From the Publisher
"Eerie and sweet, haunting and real — a ghost story of love in its many forms: the kind that binds, and the kind that frees."—Laini Taylor, National Book Award finalist for
Lips Touch: Three Times
"This ghost story gently delivers growing emotional power as it explores the thoughts of three teens, including the ghost. . . . Poignant and eventually quite moving."—Kirkus Reviews
"A welcome addition to the shelf of YA books that deal honestly with grief. Without sugarcoating, it achieves a melancholy sweetness that is becoming a hallmark of Davis’s work."—Publishers Weekly
"This tale is a comfortable read for those who want more than a pink-covered romance or a melodramatic storry of loss, neither cotton-candy light not three-hankie dark." — School Library Journal
"A truly touching story." –Seventeen.com
"[Holly's grandfather] is the only living person who can see Rob, and their ensuing conversations about love, life, and death create a poignant connection between a life not quite lived and one in its final moments."—Bulletin
Publishers Weekly
Davis (The Clearing) takes on the difficult terrain of grief through the eyes of three teens: Holly, who speaks in the first person; Jason, whose experience is narrated in the third person; and Rob, the dead boy, speaking in the second person. It’s a risky narrative strategy, executed with significant if not unqualified success. Holly, appropriately, is the most sympathetic character. She survived the accident that killed her boyfriend, but has much more to deal with—keeping house for her working mother, watching over a nine-year-old sister and a grandfather sinking into dementia, and facing a future she can’t imagine. Each teen is withholding secrets, and it’s in this that the narrative round robin is weakest. As preoccupied as they are with the accident’s aftermath, and as intimately as Davis brings readers into their thoughts, the conceit that none of them would think directly about why the accident happened is slightly contrived. Nevertheless, the story is a welcome addition to the shelf of YA books that deal honestly with grief. Without sugarcoating, it achieves a melancholy sweetness that is becoming a hallmark of Davis’s work. Ages 12–up. (Nov.)
Children's Literature
- Loretta Caravette
Holly is a typical teenager. She is a child from a single family home. She has a little sister whom she needs to watch because her mother works two jobs to pay the rent for the small apartment they live in. Her Italian Grandpa Aldo, who is in the early stages of Alzheimer's, is moving in. What isn't so typical is that her boyfriend, Rob, died in a car crash. What also isn't typical is that Rob hasn't crossed over and is "haunting" Holly and their friends. The only person that can see and hear Rob is Grandpa Aldo, who speaks to his ghost in Italian, a language Rob can surprisingly understand. The story is told in alternating perspectives. One chapter is first person from Holly's perspective; the next chapter is second person from Rob, the ghost's, perspective. Rob eavesdrops on everyone. As the story unfolds Rob is trying to figure out why he is still here. He finds it difficult to watch everyone he loves go about his/her daily lives without him. Grandpa Aldo tries to do his best to listen; however, when he discovers that Rob was killed in a car crash while Holly was sitting in the seat next to him, he becomes less understanding and pushes Rob to confront some uncomfortable truths. In the meantime, Holly is falling for Rob's best friend, Jason who is very well to do. It is unbelievable the depths he goes to helping Holly with her Grandpa. When the truth is finally revealed that allows Rob to cross over, something seems to be missing. It's unclear what Rob had finally done to cross over, and the new boyfriend angle seemed overplayed. Reviewer: Loretta Caravette
School Library Journal
Gr 8 Up—Dealing with grief and overwhelming family responsibilities are themes blended with the sort of paranormal characters that populate Gayle Forman's If I Stay (Dutton, 2009), Alice Sebold's The Lovely Bones (Little, Brown, 2002), and the 1990 movie Ghost. When Rob's car goes airborne while he's driving his girlfriend home after a party, Holly ends up in the hospital, and he ends up dead-but not gone. His best friend, Jason, can't see him; his family can't see him; and Holly can't see him. He doesn't understand why he's stuck on Earth. Finally, when Holly's Alzheimer's-addled grandfather moves in, Rob registers on someone's radar. Too bad Aldo's rapid Italian mutterings to Roberto seem to Holly like just another facet of the disease that forced him to move in. She's just trying to cope with losing Rob and taking care of her nine-year-old sister while her mom works two jobs when Aldo becomes yet another burden piled on her young shoulders. Slowly, Jason reaches out to Holly, even pitching in with her family duties and helping Aldo revisit his precious memories. Rob punctuates the narrative of Holly's growing trust and affection for Jason in talks with Aldo about how to move on, by observation of his family's counseling sessions, and yes, through some jealousy as he watches his best friend and girlfriend fall in love. This tale is a comfortable read for those who want more than a pink-covered romance or a melodramatic story of loss, neither cotton-candy light nor three-hankie dark.—Suzanne Gordon, Lanier High School, Sugar Hill, GA
Kirkus Reviews
This ghost story gently delivers growing emotional power as it explores the thoughts of three teens, including the ghost. Holly still mourns her dead boyfriend, Rob, killed in a car crash months ago. Rob's shy friend Jason secretly adores Holly and hopes for a romance with her, but he feels awkward about approaching her. Rob himself knows he's a ghost and can't understand why he doesn't go into "the light." Is he trapped on Earth forever? He watches Holly and Jason stumble into love and can't let go, becoming angry and jealous. As Holly substitutes for her overburdened mom, caring for her little sister and Alzheimer's-afflicted grandfather, Rob discovers a way to communicate: Holly's grandfather can see and speak with him. But will anyone believe the old man? Davis creates some suspense through misunderstandings, but mostly she watches the teens mature and develops the sweet romance between Holly and Jason. The clever device of ghostly communications with a man suffering from dementia seems almost plausible, and it helps to slowly reveal the real cause of Rob's extended time among the living. Although the narrative moves far more slowly than most teen fare, the time spent is well worth it, as the story really becomes a character study of all three teens, finally revealing their hidden strengths. Poignant and eventually quite moving. (Paranormal romance. 12 & up)
