The Ghost and the Goth

I absolutely devoured this book. Kade has a charming writing style and I fell head over heels for all her characters. I especially loved Alona and the keen cleverness and biting insight behind her apparent superficiality. A wonderfully light-hearted read that touches on some very deep issues regarding troubled homes and what we don't know about the people we see every day.

Funny writing, good supernatural premise, excellent characterization. Here's a terrific quote -- the ellipses are in the original:

"See, here's the bullshit about high school, and believe me, I've had plenty of time to think about this. Teachers, parents, guidance counselors...all of them are always pushing this crap about how it's okay to be different, just be yourself. Don't give in to peer pressure, blah, blah, blah. The truth is, it's really only okay to be yourself if that self is within an accepted range of 'normal.' You like soccer instead of basketball, Johnny? Well, okay, I guess, so long as you still like sports. What's that, Susie, you want to wear the blue sweater instead of the red? You know we're all about expressing show more individuality here...so long as it's still a sweater."

Sadly, I think this sentiment applies to the adult world as well -- but it's harder to fight when you're young. show less

You know, sometimes stories are just plain fun to read. I guess it's kind of odd to say that about a book where one of the main characters has just been plowed down by a bus, but it's true. The Ghost and the Goth was fun, and despite the grim premise and a few emotional dilemmas mixed it, it stayed light: a perfect summer read.

I absolutely loved the mix of the super popular girl and the antisocial goth boy. Seeing them trying to work out their differences was so amusing and their back-and-forth banter was very funny. I am quickly becoming a huge fan of the method of telling tales in alternating view points. Seeing this one from only one side of their story would have lost so much. I loved getting inside both their heads, especially show more Alona's, and not only seeing how death did not affect her attitude much at first, but also seeing how she reacted to getting a little taste of her own medicine after her death! I loved the progression of Alona and Will's relationship, it seemed perfectly paced to me, and it constantly keeps you guessing as to whether they will be able to get past all their differences and help each other.

This one was a buyer for me...because I definitely plan to read it again! show less

The beautiful, blonde Alona Dare has just been struck and killed by a bus full of band geeks (oh, the humiliation!) and is now trying to find “the light” to cross to the other side. Dark and brooding loner Will Killian, or “Will Kill” as he has been dubbed by his fellow students, is just trying to finish high school without being hauled off to the psych ward for hearing voices. But when this mismatched pair accidentally end up being joined at the hip, will they be able to work together to get Alona into the light and keep Will from being killed by a vicious spirit before he graduates?

The cover of The Ghost and the Goth is a perfect indicator of what’s inside. This is a fun, frothy story overflowing with cuteness – and a bit show more of pointed social commentary. I adored each of these characters and how they looked at life and their place in it. Alona and Will are both level-headed, highly intelligent teens coming at high school from two different directions. Alona has worked hard to achieve her status as part of the “first-tier” of students who are always in the spotlight, while Will is just trying to keep his head down and tread as lightly as possible to avoid it. Both have personal family issues they are trying to deal with in secret, and end up discovering a sympathetic ear in the other. Each has a very jaundiced view of the other so working together looks like it is going to be a real trial, until they start really talking to each other and find an unexpected attraction developing.

Alona’s character turned out to have the most surprises for me. On the surface, she was a “queen bee” cheerleader with little sympathy for those she saw as beneath her notice. However, when Will confronted her with some of her past actions involving less popular students, her character swiftly came into focus. While Will perceived her as being “mean,” Alona thought of herself as someone who was trying to assist others to be the best they could be. Before this conversation between the two characters, I thought Alona was definitely on the shallow side. Once I realized there was more depth to her, she wasn’t just entertaining but became a lot more interesting. By the time her family secrets were fully revealed I was in total sympathy with her.

Will, on the other hand, fascinated me from the get-go. Here is a teen who is struggling with a diagnosis of schizophrenia and a school principal who has it in for him. His “gift” of seeing and hearing the dead has made his life extremely difficult, and the loss of his father has not helped. Now he has to deal with Alona, who has turned out to be smarter and stronger than he expected. When she faces down all the ghosts haunting him at the high school, he seizes the opportunity of making it to graduation without having a complete breakdown by enlisting her help to keep the other spirits (and the principal) at bay. In return, he agrees to teach her everything he has learned about the in-between place she is stuck in so that she can find a way to the “light” on the other side. I found myself really rooting for him to make it to graduation, which looked shaky a few times.

Woven throughout the story are a couple of darker threads, one involving two friends of Will’s – Joonie (who is alive and well) and Lily (who is in the hospital for undisclosed reasons) – and the second about a malevolent spirit who can throw Will against walls and completely consume Alona. Alona is convinced there is something odd about Joonie and the nasty spirit, so she becomes a bit of an investigator. While neither thread was particularly original, they were each handled well and had a couple of surprises in store – especially the spirit. Will had one theory, I had another and the only thing I’ll say is that I wasn’t quite expecting how it all played out (I love when that happens).

