Author: Lisa Shoeder
Published: September 2011
Publisher: Scholastic
Pages: 206
Source: Schoolastic Book Order Form
Girl meets boy.
Girl loses boy.
Girl gets boy back...
...sort of.
Ava can't see him or touch him, unless she's dreaming. She can't hear his voice, except for the faint whispers in her mind. Most would think she's crazy, but she knows he's here.
Jackson. The boy Ava thought she'd spend the rest of her life with. He's back from the dead, as proof that love truly knows no bounds.
Story behind the book:
I was flipping through a Scholastic book order form with some friends and I was trying to find some books that would interest me. I found about 12. Yet I was broke at the moment so it was go ask Dad to borrow money and pay it back by cleaning the study. So I was debating whether or not to buy this or Paranormalcy. I was looking on Goodreads after I bought the book and saw Paranormalcy had a positive 4 stars while I Heart You, You Haunt Me had a low 3 star rating.I was praying it wouldnt be too bad. It kinda downed my spirit when they didn't come in for 2months and then the day before we are out for Thanksgiving Break, They were in. So that is the story behind how I got them.
This book had me letting out tears in the middle of English all the way to Eastern Hemisphere. It really is one that takes the heart on a sad ride and tears it into a million tiny pieces as it goes. Or atleast it did to me... One of my favorite parts was at his funeral. What I mean by favorite is saddest:
A Way Of Black:
I've never been
to a funeral
until today.
I see
dazzling ararrangements of
red,yellow, and purple flowers
with long ,green stems.
I see
a stained-glass window with
a white dove,
a yellow sun,
a blue sky.
I see a gold cross,
standing tall,
shiny,
brilliant.
And I see
black.
Black dresses.
Black pants
Black shoes.
Black bibles.
Black is my favorite color.
Jackson asked me about it one time.
"Ava, why dont you like pink?
Or yellow?
Or blue?"
"I love black" I said.
"It suits me."
"I suit you," he said
And then he kissed me.
I'm not so sure
I love black
anymore.
Colorless:
And then,
beyond the flowers,
beneath the stained-glass window,
beside the cross,
I see
the white casket.
I see red, burning love
disappear
forever.
As I just typed that I cried, this book really deserves a place forever more on my bookshelf, and I believe it shall have it.
The plot was different from anything I ever read, yet I havent read many stories like this one. This is something new to me in many ways, from its verses to the plot of feeling like you want to die along with Jackson, Even the looks of the boy is different from anything I have ever read.
Jackson:
The boy who died and made this novel a place of death and sorrow. It has really made me wish to meet these characters. He was described by his looks, nothing else anything I have ever read. Most will have boys with long hair, short hair, or in between, but this one didnt, he was bald with a gottee. Yes it doesn't sound attracting at all , but him, himself, was the person I fell in love with. I fell in love with him even though he was dead. I fell for him for the same love Ava had for him.
Ava: I loved Ava and my heart fell everytime she got hurt or thought of Jackson. She really made me feel like I was her at points and I got hurt just as much as her at some points. She was as I say slowly dying on the inside with grief of the lost and guiltiness of his death. She was not as daring as Jackson. She was the one who gave Jackson a dare that killed him and she feels the regret, the guiltiness wearing her down.
Not just at points, but always this author takes you on Ava's journey through the death of her first love. She even met an interesting boy along the way, who liked her but she was still caught on Jackson. Its always Jackson. For Me. For Ava. Jackson will always be in my mind just like Derick of Sing Me to Sleep, Ryan Proud of Late Summer Rain. A true and great ghost story told in verses by Lisa Schroeder
i love this book!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! lol hahaha
ReplyDeleteThat's a beautiful poem! Great review!!
ReplyDeleteAna @ BookSpark