I Heart You, You Haunt Me

What made me keep turning the page?
The way the story is told in verse
The lyrical quality of the words
The strong emotions experienced by Ava
The eerie romantic elements
Some of My Favorite Quotes:
"Guilt reminds me of a stray cat. You chase it away and yet, it comes back when you least expect it. If you let yourself feel pity for it and feed the thing, it parks its ugly, puny, lonely-for-attention butt on your doormat and won't go away. Scat kitty cat, scat. I don't need you sitting around here like that."
"Come with me,' Mom says.
To the library.
Books and summertime
go together."
"If tears could bring him back, there'd be enough to bring him back a hundred times."
Any complaints?
Nope (only that it went too fast!)
Recommendation:
YA Contemporary Fans
Final Thoughts…
So I have to give credit to Ashley from Books from Bleh to Basically Amazing. I was “eavesdropping” on Twitter when Ashley was talking about how awesome Lisa Schroeder is. She was so convincing that I ordered two of her books right away, and boy am I glad I did! I would have never though that I would enjoy a book written in verse, but I SOO did! It’s like all the unnecessary “stuff” is cut out of the story, and you’re left with the most meaningful parts. The words just flow together so well, and before you realize it you have finished the book! This story really deals with grief, death, guilt, and living life after a tragedy. I think I will be thinking about these characters for a while!

Reader reviewed by Sydney

This book was amazing! I couldn't put it down for more then 20 seconds. This girl loses something that is so close to her and she feels guilt and so would most everyone but she lets go and doesn't forget but forgives herself. Someone so strong deserves something back. Read this book!!!!

Reader reviewed by Misty (Book Rat)

When Ava loses her boyfriend Jackson in a horrible accident, she feels like her world is going to end.  She blames herself for his death, she shuts herself off from her friends and her life, and spends her time wishing she had Jackson back.  And then, suddenly she does.  Whenever she's alone, Jackson comes to her.  He haunts her, speaking to her in her mind, touching her with cold ghostly caresses.  Ava is so happy to have him back, but she knows it can't last; she has to make a decision: remain alone, with Jackson, or face the world again.


Lisa Schroeder writes in verse, so when I got my hands on this, I was kind of excited for that aspect.&nbsp; When done well (see Sharon Creech's <a class="bookTitle" href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/53498.Love_That_Dog">Love That Dog</a> or Karen Hesse's <a class="bookTitle" href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25346.Out_of_the_Dust">Out of the Dust</a>) it can be very effective.&nbsp; The verse aspect builds an interesting story, layers some magic into the words.&nbsp; Unfortunately for this story, that wasn't the case.&nbsp; Rather than being an asset to the story, Schroeder's verse was distracting and forced.&nbsp; Though there were a few instances of the verse being what it should have been (a unique way of showcasing what Ava was feeling), most of the time it read like diary entries that were arranged funny.&nbsp; This is laziness and/or overconfidence, in my opinion.&nbsp; You can't just chop up lines or arrange them funny and call it verse.&nbsp; There has to be a real attention to language and words, to the way things sound and flow together.&nbsp; They should be read aloud and tweaked minutely again and again until they are precisely what they should be.&nbsp; Poetry should add something overall, its own unnameable something.&nbsp; It isn't just there because the form is non-traditional, you have to create it.&nbsp; I didn't feel Schroeder did an adequate job of creating it.&nbsp; Also, the titles for each "poem" just added to the feeling of it feeling really forced, and broke up the flow a bit for me.

Also, I found Ava to be a little crazy.&nbsp; I mean, I know she is really young, and as such won't always handle things the way she should, but when she starts to feel held back by Jackson's presence, when she is ready to move on with her life, she comes off really whiny and immature.&nbsp; I did like Jackson's role in this, and that she mistook his reason for haunting her, and I liked the healing process aspect, and even the mystery that Ava dances around in her poetic diary entries.&nbsp; But in the end, those things weren't enough for me, and I picked this book up twice and put it back down again before I got through it -- and it's something easily read in an hour or so.&nbsp; With a little more attention to the "poetic" aspect, or if that was discarded and it was treated as a diary instead, it could have worked a bit, and I would have liked it more, but as it was, I don't think I'll be reading more from Schroeder for awhile.&nbsp; But if you're interested in it still, grab it from the library -- it's not like it will take up a ton of your time, after all.

Reader reviewed by Crimin

Picture the one you love most in life taking a huge leap.   Now, take that out of metaphorical land and push it into cold, hard reality.  One that is cruel and makes it so your love doesnt come bobbing back to the surface, all smiles and stories;  instead, you never see him again.  

When I was at the bookstore the other day, I saw this and was instantly grabbed by the cover.  You arent supposed to judge a book by its casing, I know, but something about the girl and boys clasped hands (and the boys transparent arm) seemed to call to me.

I read the back, gasped at the sad summary and peeled it open to look inside.  Imagine my surprise in finding it was a novel-in-verse!   Im a huge Ellen Hopkins fan, so after I saw the formatting, I marched straight up to the check-out and purchased it.   And, boy, Im glad I did.

This book was wonderful.  It showed me a heartbreaking tale of a girl and her dead boyfriend and how, through it all, he came back to help her ease through her grief.   It was a quick read too.  So, if youre an Ellen Hopkins fan, or just like paranormal romances, I suggest you pick this up, read it, then give it a home on your bookshelves.

You wont be disappointed. 

