A. M. Jenkins

This is an engaging, spare, sexy story about a 17-year-old boy who moves into a haunted house, and is visited in his "dreams" by the teenage girl who used to inhabit the home. She believes that he is her long lost lover. I haven't gotten to the end yet, but the book is leaving me breathless. Perfect book for reluctant readers of both sexes.

My first reading of this book unnerved me because it's written in the second person, and you don't see that very often. Austin, a high school football hero is suffering from depression and frequently contemplates suicide. He feels he has no one to turn to, but eventually talks to his best friend who helps him. This book is complex and tells a sad story about a young man who appears to have everything, but is having a hard time with his demons. As you will find out, so are the other kids in show more the book because, let's face it, we all have problems and issues that plague us.
Because this book is written in the second person, you will feel as if you are the protagonist; I found myself feeling tense and anxious the whole time I read it.
There are a few twists and turns in the book that keeps the storyline moving, and at the end of the book there are numerous agency names and phone numbers that people can actually call if one is feeling suicidal. show less

Kiriel is a fallen angel, a devil, whose eternal punishment for rebellion against Him is to reflect the regrets and guilt of sinners souls and show them the disharmony they wrought during their lives and he's pretty sick of it. Determined to take a vacation Kiriel takes over the body of a teenager named Shaun who was destined for oblivion himself. Kiriel knows that his transgression in leaving his job and possessing a body is unforgivable, but he is determined to experience everything show more earthly in full before he is repossessed to Hell.

Despite a description that would make this young adult novel sound irreverent the truth is the story really isn't. Nor did I find it overly preachy which, considering the content of the book, is a feat in and of itself. This was kind of a make you think type book as Kiriel experiences our every day world and finds it wondrous in the extreme. It made me take a closer look at the world around me and my part in it. The story was told completely from Kiriel's unusual point of view which was also intriguing as his views of our world are completely alien from what your everyday person would think. It was fun to watch him learn from his experiences. I even liked the way the book ended despite the fact that I usually like everything tied up in a bow with full explanations which this didn't really have. All in all different and intriguing for a one time go around and I would recommend this as an easy and quick read for older teens and adults. I wouldn't recommend so much for younger tweens and teens as there are some sexual situations. show less

A fallen angel who is fed up with his job tormenting souls in hell decides to take over the body of a teenage boy. I loved the perspective that Kiriel brings to Shaun's life. A total outsider who has never experienced the life of a teen can see through some of the goofy stuff about the way teens live, especially in their relationships with other people. For example, Kiriel can immediately see how much Shaun's little brother wants his friendship and love in a way that Shaun never could. On show more the other hand, I think it would also be empowering for a teen to see how much knowledge they need to have just in order to get through the day - watching Kiriel struggle through familiar situations and social dynamics that a teenager would understand without a second thought can demonstrate to a young person how much they already know about the world. There was also a nice exploration of fantasy vs. reality in the relationship with Lane, a girl who has a long-time crush on Shaun. When Kiriel, who seems to think about sex just as much as your typical teenage boy, starts to act out one of Lane's fantasies about Shaun word for word, her reaction is not exactly positive. I enjoyed the way that this book highlighted everyday experiences - the little joys in life that are so easy to forget or gloss over. It got a little bit heavy-handed toward the end, but the message stands up that even in the life of fairly introverted teenage boy, there are important connections between him and the other people in his life. Shaun is chosen because he was a pretty isolated person, and Kiriel assumed that no one paid too much attention to his life. But Kiriel learns that "Shaun Simmons had made a specific mark on his little world, simply by being," and that his absence would be missed. show less