Ghosting by Edith Pattou

4 Stars for the story – 5 Stars for the cover

“When I was a little girl
ghosting was a sheet of paper and
a drawing in
black ink.

A crudely sketched ghost,
with a Tootsie Roll
taped on.

Not scary.

A fun Halloween prank.
You slipped it under a
neighbor’s door,
ran away,
giggling.

“You’ve been ghosted!”

Exciting.
Harmless.

But now
ghosting is:
this can’t be happening,
screams like knives in your ears,
pooling glistening blood.
Everywhere.

And death, bellowing
hot and loud
in
your
face.”

I had

no idea

this book would be

written in stream of consciousness verse form

until after I requested it.

Trust me when I say I was more than just a little concerned that I would immediately decide to hate it for this reason alone. Luckily for me, I’ve read enough ARCs on the Kindle with jacked up formatting that I was pretty much able to ignore the structure (thank God it wasn’t written in iambic pentameter!) and started to hone in on the words.

This book is the reason I am addicted to requesting ARCs. You never know when you’ll end up having an “a-ha” moment and realize you’re experiencing something pretty great – and that you’re the first of your friends to read it.

Ghosting brought back memories of the first time I shared a moment with real, flawed kids . . .

and had to explain to my mother that THAT is what teenagers are really like. They aren’t perfect. They have real-life worries. They are sometimes sad. They are HUMAN. Faith, Maxie, Anil, Emma, Chloe, Felix, Brendan, Faith and Walter are some of the most realistic teens I’ve ever read. Teens who do stupid things like drink and do drugs – or really stupid things like “ride the whip.”  Teens who have witnessed things they should never have to. Teens who are just trying to find their place in the world.

This book is a prime example of why I continue to read YA – it will rip your heart out and piece it back together. I hope Ms. Pattou finds herself on the top of the bestseller list and knocks the wind out of the sails of all those not-so-great books that give YA a bad name.

Recommended to? Anyone who wants to sparkle in a different way:

“I feel as if gulal has been just thrown all over me. That I am drenched with color. A walking talking incarnation of radiant Technicolor.”

 

ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you, NetGalley!