I Heart You, You Haunt Me

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 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 Jess

  This book is about fifteen year old Ava, who is madly in love with her boygriend Jackson.   Thena Jackson dies and Ava thinks it's all her fault, because it is.
 
  A few days after Jacksons funeral Ava is putting on make up because her friends are coming over.  It is then that she feels cool air and a familiar presance behind her, and when she looks in the mirror, and for a split second she sees Jackson.   After that she doesn't want to leave home, to leave him for quite a while.  She feels guilty and sad and crazy at the same time.  She would tell some one that her dead boyfriend is haunting her, but they would think she's crazy.  Then she finds a great guy who she really likes but her BFF Cali likes him a lot.  He likes Ava though but understands she just not ready to date.  Finally all her problems work out though and  ends up happy.

I really like this book even though it makes me kinda sad.  you gotta feel bad for Ava .... and Jackson.
I loved and i think anyone reading this will too.

Reader reviewed by TORI14

I just finished reading this book about 30 minutes ago. At first, I thought I was not going to like it, because I just finish reading KISS BY AN ANGEL by Elizabeth Chandler and I thought it would be too sad to read. BUT, I as I continued to read it, it made me really feel that if you lose someone you truly love, you don't have to feel guilty by moving on. This book wasn't drawn out, but right to the point where you actually enjoyed Ava telling you the story on how she met Jackson and how he made her feel when they were together. This was a really good short read.

Reader reviewed by Ruth

I really liked this book. Its about a girl named Ava, whos boyfriend died. She blames herself for it and wishes there was some way to bring him back. Now and then she feels him, smells his smell, and sometimes even hears him. Being in Avas place wouldn't be easy. Letting go will be the hardest part of all. While you read this book i'm sure you'll feel the guilt Ava feels and you to will wish there was some way to bring back the boy that Ava once loved.

Reader reviewed by orchdork5

I Heart You, You Haunt Me is a great book. It ony took me 1 1/2 hours to read, and in that time I was overpowered by this book. With an unusual format it takes a little shorter time to read than other 200+ paged books. The unusual format just makes the book even more exciting though! I really liked the characters and liked how Lisa S. made them all so unique, but alike. It really is a great book and recommend it to book lovers like me!

Reader reviewed by EshInoBi

I Heart You, You Haunt Me, gave me a lot to think about. It's about a girl named Ava, who basically caused her boyfriend to die by daring him to do something, which he failed in. They loved each other very much, and icould not but help admire their admiration of each other. She has to go through a lot of thinking and pain about it, and she feels very guilty. Though it was hallucinations, I believe, she kept seeing Jackson everywhere in her house, and in the end she realized he'd want her to have joy, not to be all filled with guilt and sadness all the time. A very touching book, though the ending was okay, it was not completely satisfying. But the start and middle kept me hanging at all times at what condition she will be at. :D I found it very interesting reading the book in all poetry/free verses...

Reader reviewed by ambeen

I must admit I expectd Ava to turn out to be the dead one or crazy in the end. I'm not sure why! I was really touched by how it really ended though. It was very bittersweet. I also enjoyed the free verse style. I have read a little of another book in the same style but found it distracting (although I didn't finish the book for other reasons), so I was glad to find it had a nice flow in this book.

Reader reviewed by c-alexis

This is one of those books that are written in a series of poems and verses. It is a book about a young girl who has to deal with her boyfriend's death. And his return as a ghost of some sort. Throughout the book, you question why the narrator is so distressed and filled with guilt. And how she eventually learns to let go and live her life. It's a good book for any readers, even younger ones who have been touched with grief. It presents death and its aftermath in an interesting and unique format.

Reprinted here with author's permission.