LIV, FOREVER

A ghost story set at a posh boarding school hits plenty of buttons for school-conspiracy and romance fans.

Sixteen-year-old Liv has had a difficult life in a series of foster homes. Now adopted, she still seeks escape and thinks she’s found it when she wins a scholarship to attend New Hampshire’s uber-exclusive Wickham Hall. Upon arrival, she immediately realizes that, as a scholarship student, she won’t fit in with the bluebloods that have populated the school for generations. As usual for the genre, the school has an elite secret society, the Victors. It also has ghosts, spirits of various girls who were murdered on campus over a span of many decades. When the same fate befalls her, Liv begins, as a ghost, to investigate the mystery of the deaths, which somehow may be tied to the Victors. Through her friend Gabe, who can hear ghosts, she finds a means to communicate with her new heartthrob, Malcolm; he’s a Victor, but he appears to love her. Can the trio fully trust one another, and can Liv not only solve the mystery, but convince the police as well? While the narrator-as-ghost adds an interesting twist, the book remains primarily a mystery surrounding the school’s secret society. The romance elements come across as bittersweet, of course, considering the fact that Liv’s dead.

Average, but satisfying enough for paranormal fans still engaged by the genre.