Despite the good reviews it got I was kind of skeptical to read this. I was just curious what a human-ghost love story would be like, though (yes, yes, I've seen the movie Ghost). It's not much of a love story as it turned out. More paranormal with a bunch of hormonal teens going over a phase but that's beside the point.
Rating? A solid four stars from me. It's not exactly mentally stimulating and super suspenseful but it could be the fact that I wasn't expecting too much from this so it actually impressed me. I read a lot of paranormal as in witches and stuff but was never a big fan of ghosts in a book. It could also be the fact that I like the Supernatural TV series because this is just like that. With younger people in it. So there ...
This was such an easy read but it has the depth an award winning book should have. Most historical fiction I've read with immigrants and refugees are related to the Russians and Jews so I wanted to read something set in Asia for a change. It's my first Vietnam war related book.
When I read the blurb, I didn't know it was written in free verse poetry. When I saw that it was written that way I became even more interested. I can't say I'm big on poetry, free verse or not. But this one was okay. The journal-type presentation made it easier to read because it only had the more important details. I love that it doesn't drag.
For me, this falls under the children's category more than young adult. That's not to say other age range shouldn't read it. I did and I'm not a kid anymore. I just think it can inspire kids and teach them a lot about coping and waiting for the right time etc. I think this can even be a good bedtime story. I understand it's filled with doom and gloom but it's not something that could be misinterpreted.
I loved this and I think it's award-worthy but it didn't exactly make me go wow so ... four stars from me.
