Another YA masterpiece from Katherine Webber.
Everyone in Ember Grove knows about the Revelry - a secret party held in the woods each year and attended only by that year's senior class - until Bitsy and Amy decide to sneak into a revelry that isn't their own, that is. What follows -- bad luck, curses and a mysterious figure from the woods - will test the strength of their friendship to its limits. Will they make it out of the woods together? In Ember Grove, anything is possible.
For me, the shining star of this novel was Bitsy. She's a very relatable character. Her internal monologues reflect the turmoil of growing up - feeling jealous when your best friend has a boyfriend even though you're really happy for them, saying the wrong thing in an argument even though you know it's going to make everything worse, because you're too angry or frustrated to care - Bitsy shows that it's okay to make mistakes, or think negatively about what's going on in your life, without it making you a bad person. Webber does a superb job of taking you into Bitsy's head, so no matter how strange or otherworldly events become, it always feels completely plausible because Bitsy is so real.
I loved all the magical elements. This story is unnerving and Ember Grove feels like a great setting for a Netflix show (The Revelry could definitely be the starting point for a really great TV series). I have so many unanswered questions about this town, like where does the money in the fountain go?? I would love more stories set in the same location (or a TV show - really, someone needs to buy the rights to this!)
At its heart, however, despite magical curses and secret parties, The Revelry is very much a story about friendship, celebrating the overwhelming importance it holds when you are growing up. Bitsy and Amy have a loyalty that can weather any storm - supernatural or otherwise!