Every Gift a Curse Review

I appreciate the shout-out to Caroline Polacheck

The final installment of the Hidden Gifts trilogy is now my favorite of the series. I know the story needed to end here, but I am sad I can’t spend more time with these characters I have come to love. Caroline O’Donoghue needs to write more YA, please.

The gang has to continue to fight against the occult powers rising up in their town while also dealing with the trials of growing into adulthood and finding a path for their lives after school. Maeve finds it especially difficult because she must focus all her time on fighting evil and because the no members of school staff are trained to find a career for a teenage sensitive. All the teenage characters are also trying to plan for their friendship after the immediate danger they are in passes. It’s hard enough to transition your childhood friendship group to adulthood, but adding a grueling fight against otherworldly spirits and a dangerous cult makes things so much more messy.

Every Gift a Curse follows the cult aspect of the story further and how cults enmesh themselves into mainstream society to avoid public scrutiny. The cult theme is my favorite in this series because I am curious about cult recruitment and their emotional tethering. This book follows up with the Children of Bridget after they have moved out of town to avoid scrutiny and to keep tighter control over their subjects. They are close enough, however, to make life difficult for Maeve and her friends.

As always, O’Donoghue uses her writing talent to cut your emotions deeply, but injects humor at the same time — which is why she is one of my favorite authors and not just because she is a fellow Caroline.