The Accident Season by Moira Fowley-Doyle || I am in Love

It’s the accident season, the same time every year. Bones break, skin tears, bruises bloom.

The accident season has been part of seventeen-year-old Cara’s life for as long as she can remember. Towards the end of October, foreshadowed by the deaths of many relatives before them, Cara’s family becomes inexplicably accident-prone. They banish knives to locked drawers, cover sharp table edges with padding, switch off electrical items – but injuries follow wherever they go, and the accident season becomes an ever-growing obsession and fear.

But why are they so cursed? And how can they break free? (Synopsis taken from Goodreads)

Words cannot describe how much I am in love with this book. I think it’s one of my favorite books of the year, if not my very favorite. But I can totally see why: the way this book was written reminded me of The Raven Boys, and pretty much everything Maggie Stiefvater likes in general, so that basically means it has to be the best book ever.

And the premise of the book is gold, too. Every October, they have what they call The Accident Season. And accidents happen. It can be as small as having a loose nail scratch you and rip your shirt, or as big as being hit by a car. In some accident seasons, people even die. People like Cara’s grandfather and uncle Seth. Literally EVERYTHING that can go wrong does go wrong. The Accident Season ends on November first.

The book is narrated by Cara, but you can’t help but adore every character. Cara is curious and sweet and the tiniest bit naive. Alice, Cara’s older sister, is practical and a bit chilly. Sam, their ex-stepbrother, is kind and smart, and finally Bea, Cara’s best friend, who’s very much a force of nature. Their relationships with each other were perfect and super sweet, and I loved every single one of them. They are super close, and even though they start growing up and changing throughout the novel, they don’t loose their closeness.

And there’s also Elsie; the odd, quiet girl who lurks in the background. She runs the secret booth in the library, a place where kids come, type up a secret on her typewriter, and put it into a box. At the end of the year, the box is emptied and the paper secrets are strung through the halls. Despite not even knowing her that well, Cara finds that Elsie is in every single one of her family photos.

And the writing. OH MY GOSH, THE WRITING. It is gorgeous and a bit nonsensical at times but is beautiful and odd and perfect for the story and for the characters.

“There are no ghosts; only the dust in the light, our breath and the wind in the quiet, and the feeling that something, or a lot of somethings, are watching us. So maybe there are ghosts after all.”

I don’t know what genre to put this book in. First thought would be contemporary, but there’s also touches of magic and ghosts and things like that, and so the book doesn’t fit neatly into a genre, but that’s fine.

So, you know those books that will stay with you? That you finish and instantly want to read again? The Accident Season is one of those books. It’s just so freaking AMAZING, and everyone should read it AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

“So let’s raise our glass to the accident season,
To the river beneath us where we sink our souls,
To the bruises and secrets, to the ghosts in the ceiling,
One more drink for the watery road.”

So tell me blogglings, have you read The Accident Season? Did you like it? Or is it on your TBR. Also, even if you don’t want to read it, READ IT. Because it is fantastic.

And, psst, guess what? You can win a Kindle copy of it through my giveaway. Which I think maybe four people have entered, so you have a bigger chance of winning!

Happy Thursday,