Review Detail

GHOSTED is an interesting YA contemporary about grief, defining yourself, and belief. Hattie is a senior at a notoriously haunted private high school, and since her father died, she has been against the idea of ghosts, even though she used to investigate the paranormal with him. Her high school experience has been one of transactions with her friends, Izzy and Priya, who also disdain the investigation into ghosts.

When a new student, Kit, comes to their school, Hattie's distant mother asks her to show him around, and she does so - even though he was accepted on a scholarship from a ghost hunter organization. She is ready to get things back to normal until they get assigned a journalism project together about ghost hunting. As they spend time together, Hattie will need to confront her complicated emotions about her family, friends, and who she wants to be.

What I loved: A lot of this story deals with Hattie's feelings about the loss of her father, the grief she still feels, and the way that her family has dealt with the aftermath. Her mother does not give any kind of special treatment to the kids, and they have been set adrift in their cold and emotionless world, each of them dealing with it in different ways. Her older sister is living at home and rebelling in loud ways, while Hattie is just trying to do what her mother expects of her while also providing support to her younger brother, who is struggling in his own ways.

Kit shakes things up with his arrival and being pushed into Hattie's orbit. What she finds is that she can be open with him in a way that she has not had in a long time. Through their relationship, she begins to redefine what matters to her, who she wants to be, and the way her life has been holding in a type of stasis. This fresh perspective is critical to her personal growth, making this an emotional journey as she begins to confront her feelings.

What left me wanting more: As a small thing, this book was not what was expected, as it had less ghost hunting and romance than anticipated. The characters were also really tough to connect with at first, though this was part of their growth arc later. The beginning of the story felt slow to get into as a result.

Final verdict: GHOSTED is an interesting YA contemporary with emotional themes about grief and determining your own path.