Alona’s only been dead two months, and already her recovering alcoholic mother is throwing out her prized mementos and her...
Former cheerleader, fashionista and “mean girl supreme” and current spirit guide Alona Dare and social recluse and ghost-talker Will Killian trade their flirtatious banter for a more serious dilemma in this sequel to The Ghost and the Goth (2010).
Alona’s only been dead two months, and already her recovering alcoholic mother is throwing out her prized mementos and her absent father and his ex-wife (a.k.a. Step-Mothra) are having a baby. Now could Will be interested in fellow ghost-talker Mina Blackwell and her Ghostbuster-like boxes meant to capture spirits? When Alona enters a comatose body, she only hopes to communicate with her selfish parents and teach Will a lesson, but she ends up getting stuck in the process. Once again the teens’ alternating voices give differing perspectives. Will learns about the Order of the Guardians, a secret society of ghost-talkers bent on ridding the world of unsafe spirits, as well as his dead father’s role in it, and selfish, immobile Alona contemplates her own karma and why she was left on Earth. The tension mounts when the Order comes to consider Alona dangerous. While this sequel lacks some of the amusement provided by the first book, plenty of back story keeps readers engaged in the continuing story line.Pub Date: June 7, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-4231-3467-1
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Hyperion
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2011
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head.
The finely drawn characters capture readers’ attention in this debut.
Autumn and Phineas, nicknamed Finny, were born a week apart; their mothers are still best friends. Growing up, Autumn and Finny were like peas in a pod despite their differences: Autumn is “quirky and odd,” while Finny is “sweet and shy and everyone like[s] him.” But in eighth grade, Autumn and Finny stop being friends due to an unexpected kiss. They drift apart and find new friends, but their friendship keeps asserting itself at parties, shared holiday gatherings and random encounters. In the summer after graduation, Autumn and Finny reconnect and are finally ready to be more than friends. But on August 8, everything changes, and Autumn has to rely on all her strength to move on. Autumn’s coming-of-age is sensitively chronicled, with a wide range of experiences and events shaping her character. Even secondary characters are well-rounded, with their own histories and motivations.
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head. (Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: April 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4022-7782-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
In addition to the supernatural elements, Brosgol interweaves some savvy insights about the illusion of perfection and...
A deliciously creepy page-turning gem from first-time writer and illustrator Brosgol finds brooding teenager Anya trying to escape the past—both her own and the ghost haunting her.
Anya feels out of place at her preppy private school; embarrassed by her Russian heritage, she has worked hard to lose her accent and to look more like everyone else. After a particularly frustrating morning at the bus stop, Anya storms off, only to accidentally fall down a well. Down in the dark hole, she meets Emily, a ghost who claims to be a murder victim trapped down in the dank abyss for 90 years. With Emily’s help, Anya manages to escape, though once free, she learns that Emily has traveled out with her. At first, Emily seems like the perfect friend; however, once her motives become clear, Anya learns that “perfect” may only be an illusion. A moodily atmospheric spectrum of grays washes over the clean, tidy panels, setting a distinct stage before the first words appear. Brosgol’s tight storytelling invokes the chilling feeling of Neil Gaiman’s Coraline (2002), though for a decidedly older set.
In addition to the supernatural elements, Brosgol interweaves some savvy insights about the illusion of perfection and outward appearance. (Graphic supernatural fiction. 12 & up)Pub Date: June 7, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-59643-552-0
Page Count: 224
Publisher: First Second
Review Posted Online: April 18, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2011
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