The Ghost and the Goth



One of my favorite TV shows is Dead Like Me. It's not on anymore - excuse me while I cry - but it was awesome. It was about this girl, Gerorge, who died when a toilet seat fell out of the sky and hit her. But she didn't stay dead. Or, yes, she was dead, but she was still here. She became a reaper.

And you know that guy who was Inigo Montoya? ("You killed my father. Prepare to die.") He was in that show. So you know it was awesome.

Alona Dare–Senior in high school, co-captain of the cheerleading squad, Homecoming Queen three years in a row, voted most likely to marry a movie star… and newly dead.

I’m the girl you hated in high school. Is it my fault I was born with it all-good looks, silky blond hair, a hot bod, and a keen sense of what everyone else should not be wearing? But my life isn’t perfect, especially since I died. Run over by a bus of band geeks—is there anything more humiliating? As it turns out, yes—watching your boyfriend and friends move on with life, only days after your funeral. And you wouldn’t believe what they’re saying about me now that they think I can’t hear them. To top it off, I’m starting to disappear, flickering in and out of existence. I don’t know where I go when I’m gone, but it’s not good. Where is that freaking white light already?

Will Killian–Senior in high school, outcast, dubbed “Will Kill” by the popular crowd for the unearthly aura around him, voted most likely to rob a bank…and a ghost-talker.

I can see, hear, and touch the dead. Unfortunately, they can also see, hear and touch me. Yeah, because surviving high school isn’t hard enough already. I’ve done my best to hide my “gift.” After all, my dad, who shared my ability, killed himself because of it when I was fifteen. But lately, pretending to be normal has gotten a lot harder. A new ghost—an anonymous, seething cloud of negative energy with the capacity to throw me around—is pursuing me with a vengeance. My mom, who knows nothing about what I can do, is worrying about the increase in odd incidents, my shrink is tossing around terms like “temporary confinement for psychiatric evaluation,” and my principal, who thinks I’m a disruption and a faker, is searching for every way possible to get rid of me. How many weeks until graduation? - Goodreads

This book is targeted at a younger audience then Dead Like Me was, but Alona reminds me a lot of George. They're both have a sarcastic and cruel humor. They're both young, dead, and stuck here. They both have unresolved family problems.

The Ghost and the Goth is so cute. When I try to describe it, that's what I come up with - it was cute! But it's so true.

I was pleasantly surprised with the level of character growth. I was expecting a cute, light read, and it was, but that doesn't mean the writing was poor quality. The characters have depth and issues and good arcs - they don't end exactly where they started. Will and Alona are both very likable characters. I loved them together. At first there's this animosity, because Will is the school outcast, and Alona is this queen bee cheerleader type. But they're forced to help each other out and spend time together, and they don't hate each other quite as much as they thought. It's predictable, yeah, but it's cute. Sometimes books are allowed to be cute.

It's also highly addictive. I don't know exactly what made it so, but I went through all three books in the series like a bag of Christmas Bells. (Peanut Butter Cups, in bell shapes! Try them! You'll like them!) That is to say, quickly. You can't just have one, y'know.

So, The Ghost and the Goth - Do I recommend it? Absolutely, yes! Pick it up if you're looking for a good, fun read. You won't be disappointed.