The Unquiet

Cover image and summary from Goodreads:

Sixteen-year-old Rinn Jacobs has secrets: One, she’s bipolar. Two, she killed her grandmother.

After a suicide attempt, and now her parents' separation, Rinn and her mom move from California to the rural Ohio town where her mother grew up. Back on her medications and hoping to stay well, Rinn settles into her new home, undaunted by the fact that the previous owner hanged herself in Rinn's bedroom. At school, her classmates believe the school pool is haunted by Annaliese, a girl who drowned there. But when a reckless séance goes awry, and terrible things start happening to her new friends—yet not to her—Rinn is determined to find out why she can’t be "touched" by Annaliese...or if Annaliese even exists.

With the help of Nate Brenner, the hunky “farmer boy” she’s rapidly falling for, Rinn devises a dangerous plan to uncover the truth. Soon reality and fantasy meld into one, till Rinn finds it nearly impossible to tell the difference. When a malevolent force threatens the lives of everyone she cares about--not to mention her own--she can't help wondering: who should she really be afraid of?

Annaliese? Or herself?

I picked this up from the library because I saw someone on Twitter saying that it was one of the creepiest YA books they’d read. I was definitely intrigued.

I liked this book. Rinn and her mother had a complex relationship, due in part to Rinn’s mental health (she is bipolar) and the death of Rinn’s grandmother. They’d moved back to the small town where Rinn’s mother grew up, looking for a fresh start.

I love small town settings, and the town here was quaint but also had a sense of claustrophobia, with everyone knowing everyone else’s business.

This book certainly had some creepy moments but it didn’t strike me as any creepier or spookier than other YA horror I’ve read. It did surprise me at times, though, with the fates of some characters, so I really liked that!

I enjoyed The Unquiet, although I don’t think it’s one that will really stay with me. I’d like to check out some of Jeannine Garsee’s other books now. Recommended!