The Beginners by Rebecca Wolff

The chilling, hypnotically beautiful story of a girl whose coming of age is darkened by the secret history of her small New England town. 


Theo and Raquel Motherwell are the only newcomers to the sleepy town of Wick in fifteen-year-old Ginger Pritt's memory. Hampered by a lingering innocence while her best friend, Cherry, grows more and more embroiled with boys, Ginger is instantly attracted to the worldliness and sophistication of this dashing couple.

But the Motherwells may be more than they seem. As Ginger's keen imagination takes up the seductive mystery of their past, she also draws closer to her town's darker history-back to the days of the Salem witch trials-and every new bit of information she thinks she understands leads only to more questions. Who-or what-exactly, are the Motherwells? And what is it they want with her?

Both a lyrical coming-of-age story and a spine-tingling tale of ghostly menace, The Beginners introduces Rebecca Wolff as an exciting new talent in fiction.

Initially I gave this book to my 15 year old daughter to read.   She returned it. Am I glad she did. She said she just didn't get it and I agree with her. 

This book is portrayed as a YA book that combines coming of age with the Salem witch trial/paranormal. Sounds like a great combination! It just never went anywhere. I kept reading, waiting for more information, more plot, more anything... It never materialized.

The 15 year old main character did not come across as a 15 year old, even a gifted one. Her thought were more adult than many adults I know. The Motherwell's, the new couple in town spoke as it they were paranormal philosophy majors. They weren't really all that paranormal. I'm not sure what they were meant to be, other than pedophiles.

Which brings me to the sex scenes. I am not opposed to graphic descriptions of sex in a novel if the sex enhances the plot, character motivation or in some way fits into the context of the story. The sex scenes in this book were none of the above. It includes descriptions of anal and oral sex that seem to be random and unrelated to the plot.

I am still disappointed in this novel. I really wanted to like it. I hate to write negative reviews. One positive: The cover art is beautiful. This is definitely not a YA book and I doubt that most adults would care for it. 
Thanks to LibraryThing for the opportunity to read and review this book