Saturday, July 9, 2011

BOOK REVIEW: THE GHOST AND THE GOTH by STACEY KADE

Title:  THE GHOST AND THE GOTH
Author: STACEY KADE
Publisher: Disney Hyperion Books
Format:  EBook 


RATING:  4 OUT OF 5 ALONA & WILL STARS !

Description from Goodreads:
Alona Dare–Senior in high school, co-captain of the cheerleading squad, Homecoming Queen three years in a row, voted most likely to marry a movie star… and newly dead.

I’m the girl you hated in high school. Is it my fault I was born with it all-good looks, silky blond hair, a hot bod, and a keen sense of what everyone else should not be wearing? But my life isn’t perfect, especially since I died. Run over by a bus of band geeks—is there anything more humiliating? As it turns out, yes—watching your boyfriend and friends move on with life, only days after your funeral. And you wouldn’t believe what they’re saying about me now that they think I can’t hear them. To top it off, I’m starting to disappear, flickering in and out of existence. I don’t know where I go when I’m gone, but it’s not good. Where is that freaking white light already?

Will Killian–Senior in high school, outcast, dubbed “Will Kill” by the popular crowd for the unearthly aura around him, voted most likely to rob a bank…and a ghost-talker.

I can see, hear, and touch the dead. Unfortunately, they can also see, hear and touch me. Yeah, because surviving high school isn’t hard enough already. I’ve done my best to hide my “gift.” After all, my dad, who shared my ability, killed himself because of it when I was fifteen. But lately, pretending to be normal has gotten a lot harder. A new ghost—an anonymous, seething cloud of negative energy with the capacity to throw me around—is pursuing me with a vengeance. My mom, who knows nothing about what I can do, is worrying about the increase in odd incidents, my shrink is tossing around terms like “temporary confinement for psychiatric evaluation,” and my principal, who thinks I’m a disruption and a faker, is searching for every way possible to get rid of me. How many weeks until graduation?

REVIEW:

Well, if ever a book was destined to be the next Disney Channel teen movie or series.....The Ghost and The Goth by Stacey Kade is it !

My rating of 4 stars is well earned within the age category of young teen.

It's a quirky, light and easy read and I found myself often imagining turning on Foxtel to find it as a new series. It has "light" and innocent romance, social tiers, a hidden background, a supernatural secret and some fun moments speckled through. I can honestly say that I finished the book and didn't "dislike" a character.

Alona - nasty pasty elite "first tier" queen!  She has it all - until the geek bus wins the collision!   She is the image all things typically portrayed in teen movies with a head cheerleader/homecoming queen character.  Not a lot of depth to her initially....but a hint of something rears its head at the end. Some would see her as opinionated, selfish and self-absorbed - but hey....brutal honesty kind of looks that way too!!

Will - I really liked his character. Again a typical character - "misunderstood individual" . He is far from what he appears on the surface. His ability to see and hear dead people/spirits and the desperate need to block them out has him appearing to others as a brooding, dark goth style guy who is constantly in trouble at school.  He belongs to the low rung students of the high school - and he's kind of OK with that!  Dealing with the ghost of Alona Dare will be his biggest challenge yet! 

The Ghost and The Goth is written in alternating perspectives between Will and Alona. It allows us to be in the head of each and Stacey has successfully written the story in this way. It is very easy to change from one character to another with the change in dialogue style and phrasing. 

The Queen of The Dead is the second book and I look forward to seeing where our characters end up.

ENJOY!
MARISSA

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