Reviewed by: ?wazithinkin
Genre: Young Adult / Ghost story
Approximate word count: 45-50,000 words
Availability
Click
on a YES above to go to appropriate page in Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or
Smashwords store
Author:
J. Rudolph
lives in Southern California with her family,
collects turtles, and gathers nursing supplies for the zombie apocalypse. She
is also a nurse and a full-time mother. This is her third novel and her first
foray with ghosts. You can learn more about her on her website or join up with
her on facebook.
Description:
Hadley
Conley has a perfect life; she is in love and about to graduate from high
school. She has plans to head off to college with her boyfriend Seth after
summer vacation, eventually get married, have children, and live happily ever
after. But plans change when she is murdered walking home alone after a party.
Appraisal:
Hadley
seems to have it all; she has no real enemies at school, parents who love each
other, and a caring boyfriend. Her head is in the clouds when she decides to
walk home from a graduation party, after all it is just a few blocks from her
house, and nothing could go wrong, right? Ms. Rudolph captured Hadley’s
invincible spirit in this story. When she is attacked on the way home we are
right there with her. This story is told through her eyes, even as she wakes up
dead and her spirit struggles to come to grips with that fact.
Ms. Rudolph
showed a realistic grasp of the teenage mind as Hadley tried to make sense of
her death and how this tragedy affected her closest friends. One of the most
haunting elements is how Hadley’s spirit affected her parents. Hadley struggles
to solve her own murder as she learns about new abilities she now possesses.
The plot
moves forward at a realistic pace as Hadley’s misjudgments and mistakes come
into play. She is no super hero with awesome powers in this story. She never
saw the person who killed her and the police have very little evidence to go
on. When Hadley notices a girl watching her, she is delighted to have a person
she can communicate with. Cailynn can see and talk to ghosts and together they
investigate the likely suspects. The twist
toward the end of the story was compelling and something I never saw coming.
There are monsters in the most unsuspecting places. This heartbreaking story left
me with a satisfied feeling of hope that healing will now begin for all who
were touched by these tragic events. Nice job, Ms. Rudolph.
Format/Typo Issues:
No significant editing issues.
Rating: ***** Five stars
No comments:
Post a Comment