While the darker threads were interesting, the interactions between Alona and Will are the highlight of The Ghost and the Goth. The book is told in the first person from alternating points of view, so each chapter is headlined by Alona or Will. Both of them are a bit sarcastic, insightful, and very funny. It was easy to slip into each viewpoint, and follow along. Adding to the mix were comments and observations each made about the other spirits that were stuck either in the high school or to particular people. By the end of the book, Alona and Will had altered their views of these spirits and were actively trying to assist them with their issues, but before that happened neither of them was particularly enthusiastic about the restless spirits so it was pretty entertaining.

With its light look at ghosts, high school, and finding a friend in the oddest places, The Ghost and the Goth is a quick, fun read with engaging characters and a hint of danger that should appeal to young teens and up. show less

Alona Dare has always been the most popular girl in school. She has a great body, is a cheerleader, sits in the top tier in the cafeteria, and has a hot boyfriend. Who wouldn’t want to be her? That is until the day she was talking on her cell phone, got hit by a bus full of band geeks, and died. This whole being dead thing is harder than one might think, especially when you get to see what your “friends” really think about you. Then one day as she is roaming around, Alona sees Will Killian laughing at her…wait a minute, he can see her? Turns out that freaky goth guy might be useful after all.
Will has always been able to see ghosts. Their voices are constantly in his head. The key is to not let them know he can hear or see them. show more This ability has led him to numerous visits to the psychiatrist and labeled him the weird kid at school. He messed up; Alona knows he can see her. That’s just great, now all of the other ghost know too. The thing is, the more Alona hangs around, the more the other ghosts leave him alone. As Alona and Will spend time together the more they discover about each other. How long can this ghostly reprieve last? There is a malevolent energy attacking Alona and Will and when Alona has made her peace will she be gone for good?
This book is so cute! I’m normally not a fan of ghost stories or books that alternate point of view, but The Ghost and the Goth by Stacey Kade worked for me. I loved how sarcastic, mean, and vindictive Alona was (in a good way). She is the perfect foil to Will’s serious and thoughtful demeanor. This book shows that everything is not always perfect on the other side of the fence. It also shows the benefit of forgiveness and that sometimes no matter how much we think something was our fault, it wasn’t. I can’t wait to get paid so I can get the next book in this series. show less

Originally I was ready to write The Ghost and the Goth off as being a breezy teen paranormal. The premise was interesting, but the synopsis had me sighing because I didn't want to deal with another drama queen teen.

This isn't a deep novel, which is partially a disservice to it because it does have deep concepts (the weight of your actions, survivor's guilt, grief), but it won't necessarily make you re-examine your life and make life-altering changes to it. Put simply this was an enjoyable novel with two protagonists who banter and bicker in an entertaining fashion and touch upon the deep concepts enough to make people think.

Alona for instance is brought to task for a random comment she made to a classmate. In Alona's mind she thought show more she was making a comment to help the girl (a comment about her sweaters). Unfortunately, as seems to happen often with Alona when she was alive, she was only looking at it from her (kind of twisted at times) viewpoint. She simply didn't acknowledge that there could possibly been any other reason except that the girl didn't care how she looked.

Will also made assumptions about Alona however (mainly her 'perfect' life). The book often pointed out the trouble with making assumptions about a person you only 'see' and don't know. Though later on it pokes at being blind to others and their problems. In their own ways both Alona and Will were self-centered, Alona just was more upfront and aggressive about while Will did it unintentionally because of his curse.

I want to point out I found the way Kade handled Will's gift/curse and the spirit world in general to be delightful. I liked that it was based primarily on one's actions, that is the more positive you are the more likely you are to not disappear. I hope that Kade explores this more in the second book, especially given what happens with Alona at the end of this book.

I liked that the POV shifted between Alona and Will from chapter to chapter. It gave us a better handle on the two of them and who they were. It also gave the author a chance to tell two stories at once; from Alona's viewpoint she's newly dead and adjusting to that and from Will's viewpoint he's handling a personal tragedy and his own personal pitfalls from his curse.

And while I appreciate the romance in here, it also made me feel sad. There aren't too many ways this series (a trilogy according to the author's website) could go that wouldn't be either a deus ex machina or bittersweet farewell. show less

This was a fun read about a teenage prom queen/cheerleader who dies and comes back to haunt her school and finds the only person who can see her is a guy she considered goth and wouldn't give him the time of day when he was alive. This book made me SO glad I am no longer in high school! My high school was nowhere near this brutal.

So, Ghost and Goth end up stuck with each other. The story is light hearted but still manages to delve into serious issues confronting the teenagers in the book. I'm considering reading the second book in the series.