Review: The Ghost and the Goth by Stacey Kade

Title: The Ghost and the Goth
Author: Stacey Kade
Genre: YA, high school, ghost, romance
Perfect for: A rainy day

Dying sucks, especially if you're Alona Dare. She expected a bright light, a long tunnel, something supernatural when she was accidentally hit and killed by a school bus before morning gym. What she got, however, was far less exciting. Waking up a ghost, she quickly learned that the afterlife isn't all that great. Watching your boyfriend hook up with your best friend, not being able to touch anything, and lastly, being invisible to everyone are not easy things to get over. Well, make that almost invisible to everyone.

Enter Will, loner goth boy who has inherited a family gift to see spirits. While he's doing all he can to try and distance himself from the ghosts at the school, Alona has a different idea and latches on to him instantly. 'The Ghost and the Goth' is a story about friendship, with a bit romance and humor tossed in.

'The Ghost and the Goth' is a perfect rainy day popcorn read. If you are looking for a book that is light, fun, and not too demanding or mellow dramatic, this is for you! Stacey Kade has some great characters on her hands and has a talent for writing some realistic, humorous teen dialogue without too much 'teen speak'.

The characters are quite likable. Alona, contrary to what you might expect, isn't your typical annoying cheerleader character. She actually has a bit of depth to her. Will, as well, is a fun character. His family background gives him a unique POV. 'The Ghost and the Goth' is one of those rare titles where the characters are both equally likable.

As I stated earlier, the storyline isn't over the top or mellow dramatic. It's light, fun, and popcorn'y, which are three things I tend to enjoy! Kade did well on creating a story that is a quite addicting read. The pace of the story is practically perfect and the plot elements are interesting and refreshing.  While this is a standalone, it could totally become the first in a series.  Actually, I'd be quite interested in seeing where the characters go.

Overall, don't judge this book by its slightly odd looking cover! It's a good read that you shouldn't miss out on. If you need an easy, popcorn read, this is it!

'The Ghost and the Goth' is available at your local bookstore and online now!

Review: Morpheus Road: The Light by D.J. MacHale

Title: Morpheus Road: The Light
Author: D.J. MacHale
Format: ARC
Release Date: April 20, 2010
Genre: YA, supernatural, ghost story, action/adventure
Perfect for: fans of ghost stories who love series

Sixteen-year-old Marshall led a pretty normal life-- that is, until two key things happened. First, his best friend Cooper disappeared while at his families lake house. Second, he began being haunted. Worse, he's being haunted by a ghost who looks exactly like the creepy 'Gravedigger' he's been drawing for months. Together with Coopers' sister Sydney, Marsh takes it upon himself to find his friend, while trying to survive 'Gravedigger'.

As a fan of D.J. MacHale's Pendragon series, I was pretty hungry for this book! 'Morpheus Road: The Light' was a quick, action packed read. It definitely has a supernatural, spooky feeling to it that should please those who like to scare themselves with RL Stine or Christopher Pike.

The pro's of this book? I like the characters. I think Marsh and Sydney have good chemistry. Whether or not it will go the romantic chemistry route is still yet to be seen, but the two play off each other well. Coopers character is great because he is so different from Marsh. Where Marsh is still interested in shooting rockets and drawing, Cooper is more into, well, getting in and out of troubling situations. Their friendship brings in an interesting dynamic-- two best friends who are the opposite poles (if you will) of teenage-hood.

It was interesting reading a ghostly tale by DJ. Being so used to his fantasy worlds, I was a bit worried. Thankfully, 'Morpheus Road: The Light' didn't come out cliche, like other ghost stories directed at pre-teens and the ya audience. Worried about how scary it may be? While spooky at times, it never crosses the line into frightening. It seems just right for kids twelve and up.

The cons of this book? Like the first 'Pendragon' book, you can tell this is the 'introduction' book. Its goal? Tell the readers 'who', 'what', and 'where'. It has a story with a beginning middle, and end, but a lot of it is focused on learning about the series environment. Questions are thrown at you and you really don't get many answers to most of them. It took me almost half the book to really get into this supernatural tale, so expect a slow beginning. ('Merchant of Death', the first book in the 'Pendragon' series read similarly for me, but eventually became one of my favorite series.)

Overall, I enjoyed 'Morpheus Road: The Light'. It looks to me like D.J. has a solid series on his hands. While not everything in the book impressed me, I enjoyed it enough that I will definitely keep an eye out for future books.