More Than This by Patrick Ness YP FIC NESS

"Here is the boy, drowning.
In these last moments, it's not the water that's finally done for him; it's the cold.
It is too late for him.
He will die.
And he will die alone.

He dies."

He wakes up.  He's covered in weird bandages. Well, partially covered.  He's in a strange, desolate, dried up town that seems totally empty and totally dead.  Then he finds something that cannot be. His childhood home.  The one in England. The one an ocean away from where he died. The one he left years ago after the tragedy that no one in his family will talk about.  The tragedy that is all. his. fault.  It is a dusty dead, burnt out world. A world in which he doesn't dream, so much as relive his past life in painful, frustrating detail. Since he can't really be alive and he can't really be in England. He realizes that he must be in his own personal, private Hell.  But even in Hell, there has to be more than this!  Doesn't there?

This is a tough book to review, because so much of what I love about it would reveal plot twists that should go unspoiled!  I can say that Ness has hit it out of the park once again with his deft use of realistic reaction and emotion in fantastic and seemingly impossible situations. The boy, Seth is a scared and scarred teen trying to survive and looking for a reason to survive. His doubts and frustration in the dead world he wakes up in and in his reliving his past are so well conveyed they feel universal.  I found myself rooting for Seth whether he was gripped by loneliness and despair or searching anywhere for a glimmer of hope.  Ness is able to wring drama and action aplenty with Seth just wandering around his new wasteland home, before he ever begins to reveal any of the books mysteries. For the price of one book (free because we are a library) you get a weird sci-fi (maybe) apocalytpic adventure, a devastating and harrowing look at living (and dying) with grief, a TOTAL brain twisting look at the very nature of reality itself, a beautiful and painful contemporary romance (as told in flashback), and several other wonderful surprises I won't spoil!

Young Adult fiction definitely has a lot of books where the main character has a painful past that is revealed bit by bit every few chapters until the final cathartic reveal. What makes More Than This stand apart is that the structure isn't just used to string the plot out, it becomes a part of the plot and the deeper themes of the book itself. Also, unlike some books that use this device, you never want to yell "HURRY UP ALREADY!!!", because BOTH worlds Seth is living in are fascinating in their own way.  I highly recommend this to anyone taht wants to read something truly unique.  It is going SUPER high on my Best Of list this year, and I think it will top yours too.

Check our catalog for More Than This here.

Ghostgirl: Lovesick by Tonya Hurley YP FIC HURLEY

Charlotte Usher is totally invisible at school. Of course, that’s because she’s a ghost, but she still hates it. In the third installment of this trilogy Charlotte has to help the guy she used to love find love with someone else or she can never make it to the afterlife. Charlotte knows there is life after death, but what about love after death? Can she let go of her old love or will she be stuck as a Ghostgirl forever?

This is the third in a trilogy, so absolutely pick up the first two books if you haven’t already. The good news is that this is a very satisfying end to the series for Ghostgirl fans. All the major characters from the previous books come together in this one and have their storylines resolved. The books are funny and quirky, and even though they are super goth in style they are never depressing. The design of the books themselves is excellent, from the die cut covers, to the artistic chapter pages. The books are fun, short reads that are actually enjoyable beyond just their goth appeal.

The Beautiful Dead: Jonas by Eden Maguire YP FIC MAGUIRE

Something very odd is happening at Ellerton High. Four students have died within the space of a year: Jonas, Arizona, Summer, and now Phoenix. People say they have started to see ghosts and hear the strange sound of thousands of wings beating at once. Darina was Phoenix’s girlfriend and isn’t sure what to think about all the rumors until she sees Phoenix and then the rest of the dead students. Are the Beautiful Dead real or is Darina just losing her sanity? And if they are real what do they want with her?

This is a really good start to a paranormal-mystery-romance series. The pace is fast and there’s loads of cool superpowers and danger as well as the central romance. I thought most of the characters were kind of the same old same old that we see in these paranormal books, but the book has great pacing and description and should be a hit with people that enjoyed Twilight and its ilk. Hopefully the characters are deeper and change as the series goes on. What’s sort of cool is that the Beautiful dead are kind of like a mix between Zombies and Angels, so we have something for everyone!

Me and Death: An Afterlife Adventure by Richard Scrimger

Jim is sort of a punk, but that’s okay he’s dead now. Killed by a passing car on his way to bully his favorite victim, he is whisked to a dingy hotel in the sky to see his past and learn the error of his ways. As it turns out he isn’t totally and completely dead yet and he gets a second chance at life to not end up a punk, but will he take it and can he make it?

Yes! Another Dead or Dying Teen Book! I like that this one has a real jerk for the dead teen, it makes it an interesting read. This is a short book that clocks in at less than 200 pages, so even if you hate it you get through it quick! The books length is both a strength and a weakness as Jim isn’t in the afterlife all that long and they don’t explain much about it. All in all this wasn’t the best Dead or Dying teen book, but it was cool to read one that was a little edgier and had more laughs.

In a Heartbeat by Loretta Ellsworth YP FIC ELLSWORTH

16 year old Eagan and 14 year old Amelia couldn’t be much different. Eagan is a confident ice skating phenom that butts heads with her mother at any and all times and Amelia is meek and shy and physically too weak to do much of anything. However, one thing unites them: Amelia has just received Eagan’s heart. Told in alternating chapters from Eagan looking back through her life from BEYOND THE GRAVE and through Amelia trying to cope with the guilt of living through someone’s death, this book shows how much life can change in In a Heartbeat (couldn’t resist that, sorry.)

Another day, another Dead/Dying Teens (DDTs) book! I swear if you look at our shelves you’d swear that every kid out there had a terminal illness or was revisiting their life from BEYOND THE GRAVE or leaving reeeeeally long suicide notes. Well, the ones that weren’t angels, zombies, vampires, or living in a future devastated by War/Global Warming/Diseases. But I for one like the DODTs and In a Heartbeat is a pretty darn good one. It is interesting seeing Amelia adopt more mannerisms and behaviors of Eagan as the story progresses and both characters are likeable in different ways. I thought it wasn’t as impressive as Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver (YP FIC OLIVER), but this is a simpler story that would be better for younger readers.