Review: The Ghost and the Goth

The Ghost and the Goth
by Stacey Kade

publisher: Hyperion books

release date:June 29th, 2010

intended audience:Young Adult

source:Traveling ARC Book Tours

rating:


description from website:
After a close encounter with the front end of a school bus, Alona Dare goes from Homecoming Queen to Queen of the Dead. Now she’s stuck as a spirit (DON’T call her a ghost) in the land of the living with no sign of the big, bright light to take her away. To make matters worse, the only person who might be able to help her is Will Killian, a total loser outcast who despises the social elite. He alone can see and hear (turns out he’s been “blessed” with the ability to communicate with the dead), but he wants nothing to do with the former mean girl of Groundsboro High.

Alona has never needed anyone for anything, and now she’s supposed to expose her deepest, darkest secrets to this pseudo-goth boy? Right. She’s not telling anyone what really happened the day she died, not even to save her eternal soul. And Will’s not filling out any volunteer forms to help her cross to the other side. He only has a few more weeks until his graduation, when he can strike out on his own and find a place with less spiritual interference. But he has to survive and stay out of the psych ward until then. Can they get over their mutual distrust—and the weird attraction between them—to work together before Alona vanishes for good and Will is locked up for seeing things that don’t exist?

Review: You know, sometimes stories are just plain fun to read. I guess it's kind of odd to say that about a book where one of the main characters has just been plowed down by a bus, but it's true. The Ghost and the Goth was fun, and despite the grim premise and a few emotional dilemmas mixed it, it stayed light: a perfect summer read.

I absolutely loved the mix of the super popular girl and the antisocial goth boy. Seeing them trying to work out their differences was so amusing and their back-and-forth banter was very funny. I am quickly becoming a huge fan of the method of telling tales in alternating view points. Seeing this one from only one side of their story would have lost so much. I loved getting inside both their heads, especially Alona's, and not only seeing how death did not affect her attitude much at first, but also seeing how she reacted to getting a little taste of her own medicine after her death! I loved the progression of Alona and Will's relationship, it seemed perfectly paced to me, and it constantly keeps you guessing as to whether they will be able to get past all their differences and help each other.

This one was a buyer for me...because I definitely plan to read it again!