Idle Grounds by Krystelle Bamford

Childhood nostalgia glosses over the bad points. We can remember afternoons in treehouses or evenings playing in various front yards. We don't look back at the missing kid from down the street or the car wreck that hurt the star basketball player with fondness.

Idle Grounds by Krystelle Bamford is a fever dream of nostalgia and regret. A group of cousins, one afternoon, in the woods between their aunt's house and their parent's childhood home, and the tragedy that defines their relationships moving forward.

Bamford's writing is like a soft current, guiding the reader through family dynamics, turning softly to parental history, and then veering off to adventure and mystery. There are the small dams—tragedy, death, mystery—but it all flows along in that hazy, sepia-toned way that looking back always does.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this fantastic novel.