The Ghost and the Goth by Stacey Kade

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

The Ghost and the Goth by Stacey Kade

Publisher: Hyperion Book CH
Publication Date: June 29, 2010
Pages: 281
Source: library
Series or Stand-Alone: Series, The Ghost and the Goth #1
Buy It: Amazon / Borders / Barnes & Noble

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?

Alona Dare skips school and is run over by a bus. She dies, only to discover that goth boy, Will Killian can see ghosts. The only way for her to move on to the light is if he helps her. They just have to stop hating each other to do so.

I really loved this book. It looked fun and sounded great so I knew I had to read this book. Kade definitely has a way with words. Switching the perspectives from both Alona and Will would have been confusing if they did not, both, have distinctive voices. Kade made them come alive.

I was absolutely in love with Alona’s snobbish voice. I suspected to her to be annoying and I was ready to put the book down in five minutes, but instead I found Alona strangely amusing. Sure, she was the clichéd cheerleader type, but she did have her own problems, her own sob story. It was nice for a change, even though cliques, in the novel, were much exaggerated, but quite imaginative and I enjoyed the over-the-top auditorium cafeteria.

Will was cool and NOT goth, no matter what the title says. He wears dark navy blue shirts, since he is so odd, everyone assumes he’s goth and worships the devil or something like that. Will is definitely not goth, but he is a strong character, which makes me love the book even more. I thought it was funny that some people have pets, but Will had Marcie: his IPod (it has inspired me to name my IPod— Shane.).

The plot was more in-depth than I first thought. Judging by the cover, there was going to be a ghost and a goth (well, duh!) and the ghost would be begging for the goth’s attention. Of course there was more to it than that. I loved, especially, learning Alona’s secrets. She seemed cliché and a bit superficial until the secrets started spilling out. One thing I have to share with you is the funny image I got in my head when Will and Alona kissed (you knew they were going to kiss, that was not a spoiler), Alona is a ghost after all and no one can see her, so it probably looked as if Will was talentedly (because that must take talent—one-way kissing) kissing the air. Haha, that’s so weird, I crack up every time.

I love the cover. It looks so much fun and humorous that I’m surprised not a lot of people have read this.

Overall, it was a fantastic read that I really can’t complain about. I totally recommend it to those who love romantic comedies.

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