Project and content management for Contemporary Authors volumes
WORK TITLE: The Grave Keepers
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE: 1985
WEBSITE: https://elizabethbyrne.net/
CITY: Northhampton
STATE: MA
COUNTRY: United States
NATIONALITY:
Seth Fishman, sfishman@thegernertco.com, The Gernert Company, 136 E. 57th Street, New York, NY 10022
RESEARCHER NOTES:
LC control no.: n 2017035053
LCCN Permalink: https://lccn.loc.gov/n2017035053
HEADING: Byrne, Elizabeth, 1985-
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008 170614n| azannaabn |n aaa
010 __ |a n 2017035053
040 __ |a DLC |b eng |e rda |c DLC
046 __ |f 19850613
100 1_ |a Byrne, Elizabeth, |d 1985-
670 __ |a The grave keepers, 2017: |b ECIP t.p. (Elizabeth Byrne)
670 __ |a Email to pub. 06-14-17 |b per pub. (Elizabeth Aidan Byrne; DOB June 13, 1985)
953 __ |a xk09
PERSONAL
Born June 13, 1985.
EDUCATION:University of Massachusetts, Amherst, M.A., M.F.A.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer.
WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
The office window of Elizabeth Aidan Byrne looks out over Emily Dickinson’s grave, where Byrne can see the gifts admirers give the poet. Byrne grew up in New Jersey; earned an M.F.A. at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst; and lives in Northampton, Massachusetts. In 2017 Byrne published her debut novel for young adults, The Grave Keepers, a coming-of-age story set in a small upstate New York town obsessed with graves and death.
The Windham family is the town’s grave keepers, who give every child on their thirteenth birthday the keys to their own graves so they can visit the place they will spend eternity. The Windhams are dealing with their own tragedy, the death of eldest sister Lucy in a tragic accident. Now the parents are overly protective of middle sister and high school junior Athena and youngest sister Laurel. While Athena follows her parents’ philosophy about death and also battles mean girls in school, homeschooled Laurel would rather play in the woods around the cemetery. She meets a ghost, Tamsen, a former grave keeper herself, who was unable to cross over after death. Tamsen has a motive for haunting the Windhams; she intends to keep the sisters close to her forever.
In Kirkus Reviews, a writer observed that multiple story lines and themes of the loss of a child, loneliness, and homeschooling versus traditional schooling make the story congested with too many obtuse characters. The reviewer commented: “Atmospheric writing and a premise that’s as fresh as newly turned earth can’t compensate for an overcrowded plot.” Offering another view, Voice of Youth Advocates reviewer Donna I. Phillips noted: “There is plenty of thematic meat, too, as readers explore what grave keeping suggests about our own lives.” Phillips praised the multiple points of view from the three major female protagonists, the well-rounded minor characters, and the admirable entry for fans of ghost fiction.
On The Bookish Daydreamers Website, a reviewer had a mixed view of the book. The writer criticized the information dump describing the world building and was confused by the back-and-forth narratives. The reviewer concluded: “The Grave Keepers was different and peculiar enough you want to keep reading but it wasn’t all action, thrills, mystery, or romance.” A contributor online to Teenreads, said: “The concept was interesting: a world slightly changed and a little paranormal paired with the mundane struggles of teenage girls to fit in. … Athena’s experiences provide a raw and realistic look of the choices girls make in high school to become popular.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Kirkus Reviews, August 1, 2017, review of The Grave Keepers.
Voice of Youth Advocates, October 2017, Donna I. Phillips, review of The Grave Keepers, p. 70.
ONLINE
The Bookish Daydreamers, http://thebookishdaydreamer.com/(September 14, 2017), review of The Grave Keepers.
Teenreads, https://www.teenreads.com/ (November 16, 2017), review of The Grave Keepers.
Elizabeth Byrne grew up in New Jersey and holds an MFA from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. She loves dumplings, Charlotte Brontë, and Florence Pie Bar. Her office windows look onto the cemetery where Emily Dickinson is buried, and all the lovely and weird things admirers leave for her there. Liz lives and writes in Northampton, Massachusetts. The Grave Keepers is her first novel.
Print Marked Items
Byrne, Elizabeth. The Grave Keepers
Donna I. Phillips
Voice of Youth Advocates.
40.4 (Oct. 2017): p70.
COPYRIGHT 2017 E L Kurdyla Publishing LLC
http://www.voya.com
Full Text:
4Q * 4P * J * S
Byrne, Elizabeth. The Grave Keepers. HarperTeen, September 2017. 320p. $17.99. 978-0-06-248475-8.
Athena and her younger sister, Laurel, have typical teen problems complicated by their family's role in their
small upstate New York community. The Windhams are grave keepers, assisting other families who still
follow the tradition, most of them out of old habit rather than spiritual zeal. A child's grave is "opened" at a
birthday-like celebration the summer after turning thirteen. For the faithful, their grave remains a
personalized retreat for life, not just a place for the body after death. Though the practice has gone on for
centuries, it failed at least once, an empty and unsealed grave as evidence. The ghost from this mishap is the
third important character in Byrnes novel. These three female protagonists ache for friendship, eventually
salved with the help of well-rounded minor characters.