Reader reviewed by OIKZ

This book was one of the giveaways on Lisa's site so I decided to check out the actual product itself and I did. I loved the design of the cover and the length of the book, but i noticed it was very small in terms of pages, so I looked through the first pages of it and realized it was written in verses, making it poetic prose. I initially didn't like the idea of structure of the book, but it was something different and nonetheless easy to read. I finished reading it in like 3 hours, so you can imagine the short time it takes to complete it. The female protagonist was going through an emotional heartbreak and the 'supernatural/spiritual' occurrences during the trials of the incident involving her boyfriend. She later builds and develops a new relationship in the end that makes it something enlightning in her life. It was very cute, so I recommmend it for all ages. 12 and up would be more appropriate.  

Reader reviewed by Kryztel

I love the way this book is written. It made me cry. You can read it in a day but have a box of tissues near you just in case you might cry too. Totally sad- but amazing. It really got the aspect of how people cope
with death. I understand so much more- have so much more empathy. It
was written really well- i love verse books.

Reader reviewed by Olivia

Let me just say that is probably one of the best books that I have read in a long time. My friend got me this for Christmas and thank goodness she did or I would of been missing out on a really good book. The cover is what really did it for me after I read the story. I loved how she was holding hands with a ghost. And of course the line on the front, "some bonds, just can't be broken." (bone chilling). But anyway, at times I felt so sorry for Ava. I mean she couldn't help but to blame herself for Jackson's death. Then one night he appears and she can hear him and touch him.

One of the things I loved about the story was how the author wrote it. I loved the lyrical lines and how it was written in verse. Which makes it very easy to read and finish in a short amount of time. I read it in one class period. I was hooked from the first sentence.

If you have not read this book, you seriously need to go out and buy it. It's a true story about love and death that will leave you speechless at the end. You will so definitely not be disappointed.

Reader reviewed by Sara

Title: I Heart You, You Haunt Me
Author: Lisa Schroeder
Publisher:Simon Pulse
Date Published: January 2008
Genre: Young Adult
Main Themes: Death, Ghosts, Love, Grief
Pages:240
Plot
From Amazon.com: "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 hisvoice, 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."

This book was not at all what I expected. To be honest, I bought it because of the cover, title, and the little blurb on the back - I had no idea that it was written in verse or what it was really about.

This book really was haunting, just not for the reasons I thought it would be. First off, it wasn't a book about a love that lasts even after death - not really anyway. It was more about first love and moving on - whether that first love is dead or not. I think that that was the really beautiful thing about this book - I could relate to Ava because their is grief and loss in break ups as well as in death, granted it isn't exactly the same, but sometimes it feels like it is.

I really enjoyed that the book was written in verse. It made for a quick read, but it flowed wonderfully.

My one complaint was Jackson - I just didn't really like him all that much. I think that if I would have known the Jackson of before I might have, but I really didn't feel a connection to him. But there were some great flashbacks that made me look at him a bit fondly.

Ratings (out of 10):
Plot: 10
Characters: 8
Writing style: 10
Romance: 9
Originality: 10

Total: 47/50 (A-)

I recommend this book because it really was quite intense and the writing was beautiful, but I can't say it's a favorite of mine. However, I am really excited about Lisa Schroeder's upcoming novel, Chasing Brooklyn! I'll definitely give the new one and her other novel, Far From You, a look!

Reader reviewed by ReggieWrites

OH MY GOD. This is ONE of THE BEST BOOKS
I've read. It's a verse novel. It's a compilation of poems that tell
Ava's story throughout the entire book. It's in her point of view. And
it's amazing. I wish I could do this book the justice it deserves with
this review, but, I can't. I'll just do my best.

I'm going to break it down for you:

The Writing.
Shroeder's writing was very lyrical and poetic. It was surprisingly
mature. She was able to manipulate the words to make them suit how Ava
was feeling in each chapter/poem. It never got boring, in fact, I kept
reading until midnight. I was able to relate to Ava's feelings and her
grief. Throughout the entire book, I felt like I was Ava. I was the
girl who was going through so much pain and so much guilt.

The Emotions. I Heart You, You Haunt Me
is a book for mature readers who want to read about the purest and
probably the most common kind of grief. After I read the book, I
couldn't breathe properly-LITERALLY. I felt so many poignant emotions;
anguish, angst, pain, just to name a few. My heart felt heavy. I felt
the pain that Ava felt. My sisters thought I was crazy. But that's just
how Schroeder was able to bring out all these emotions and reactions
from me, through her words.

The Ending.
The ending was bitter-sweet. It was painful for me to read. The lessons
that were learned and the conflicts that were eventually solved, were
flawlessly summed up in the ending.

The Bottom Line: This book is NOT
light reading. In fact, this could easily make readers cry. Shroeder's
writing is innocent and-in words-perfect. I would definitely recommend
this to teens who want to read about letting go and the simplest and
most innocent type of love. It really is heart-breaking. A+ :-)

Reader reviewed by Jessica

I HEART YOU, YOU HAUNT ME tells the story of a girl, Ava, and what happens to her after her boyfriend has died, and come back to her as a ghost. She sees his ghost through her dreams. He has come back because of the love they shared, but something is wrong. Ava is ready to get over Jackson, her boyfriend, but he doesn't want to let go.

A truly haunting story of love and love lost, Lisa Schroeder writes in beautiful verse which captures the emotions of the characters perfectly. Almost like a common day Romeo and Juliet, this story is one of those which leaves you heart broken yet satisfied at the last words. Something that everyone should pick up and read, I HEART YOU, YOU HAUNT ME is something not to be missed.