I went into this book pretty blindly. Here I was, watching a CariCanRead monthly wrap up when I heard that she read a sparsely-but-beautifully written book, and I immediately switched to my Kindle store to check it out. One really good sample later, and here we are.
Before we get into it, I’d like to say that this was a weird but lovely experience and that a teenage me would have loved it to the moon and back. I wish I had access to books like these when I was younger, but I’m also so so glad my kids now do (even if they’re still way too young to read them).
The Prose
This is a book after my own heart. As Cari said, it’s sparse, but beautiful, and you can see everything so clearly despite it being so concise in its descriptions. Especially the beginning — I loved it! It’s simple to read but poignant and emotional at times, with believable dialogue and a really good atmosphere of a small town life.
Now, I will say that it does get just a tad melodramatic by the end, which is the part that my teen self would love, but my thirty-year-old self finds a bit much. However, it doesn’t take away from the overall experience.
The Plot
A boy gets possessed by a ghost and they fall in love — it’s the tale as old as time. So, if your origin story is watching that one Casper movie or if you (or like in my case, your mom) loved Ghost (the movie with Demi Moore), you’ll like this one.
Despite the seemingly exciting-ish premise, the plot itself is pretty simple and flat, with a slow, steady pacing. There’s one scary scene at the end, and one exorcism which is about as much excitement as you can get. All in all, it’s a pretty introspective narrative, with most of the events happening “inside”, so to speak.
The Characters
Lovely, the lot of them. They really make you want the best for them, to wrap them all up in a blanket and keep them safe, even those that appear villainous at the beginning. I loved Hollis, especially in the beginning. Later on, he does start to act a lot out of character, but I guess that can be attributed to growth or not really understanding him sooner. I also liked Walt, though I felt like we knew him less.
The best part was really the community and how this small town operates, all the sharing and the care everyone has for one another despite having very little.
The Romance
For my tastes, it happened all too quickly. I do understand that Hollis and Walt shared a body and emotions, thoughts, etc. and that this situation could be intense, that the whole experience could bring people together much faster, but still. I would have appreciated more time developing their feelings from animosity to acceptance, to friendship and then finally romance. But it feels like we go from acceptance to romance and “I-love-you’s” in one chapter, which is much too fast.
The intimate scenes were also weird, I have to say. But I’m not sure how else sharing a body and intimacy could have worked, honestly.
Final Thoughts
In the end, would I recommend this book? Absolutely. With the caveat that you have to be ready for some melodrama and some weird intimate scenes. Other than that (which is not much to overlook), you’ll have such a lovely time learning about this community and Hollis and Walt and all of their friends. Happy reading!
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