Beyond

Beyond: A Ghost Story by Graham McNamee
4/5 stars
Wendy Lamb Books, 2012
226 pages
YA Horror

Source: Received an e-ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I'm not entirely sure why I requested this as horror freaks me out but I do like ghost stories and I am trying to be braver. From the start, I found myself intrigued immediately connecting with the writing style.

I can't share too much about the plot as that is so integral to enjoying the story for yourself. Basically Jane has a shadow that is trying to kill herself. But I can also say that everything builds on itself, making for a more multi-layered story and increasing the stakes. As a horror story, it starts out deceptively calm with passages increasingly taking a turn for the creepy as we go to the big climax and conclusion.

One of the elements that I really appreciated was Jane's friendship with Lexi. Lexi unquestioningly accepts Jane and her weirdness and the two provide vital support to each other during the difficult teenage years in addition to the bizarre things that are affecting Jane. I loved that friendship played such a prominent role with just a sprinkle of romance in appropriate places.

Another part I loved was the inclusion of ghosts; I don't want to get too specific but I loved some of the imagery around there. I also really appreciated that this was a standalone with good resolution. Loose ends were wrapped up and we know where people are. Those who survive to the end can look optimistically to the future, which is how I like my books to end.

Overall: A twisty intense emotional thrill-ride with a compelling main character and an awesome best friend.

Cover: Very scary-I actually feel like a more subtle cover would have been appropriate because of the way that the story rises.

Liar & Spy

Liar & Spy by Rebecca Stead
4/5 stars
Wendy Lamb Books
180 pages
Middle-Grade Contemporary

Source: Received an e-ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I thought the cover and the blurb for this book looked cute so I requested it. I didn't realize this the author of When You Reach Me (it is written in rather small font on the cover photo) and I haven't read that any way so I did not enter this book with any expectations.

Our main character is Georges (named after George Seurat, the painter of the very famous pointillist masterpiece "A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jette".) He is undergoing some big changes as his family has moved to a new apartment because his father lost his job. Meanwhile he never sees his mother because she has been at the hospital, picking up every double shift that she can. In this new apartment building, Georges meets Safer, part of an eccentric family (how eccentric? The parents waited until the kids were about two and then named them based on their personalities.) Safer is the resident spy and he recruits Georges to spy on their neighbors. At school Georges deals with bullies and negotiating his way through middle school.

For the most part, this is a pretty quiet contemporary story with not much action (although there are some suspenseful moments when Georges and Safer put their investigative skills to the test). One of my favorite elements was the mention of the reform spelling movement (of which Theodore Roosevelt was a proponent) from one of Georges' classmates in some funny scenes. I also enjoyed seeing Georges navigate the rocky waters of school and implement an excellent plan for handling his problems there.

As I read though, I thought, "This is pleasant enough but how is this book going to wow me?" Well, it turns out that it will have a twist that makes you go back and rethink many of the passages that came before. I can see this twist was included (I don't want to be spoilery about it but for the right reader, it could be very emotional) but I found it to be cheap and manipulative, leaving me with a bad taste in my mouth. I think there could have been a bit more work done to prep the reader.

Overall: A heartwarming story except for the little matter of the aforementioned spoiler.

Cover: I love this cover-I think it's really cute and appropriate for the story.