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frenchpants's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Death, Gore, Suicide, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: War
Minor: Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Physical abuse, Transphobia, and Grief
indigo_ewenicorn's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I did not want this book too end and feel like I just want to know everything about all the different characters in this story. What is Ollie's history? Is Dante the only ghost pet? Where'd he come from?
I love the LGBTQIA+ representation in this book. It is part of the story, but not the main focus of it. Just like in life, sexuality is part of a person's story, but doesn't need to be the focus of it.
I'm very excited to get the next book in this series and continue on Charlie and Sam's journey.
Some of the more famous ghosts around York are disappearing and rumor has it that they are being taken by the Shadow Man. Charlie reluctantly forms an alliance with Sam, who has the same abilities as Charlie, but knows more about the magic surrounding the dead as well. They enter a whirlwind mystery investigation into the missing ghosts. They team up with old friends of Charlie's, Leonie and Mitch. Together they solve the mystery of the missing ghosts and through it all discover that Charlie and Sam are quite smitten with each other.
I am curious about Charlie's sisters. Do they have special abilities too? Will they play a bigger part in the next book? Will Charlie tell his parents what he can do and how will they react? Who is "The Hand"?
Graphic: Death
Moderate: War
cass_lit's review against another edition
5.0
What a debut. Not only were the characters fleshed out completely and had growth (and so easy to root for, as evidenced above), but the plot was SO intricate. The science was there, the mystery was there, the sweet romantic undertones were there, the twists were there. It’s a YA, but there was still a lot of dark themes and some heavy grief — understandable, when ghosts play such a role. Also loved the disability and queer representation.
This was practically perfect, in my opinion. I couldn’t recommend it more.
Graphic: Death and Grief
Minor: Suicide, Vomit, Death of parent, and War
kaz_brekker1's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Child death, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, and War
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Gun violence
purrson's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Teen melancholy comes in strong at the forefront of this YA story, with a main character who’s trying to hang on to normalcy despite ghostly drama only he can see, and (in very relatable/typical adolescent fashion) is sometimes so-self conscious, he doesn’t notice what’s right in front of him. But the pity party doesn’t go on too long, and it’s hard not to love the characters we meet (our MC’s new and old friends) as this mystery ramps into adventure.
Throughout this book a true love of the location—its setting’s present and past—really shines through, and brings the living and long dead characters and their history (or the times they represent) to life. It’s delightfully queer and inclusive (the main character has a visible disability), with some romance to boot. The villains are sinister enough to make the stakes properly high, and these teens deal with enough real life drama that the story stays grounded where it needs to be. It’s truly heartfelt, endearing, and delightfully spooky that I absolutely recommend it for a fun, good read.
Graphic: Death and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Torture, Medical content, and War
mxbluet18's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
☆
☆
First impressions, amazing. It has chapter titles and a map. Both good features for books to have. As well as the very English colloquialisms and northern words and phrases.
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This is a really well written book, with some amazing representation, and lovely characters. It was interesting reading a book that so heavily featured spirits and magic (the two things aren't always included together).
~
I found a couple of the friendships surprising and unlikely but they really worked. And I was mostly unsurprised to find a healthy dose of pining (as with many queer YA stories).
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I also really liked that the trans and gay representation was really subtle. In the sense that the fact that there was a trans and gay characters wasn't front and centre, and wasn't a particularly large part of the overarching plotline.
~
The guilt aspect, and the reason both Sam and Charlie are seers took me by surprise, but it also makes a weird sort of sense. I thoroughly loved this book, and would highly recommend it to anyone.
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, and War
Moderate: Gun violence, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Transphobia, Medical content, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
emilysbookishlife's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Death, Gore, Suicide, and Death of parent
Moderate: Cancer, Child death, and War