Tombstone Tea by Joanne Dahme

Think of all of the different genres. There are tons. Many would say that their favorite is romance, or adventure. But what is the most intriguing and inviting? Horror and mystery, those are the types of books that usually pull readers in. My book review is about a book called Tombstone Tea. This book is definitely a mystery, And usually I really like mysteries. But not this time.

Tombstone Tea is about a girl named Jessie. Jessie has just moved to Philadelphia, and shes a new student at Laurel Hill Charter High School. As a teenager typically would, she has a hard time fitting in and meeting new friends. A group of girls offer her to be in their group. Sounds like a great opportunity, right? Wrong, of course these girls want Jessie to do something strange and totally stupid in return. They tell her that she can be friends with them if she spends a night in a local graveyard, and collects rubbings off of certain graves.

Now, you might be thinking why in the world would someone do this? Simple, Jessie didn't want to do this but she was desperate to make friends. That night, the group of girls dropped Jessie off at the cemetery gates and left. All Jessie had was a bag full of crayons, paper, a flashlight, and a map. And of course the list of names she needed for tombstone rubbing. While looking around in the dark, she of course hears rustling. When out of the blue, a guy appears. He tells her that his name is Paul and he is a graveyard keeper. As a graveyard keeper would, he asks what the heck she's doing in a graveyard at night. Having no other option, she explains the group of girls and how she was desperate for some friends. But Paul is not what Jessie expected. Immediately after telling him, he promises to help and starts pulling her through the graveyard towards the graves.

They soon arrive to their first grave. The grave of Adam Forepaugh. When suddenly a man appears. The man seems to be made out of white light. He looks strangely ghost like. The man starts talking about his life as if he were Adam himself. Jessie asks Paul whats going on, and he says that this man is a actor for a show called tombstone tea. Paul says its a show where actors pretend to be a dead person and tell about their life. The only thing is that this actor looks to real. And who would even buy a ticket to this show?

After a night of scary sightings, and weird experiences Jessie runs out of the graveyard all the way to her house. All Jessie told her parents was that she was having a sleepover with a new friend and got homesick, so she came home. Her parents believed it, and she thought that it was all over. Except for the fact that she left her bag in the graveyard. She goes to the graveyard to pick up her stuff. A nice lady at the front desk hands it to her and she walks out. Everything in her bag is how it was. Except for the fact that she found a rubbing with Paul's name on it.

This book seemed very interesting at first. But as I kept reading on, I found it to be very boring and slow. It was a very difficult book to read. I am someone who adores mysteries but this mystery was just plain awful. I would've probably liked it if the author had made it more interesting and less slow. I would not suggest reading this book. Unless, of course you are someone who is good at sticking through the tough parts. It was not a book that made me want to read it all of the time. The idea of this story is actually really good, and it's a shame how boring it is to read. So, you can try reading this book but i wouldn't suggest it.