Byrnes debut novel is a gem for fans of ghost fiction. It also lends itself to exploring the craft of multiple
points of view. Tamsen, the ghost, tells her own story in ten sections sequenced from the "Tenets of Grave
Keeping" spelled out on the first page. The numbered chapters juxtapose Athena and Laurel's narratives,
with white space facilitating shifts between them. There is plenty of thematic meat, too, as readers explore
what grave keeping suggests about our own lives, though literalists will struggle to get past the practical
problems of keeping a grave fit to live in for many years. Some readers may find the climax too tidy; others
will be relieved that all three characters resolve at least some of their conflicts.--Donna I. Phillips.
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
Phillips, Donna I. "Byrne, Elizabeth. The Grave Keepers." Voice of Youth Advocates, Oct. 2017, p. 70.
General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A511785072/ITOF?
u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=ddea1361. Accessed 25 Apr. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A511785072
Byrne, Elizabeth: THE GRAVE
KEEPERS
Kirkus Reviews.
(Aug. 1, 2017):
COPYRIGHT 2017 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Full Text:
Byrne, Elizabeth THE GRAVE KEEPERS HarperTeen (Children's Fiction) $17.99 9, 12 ISBN: 978-0-06-
248475-8
Gothic surrealism as everlasting as a ghost's kiss blends with coming-of-age angst for the modern age.
Byrne introduces readers to a world in which entering one's own grave is a rite of passage for 13-year-olds
on par with Sweet 16 parties and graduation celebrations. Each year, newly teenage kids eagerly await
receiving the keys to their very own personal graves. In fact, "a person's grave was a window to her
innermost thoughts. To go into another person's grave was like eavesdropping on someone praying--it was
beyond improper; it was flat out wrong." The Windhams, a white family of grave keepers, live in upstate
New York. High school junior Athena spends all her free time in her grave, but younger sister Laurel hasn't
embraced the ritual, much to the chagrin of her overprotective parents. It's an eerie concept with just enough
curiousness to make a person want to know more. Byrne's masterful presentation of minute details makes
the whole ritual world feel so real readers will want to Google it. But while the story is as layered as any
cemetery worth its salt, it also juggles multiple storylines, including: the death of a sibling and the loss of a
child; home schooling vs. traditional school; suffocating loneliness and a missing child. The result is a
congested plot and obtuse characters. Atmospheric writing and a premise that's as fresh as newly turned
earth can't compensate for an overcrowded plot, making this a good effort but a challenging read. (Fiction.
12-16)
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"Byrne, Elizabeth: THE GRAVE KEEPERS." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Aug. 2017. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A499572587/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=399cd68d.
Accessed 25 Apr. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A499572587
Review: The Grave Keepers by Elizabeth Byrne
September 14, 2017 Christine book review 2 ★★★
I received this book for free from HarperCollins in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Review: The Grave Keepers by Elizabeth ByrneThe Grave Keepers by Elizabeth Byrne
Published by HarperCollins
Publication Date: September 12th 2017
Pages: 320
Format: eARC
Source: Edelweiss
Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble
Lately, Athena Windham has been spending all her spare time in her grave.
Her parents—owners of a cemetery in Upstate New York—are proud of her devoutness, but her younger sister, Laurel, would rather spend her time exploring the forest that surrounds the Windham’s’ property than in her own grave.
The Windham girls lead secluded lives—their older sister died in a tragic accident and their parents’ protectiveness has made the family semi-infamous.
As the new school year begins, the outside ...
more
The Grave Keepers by Elizabeth Byrne has been on my radar for months now. The synopsis was so vague and strange and pretty much instantly caught my attention. I had no idea what this story was going to be about but the unknown is what made me want to read it even more.
In this version of our world, everyone gets access to their grave at the age of 13. Your grave has a door and a key that only you can open. It is encouraged that you go and visit your grave often for the rest of your life because your grave is essentially your everlasting home. People decorate their graves and go in them to think, and thus the phrase “Grave Keeper.” The Grave Keepers follows two sisters, Laurel and Athena, and another mystery narrator. Laurel is a homeschooled middle schooler and Athena is a junior in high school. Their parents own the biggest cemetery in the area and because of it, they are sort of outcasts.
The book was interesting, but sadly, I didn’t think it was wow your socks off great.
The first good, I don’t know, 25% of the book is nothing but info dumping. I understand the need for world building but this just went way too overboard. We were getting details about exactly who was doing what and why, what Laurel heard outside (“carpenter bee helicoptering under the eaves”) and also all the minuscule things she didn’t hear that were going on outside in nature (“leaves sucking in lungfuls of sunlight”). Maybe some people will find this writing style poetic and appreciate it but I got so bogged down I worried I wouldn’t be able to keep going. This world was no different than our own aside from the hanging out in our own grave bit so all the descriptive details were unnecessary I thought. Also, in the beginning, the dialogue was choppy and pointless? Nothing really flowed well and nothing eventful happened. It took until way too long for some action, any action, to take place for my liking. Again, this might not bother people but I’m a hit the ground running and fill in the gaps as we go on type person…sooo yeah.
