Reviewed by JodiG. for TeensReadToo.com

What would be more difficult to tell your friends and family: that you are gay or that you can see ghosts?

Late one night, a teenage boy encounters a ghost while walking along a dark stretch of road. The ghost is that of a handsome high school athlete who was killed on that same road in 1957. Now the main character finds himself drawn into an obsessive relationship with the ghost. One that seems to get more dangerous with every encounter.

In addition to his troubled love life, the narrator is in the midst of a family and emotional crisis. While learning to accept his sexual orientation, without exactly "coming out," he has found himself rejected by his own parents. He now lives with his Aunt Jan, who is loving and generous, but will she accept him if she knows he is gay?

With the help of his best friend, Trace, he sets out to help the spirits find peace while trying to find a bit of peace for himself.

Steve Berman has created a clever mix of urban myth, Goth, and ghost story while also tackling the confusing issues as a teen deals with his sexual orientation. VINTAGE is a clever and haunting story with some delightfully creepy scenes. ( )

This being a ghost story you would expect some strange stuff. However, the strangest thing that I just realized after trying to start this review, is that I really don't think we ever found out the first name of the main character. Something you would think would be glaringly obvious while reading a book, but I never noticed until now (unless I'm just completely losing it!) Putting that aside, I have to say I really enjoyed this book. I'm not a huge horror fan so it was good that although the book was very creepy it never ran to extreme violence or absolute terror, which really would have turned me off.

This story is about a goth teen with many problems; he has run away from his home, dropped out of school, has a morbid fascination with death and is gay (not that this last is necessarily a problem, only in that having others find out is what caused his other issues). However, the most disturbing problem is an ability he has yet to realize, one that could lead to a potentially deadly crush.

Although the descriptions seemed rather scarce, we still got a very good view of all the characters, including our nameless lead and his various acquaintances. I especially liked Trace and Second Mike, their family dynamics being unusual and intriguing. I also very much appreciated the main character's compassion when dealing with everything from the ghosts (at least the ones that aren't completely horrifying) to his blossoming physical relationship and knowing some things need to be taken slow (I have one scene in particular in mind, but won't say more so I'm not giving spoilers).

I thought this was a very good ghost story, almost as creepy as "The Monkey's Paw" which has always rather freaked me out, rounded out by an additional focus on personal relationships and what it means to be gay in an oftentimes unaccepting environment.

One last little thing I wanted to mention is that I noticed and wanted to give a thumbs up to is the little fan service the author gives to his friend, Holly Black, who is also one of my favorite authors. ( )

The story is told in first person by the main character, a teenager, and so we never know his name. I actually realized that I didn't know that name well past the mid of the book, and this is a clue that I was so enthralled by the story to not take care to "small" details like that.

Our hero is a runaway teenager; when he came out with his parents, he was kicked out from home but lucky him he found shelter with his aunt. Probably still suffering from the reject of his family, he retired into his shell, and he only relates with his best friend, a girl named Trace. Both Trace and him have their problems to overcome and in their difference they find a common path: goth teens who go to funerals to spend time, dressing like the adults they still aren't.

Actually our hero was quite lucky and he now has a comfortable and welcoming home with his aunt, and so his problems are the same of a normal teen: the insecurity of a guy who wonders if he is good enough to attract a boyfriend, the daydreams of a young man who is approaching to sex for the first time. Probably since he has this strange familiarity with death, our hero is not so shocked when he meets a ghost: Josh is an 18 years old guy dead in a car accident in 1957. He is not only a teen like our hero, he is also a very handsome guy, a jock; and like every goth teen should do in high school, our hero falls in love for the jock, but this time the jock reciprocates the interest... there is only the little fact that Josh is dead and that his interest in our hero is very deeply, almost lethal.

Meantime our hero realizes that the little brother of his best friend Trace, Mike, is already fifteen years old and rather cute; Mike is clever and tender, with a joy for life that is involving. Where Josh is shadow and night, Mike is full light and sun. Where Josh arises in our hero dark desires (that are actually normal sexual urges in a teen...), Mike inspires him cuddles and playful kiss. From not having the hope to find a boyfriend, our hero now has two boys around him, but it's not a situation he can bring along forever. You could say that Josh represents the dark side of our hero, and staying with him is like choosing to not coming out from the darkness, meanwhile Mike is the light, the future that he could have if he chooses to leave behind his sense of abandonment.

Even if the story deals with quite sad things, dead people (not only Josh), the whole feeling I had of the book is of "lightness". The author is very good in taking the reader glued to the book till the last page, both for the mystery than for the romance; there is also a switch in the story that seems to lead to an angst ending, but still the author chooses for a more "normal" development. All this concurs to the lightness of the story, making it a very good read both for a young adult than for an adult too.

Also the love story between our hero and Mike is light, fresh and sweet; where our hero maybe could be ready for something more, Mike is still 15 years old, and so, for me, it's right that they don't become too involved; they are still boys, not men.

http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/39...

Very clever twist to the usual ghost story...sparse prose,well defined characters...lonely gay kid yearns for a boyfriend..but soon learns, be careful what you wish for. Recommended. ( )

"Overall, it's a good book, and well worth reading. The love story is touching. The ghost stuff provides a dark fantasy element. The characters are a great deal of fun. What more do you need?"

Full review at http://jimhines.livejournal.com/33057... ( )