I love the way Kade is able to write on paranormal topics, yet make it all so realistic. She stretches her stories just enough without going overboard. I enjoy how she adds little bits of humor (and makes fun of cheerleaders) in this story and even has the characters “talk” to the readers. I love the connection between Will, the teen who speaks to ghosts, and Alona, the ghost. I would have liked to have seen more of Joonie (maybe the next book?), but overall the characters were well developed. I felt the book ended with closure and could be a stand-alone novel. I wonder if she knew it was going to be a trilogy when beginning to write it. I will be reading the rest soon, so stay tuned. This book is great for teens into paranormal love stories. I’ve read stories about entanglements between the living and the dead; given the proliferation of stories about the supernatural, such tales can become rather commonplace. So the author has quite a challenge to overcome. The relationship at the heart of this book is what makes it sing. Alona’s snippy, forthright attitude is refreshingly bracing at times, grating at others. She’s not perfect but she’d be insufferable (well, more so) if she were. She’s the perfect catalyst for Will’s withdrawn, careful attitude and determination to be invisible—to the dead if not the living.The story is fun, too. Alona’s issues take front and center with her (naturally). But the problems of other ghosts are part of the storyline as well and they all keep matters humming. The dilemmas of the dead also tie in with those of the living, a lesson that both Alona and Will come to learn and accept, albeit a touch grudgingly.The author wisely doesn’t give all the answers about the various and varying powers of the living or the dead. There are no mystical explanations about how or why matters work the way they do. This novel is just that—a proper combination of humor, misunderstandings and teenage angst. It’s a fine start to a new series.
Trochu naivné a príliš jednoduché... Striedanie rozprávačov som takmer ani nepostrehla, Will a Alona neboli až tak dobre napísaní, aby ich čitateľ od seba dostatočne dobre odlíšil, všetko sa to nieslo v jednom tóne, čo by sa pri dvoch rozprávačoch nemuselo stať... Inak mi postavy ani sympatické neboli, bolo to trochu silene Alono-mrchovské a silene Killianovo-lúzerské, nevyznievalo to prirodzene. Ale nebolo to ani úplne zlé, taká oddychovka na pár hodín čítania. No na ďalšie pokračovanie sa asi nechystám.
—capslock1423
Trochu naivné a príliš jednoduché... Striedanie rozprávačov som takmer ani nepostrehla, Will a Alona neboli až tak dobre napísaní, aby ich čitateľ od seba dostatočne dobre odlíšil, všetko sa to nieslo v jednom tóne, čo by sa pri dvoch rozprávačoch nemuselo stať... Inak mi postavy ani sympatické neboli, bolo to trochu silene Alono-mrchovské a silene Killianovo-lúzerské, nevyznievalo to prirodzene. Ale nebolo to ani úplne zlé, taká oddychovka na pár hodín čítania. No na ďalšie pokračovanie sa asi nechystám.
—lildawg96
3.5 stars!I swear it wasn't as bad as the heinous cover/title makes it out to be.
—Courtney
This book is surprisingly enjoyable.
—emma
Super cute YA novel!
—cherryfr3ak
