Genre: YA paranormalPublisher: Disney Hyperion
Publication date: June 29, 2010
Format: Paperback ARC
Pages: 281
Source: Received for RAKAfter a close encounter with the front end of a school bus, Alona Dare goes from Homecoming Queen to Queen of the Dead. Now she’s stuck as a spirit in the land of the living with no sign of the big, bright light to take her away. To make matters worse, the only person who might be able to help her is Will Killian, a total loser outcast. He alone can see and hear (turns out he’s been “blessed” with the ability to communicate with the dead), but he wants nothing to do with the former mean girl of Groundsboro High.
Alona has never needed anyone for anything, and now she’s supposed to expose her deepest, darkest secrets to this pseudo-goth boy? Right. She’s not telling anyone what really happened the day she died, not even to save her eternal soul. And Will’s not filling out any volunteer forms to help her cross to the other side. He only has a few more weeks until his graduation, when he can strike out on his own and find a place with less spiritual interference. But he has to survive and stay out of the psych ward until then. Can they get over their mutual distrust—and the weird attraction between them—to work together before Alona vanishes for good and Will is locked up for seeing things that don’t exist?(Goodreads.com)
The point of view alternates between Will Killian and Alona Dare, both of which have a comical voice, yet totally distinct. Alona has that typical "popular girl" voice, yet she still manages to maintain intelligence. She is determined to get what she wants, and I think she is secretly kind. Everyone thinks she had a perfect life, but in reality, she spent most of her time tending to her alcoholic mother. Only a few days after she died, she found out her boyfriend was hooking up with her best friend, and that everyone she thought was her friend was actually talking crap about her the entire time. I wasn't sure about her at first, but in the end I really ended up liking her. She was funny and sarcastic and a lot of times - extremely bitchy and shallow. But as the story progresses, I think it is sort of impossible not to like her at least a little.
Will has one of those couldn't-give-a-crap attitudes, but I still felt really sorry for him. Everyone thinks he is crazy because he is often found talking to himself, he has a principle that is seriously out to get him, and he is on the verge of being put in the nut house by his determined therapist. Yeah, what a life. He could be bold or awkward and a lot of times he was such a BOY. Haha. But for better or worse, by the end of the novel I was totally in love with him.
The plot was light and fast-paced and I didn't want to put this book down. And though this kind of book has definitely been done before, it is certainly unique. There were little hints dropped here and there, but I never knew for sure what was going to happen next until it happened.
Alona and Will are an unlikely couple, but I couldn't help but root for them throughout the entire novel. And no, no instaluv. There wasn't an excessive amount of romance, and I'm hoping that I get to see more of the two of them in the next book.
The writing was very good and captivated me immediately. The prose was just fun and light, yet still manages to create a good image inside of the reader's head. This book provided a much-needed distracted from the heavy paranormal books.
The two characters had me chuckling throughout the entire book. This was a quick and cute read and I am really excited for the sequel! There is casual cussing thrown out here and there, but nothing too heavy.
