives on her past, her family, and her future begin to shift. Claustrophobic observations build tension in a story that is slow to reveal secrets and deliver on threats. Unfortunately, insensitive language describing mental illness detracts from the vivid portrayal of how traumatic memories operate. Amid a White default, Jo refers to standing out due to her olive skin and frizzy black hair, inherited from an absent father of Syrian and Italian origin.

Strange and intermittently suspenseful.