Review: Josie Jameson and the Stone Witch

A while back, I was lucky enough to receive an ARC copy of what was then titled Four Rubbings (now Josie Jameson and the Fourth Tombstone), a story about a young girl and her three friends who visit a graveyard and rub four different graves. Each grave takes one of the teens on a journey, especially Josie, who learns about an accused witch from the past and her own family connection to magic through her mom, who died when she was young.

This second book, Josie Jameson and the Stone Witch, continues the story of Josie and her friends as they help Josie figure out what is happening to her. Is something trying to possess her? Is someone following her? Why is she having dreams that seem so real?  The story is fun and incredibly engaging. I knew almost from the start that I would be finishing it in one sitting. The reader gets a nice mix of teenage drama, a little bit of history, and a supernatural edge.  A lot of what Josie learns through the dreams take place in the 1800's and are from another point of view which adds a nice historical feel. You can definitely tell as you get further into the plot (and to the cliffhanger at the end) that things will be escalating in the third book and I can't wait to see what happens. No spoilers here so you'll have to grab the books yourself but I would recommend them for any middle or high school student as well as any adults who enjoy the YA genre.

I also want to say thank you to Jennifer Hotes, the author, for giving me and several others the honor of sharing our opinions about the final cover decisions for both books. It was great fun to help with this!