Kessler, Liz. Haunt Me.

Kessler, Liz. Haunt Me. Candlewick Press  2017  371p     $17.99    ISBN 978-0-7636-9162-2    ms/hs  Fantasy  VG-BN         

Joe dies; Erin’s family moves into his home after his family sadly departs.  When Erin finds Joe’s poetry written on his bedroom wall, Joe appears as a ghost and the two fall for each other.  Olly, Joe’s brother, meets Erin and pursues her, much to Joe’s dismay.  The twist?  Olly does not know that Erin has a relationship with his dead brother. This book must be savored for many reasons.  First, the relationship between Joe and Erin raises thought-provoking ideas for the reader about possibilities of life after death.  When Joe returns to his home after his tragic death (the reader does not know how he died until the falling action), he discovers a new family has moved into his home.  Erin, an equally tragic protagonist, accepts his attentions because she needs someone who needs her. She comes from tragedy herself, first, as a bullied young teen, and next, as a suicide survivor. She and Joe fall for one another. For a while, the plot becomes predictable, yet it is never boring! Yes, Erin meets Olly, Joe’s brother, at school and falls for him, all the while professing her love for Joe. Yes, Olly is looking for something unique because before Joe’s death, his larger-than-life personality and his extreme good looks only attracted girls who wanted him superficially. Now a changed man, he wants and needs depth. Erin is different, attractive and secretive, and Olly pursues her. Meanwhile, Erin is riding high with new friends at school, a ghost that she has fallen for, and the ghost’s brother, who is the only one who can provide some answers as to how Joe died. Joe remembers very little, only that he once had a wonderful family and that he wrote poetry under the wallpaper of his bedroom closet.

Love stories abound, but this one has the unusual twist of love between the living and the dead, without the vampire and without time travel or any other gimmick. Joe does not want Erin to see Olly, but she persists. Drama comes to a head near a cliff where Joe often wrote poetry, and the climax and falling action are quite original at this point. Book of note this selection is; it merits the honor because Erin’s character is as needy as Joe’s and Olly’s. Readers will be drawn into the conflicts. Teen readers beware; there is a spoiler alert. Do not read the flyleaf! One will not want to know that Erin does find true love.    

Regardless of the somewhat predictable nature of this book (the bullying, the good-looking brother and the less popular brother, etc.), the book merits a spot in both middle- and high-school libraries. It is about possibilities, love, death, tragedy, emotions and the curative power of conversation. Teen girls, especially, will pore through it and cry.    

Summary: Joe dies tragically; he returns to change some lives.

Ghost stories, Romance-Fiction           --Martha Squaresky