Lora Hates Spam

by Richard Gleaves

I really enjoyed this story. Apparently there is to be a series and I'm almost tempted to continue it.

The writing was generally good. The author uses 'would' and 'had' too much, but otherwise it's rather good. It's definitely strong on distinctive characters and I found I rather liked Jason. His quirky grandmother reminded me of Maude out of the '70s movie Harold and Maude.

The story itself is about a teenager who has to grow up too fast because his parents are dead and his grandmother at eighty doesn't have much time left to care for him. She moves them to Sleepy Hollow without warning Jason and he learns that he's part of the local legend as the last surviving relative of Icabod Crane. Descendants of other characters from the Washington Irving story make appearances too.

This was especially enjoyable because I had read the original story so recently and almost spooky as some names from The House of Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne also appear and I was reading this book concurrently! There is witchcraft and ghosts involved and the spooky element steadily increases through the story. It had everything the original didn't! Including a breathtaking finish that had me glued to the pages.

Unfortunately although it did finish, it didn't really end. It wasn't left on a cliffhanger, but too many elements were left unresolved for the next book in the series to take up. I hate that. It loses a star for that and whether I read further in the series will be down to my whims.

However, I did really enjoy it and wouldn't hesitate to recommend the book.