Thursday, October 31, 2024

The Ghost of Us, by James L. Sutter

Cara has spent years trying to live down the infamy of a sexting mistake by hosting a YouTube channel about ghost hunting.  Accompanied by her Christian friend Holly, she's searching for evidence of the existence of ghosts.  So, when she stumbles across a real one -- Aiden, a kid in her school who was killed in an accident last year -- she finally has something that can make her famous and get her out of her deadend town.  

Aiden's ghost, however, has goals of his own.  He wants Cara to ask his sister Meredith to the Senior Prom to raise her out of a year of depression and mourning.  Cara agrees to help out and (against the advice of her friend Holly) starts romancing Meredith.  While initially she does this as part of a deal to be able to use Aiden for her channel, she finds herself falling for Meredith for real.  But what will happen when Meredith learns the truth?

A rather clever supernatural romance that has a lot to say about self-acceptance, as well as some wise words about friendships and familial bonds.  The pacing is off and things get compressed at the end, but Sutton has created very full characters who interact nicely.  Sutton manages the rare feat of being a male author who can cross the gender divide and create authentic female characters.  The writing is witty and the story is lively and fun.

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