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rachelshubin's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Rules for Ghosting was a fascinating read for me because I don’t think I’ve ever read a book with a trans MMC. I definitely gained some insight. The Jewish aspects were also really interesting because I understood most of it - but not all, it was more observant than my practice. I wish there were more explanations of the religious customs, for non-Jewish readers who may have no idea.
The story of the book is VERY character driven and the multiple plots definitely got muddled. I feel like the description from the back of the book should’ve been reworked, because Ezra doesn’t even see Ben’s ghost until around pg. 150, and to me that’s too far into the book for a key focal point. The ghostly aspects were kind of a let down and could’ve been a bit stronger. Granted I think the book overall was a bit too long (370 pages) and drawn out so it had some extraneous scenes that could’ve been cut to make it more concise and fitting to the book’s description. I also didn’t find that the physical descriptions were strong enough for all the characters (and there are a LOT of characters, too many characters), so I had a really fuzzy focus on what everyone looked like. Nina seemed so important in the beginning but was barely in the end of the book. There were too many roommates, it it was cut down to just Ollie and Lily…maybe that would’ve been okay.
I did enjoy a lot of the sibling interactions, all the text conversations, especially the picture of the dog that was included (never seen that in a book before, it should definitely be done more)!
The romance between Ezra and Jonathon is there…but it didn’t feel like enough of the main point of the book to be classified as a romance. I would’ve said this is LGBTQIA+ fiction or Jewish fiction, or combo of both.
All that said, the writing is good and I enjoyed the concept. I think it could’ve been edited a bit more before publication. I would definitely check out another book by this author.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Transphobia, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, and Dysphoria
Moderate: Child death, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Medical content, Car accident, Abortion, Pregnancy, and Alcohol
nerdbrarian's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- 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
5.0
A beautiful story of family (both by birth and found), queer love (both romantic and friendships), grief, birth and death, faith and ritual, and all of the ups and downs of life. So much was packed into this novel that I could easily recommend it to anyone.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Dysphoria
Minor: Death, Miscarriage, and Car accident
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