Because we have two narrators in two very different stages of adolescence, this book fluctuated a bit from being more MG geared and sort of YA. Overall, I think we spent the most time with Laurel (the middle schooler) so I’d say this has more an MG vibe. But surprisingly, I thought Laurel was more mature than her older sister. Athena was kind of whiny and had that poor pitiful me thing going for a bit so I preferred Laurel’s take on life. I’ll also say that the switching narrators was really confusing at times. You have to really pay attention because they don’t switch off each chapter, both voices take turns throughout every chapter. In the beginning, I definitely had the hardest time keeping track of who we were focusing on.
If you take out the whole first 30% of the book, I will say the next 70% was better. The overly detailed descriptions stopped, as a reader you start to get a feel of what narrator we’re on, and an actual plot took place. Given this, that’s why I said I liked it. It was an interesting contemporary (but kind of not) book. This is really vague and I apologize but I’m having a hard time telling you what it’s like without spoiling the whole thing. Basically, Athena is trying to branch out and make friends and Laurel, who is homeschooled, makes a friend but under not so normal circumstances. There’s some mystery surrounding their deceased sister’s death but it’s not the focus or anything. Idk, guys. The Grave Keepers was different and peculiar enough you want to keep reading but it wasn’t all action, thrills, mystery, or romance or anything like that.
The Gravekeepers
by Elizabeth Byrne
Reviewed by Anna Kate L. on November 16, 2017
THE GRAVE KEEPERS follows two sisters, Laurel and Athena Windham, and their attempts to break out of their strict household and its ideologies. The Windhams are the town grave keepers; people who are in charge of taking care of graveyards in an increasingly death-oriented society. In this alternate version of the world, people spend lots on time inside of their own graves; contemplating life, chilling, or just using it as an escape. Though the Windham’s control one of their towns most important sites, they are notorious recluses.
After another sister, Lucy, died in an accident while Athena was young, the girls’ parents chose to shut their daughters off from their closely knit town, causing the perception that the family is odd and unfriendly. And the fact that the Windhams are the town’s grave keepers furthers the thought that both girls are slightly off.
"What I loved most was the social commentary in this book....Athena’s experiences provide a raw and realistic look of the choices girls make in high school to become popular."
The novel starts with the two sheltered girls grappling with the realities of their lives and reconciling their own beliefs with those of society’s and their parents’. In their childhoods, Athena and Laurel never questioned their parents’ strict rules regarding their graves and the isolation that was forced upon them, but as they have grown up, those beliefs are being challenged more and more. Athena begins seeking friendship with a popular girl at her high school and Laurel subverts her parents tight control by befriending a runaway in the woods by her house. The two girls slowly learn to reconcile deeply held beliefs with their own thoughts and learn many lessons on their way to the conclusion. But their lives are still not normal, always lurking in the background, a sinister ghost haunts the Windham’s graveyard, growing increasingly lonely and desperate for a friend.
THE GRAVE KEEPERS was unique. The concept was interesting: a world slightly changed and a little paranormal paired with the mundane struggles of teenage girls to fit in. I am not quite sure the audience it appeals to --- it’s a combination of a few genres. Fans of ghost stories, alternative-world type books, as well as those simply looking for stories about girls struggling to fit in through high school should all find something to enjoy in the novel. Those seeking a classic coming-of-age themed novel with an interesting twist will be drawn to this book.
Unfortunately, while I thought the concept of the book was interesting, at some points the execution was lacking. My main problem with the book was the lack of momentum throughout the first two hundred pages. Most of those pages were used to set up backstory and mood of the story and sometimes it was effective but more often than not, it seemed more like filler that could have been cut. Also, the ghost aspect of the story was slightly confusing and forced. The ghost had minimal point of view throughout the novel and it was never fully clarified whose ghost it was and why it was so motivated. The ghost then became a main player in the last thirty pages of the novel which distracted from the main coming-of-age theme that the previous two hundred pages had been developing. Some of the themes were scattered and if they had been pulled through stronger towards the end, I would have ended up loving the book instead of just enjoying it.
Even though the pacing of the book was off at times, the characters were consistently well-developed and felt real. Athena felt real. Her hopes to be included within the popular girls at school and her failure to achieve that was relatable and carried a helpful message to high schoolers. Her struggles were human and relatable. And I had to love Maude and Laurel. They both care so little about opinions of themselves and strive to make themselves happy. They are quirky and interesting to read about and I enjoyed every page where they were involved.
What I loved most was the social commentary in this book. The look into high school and what popularity is worth is fascinating. Athena has the same thoughts many girls do that it is worth giving up personal standards to be included in a “superior” clique, and the reality of this situation is beautifully portrayed throughout the novel. Athena’s obsession with Roxanna compels her to violate her morals and she struggles for the rest of the novel to erase the guilt she feels and to make up for her actions, and in doing so realizes that being popular is not worth the sacrifices. This message is important to see in literature, and Athena’s experiences provide a raw and realistic look of the choices girls make in high school to become popular.
While I had a few problems with the structure, THE GRAVE KEEPERS was a compelling and raw look at coming-of-age in a society where you feel like an outsider.