What’s in a word?

Would a word by any other name be just as silent? For me I am hoping it’s not. Today was the release date of Burial Ground, a young adult book that is for adults as well. Better than that, my first review just came in. It is as follows:

In Burial Ground by Andrew Allen Smith, sixteen-year-old Martha Mae Miller relocates with her parents, Alan and Ruth Anne, to her deceased grandfather’s rural Victorian home next to a Native American reservation. Following a city shoplifting incident, Martha expects nothing but boredom from her mid-August relocation. Instead, she connects with reservation youths, including a protective teen named Joe and a spiritually knowledgeable girl named Fawn. The central conflict sparks when Martha uncovers an old book filled with coordinates that lead her to excavate a precise 25-stone burial grid near her backyard tire swing. What follows is a dark, escalating series of unexplainable phenomena that catches everyone on the property entirely off guard. With the surrounding woods turning increasingly hostile, the tight-knit group of friends must lean heavily on generational heritage to withstand a looming, ancient threat. Will these teens figure out how to outlast the invisible forces waking up beneath their feet?

Andrew Allen Smith’s young adult novel, Burial Ground, moves forward using a meticulous, pulsating 7-day countdown. Following the events day-by-day creates a mounting, spellbinding sensation that peaks exactly when the weekend arrives. Smith builds the cast with great care, showcasing the camaraderie between Martha, Joe, Fawn, and their close-knit circle of friends. The mystery comes together slowly, following the group as they map out hidden geographic points and dive into tribal storytelling. Smith’s prose is sharp, with an incisive voice that keeps the bizarre supernatural encounters directly in focus. Combining long days of exhausting agricultural work, hidden swimming holes, and terrifying midnight mists makes the setting realistic. If you’re a fan of adventurous, fast-moving YA mysteries centered on supernatural events, ancestral secrets, and ride-or-die friendships, clear your afternoon schedule to devour this book in one go.

A nice gift for a first day. I’m hopeful it is a statement of things to come.

Keep trying every day, keep pushing forward, and keep writing if you write. You have the power to change the world with your words even if it is one person at a time.

Thanks for reading.