The Ghost and the Goth

Alona Dare is one of the most popular girls in school, excited to graduate at the end of the year. But then she gets hit by a bus and dies. Her soul doesn't leave Earth yet, though, and the only living person who can see her is Will Killian.

Everyone thinks that Will is crazy. He can see and speak with spirits, but nobody believes him. To make it worse, the school principal is constantly picking on him and he hates his doctor. When Alona dies, they form an unlikely friendship, and together they face a malevolent entity with unknown motives.

I had been wanting to get my hands on this for a while when I noticed that it went on sale. I immediately rushed to purchase it, and I finally got to reading it several months later. I wasn't too sure what to expect from this book, as it isn't very similar to the other, more serious paranormal stories that I usually read.

I think the first thing I need to mention are the characters. As I started reading, Alona Dare seemed very much an incarnation of the high school cheerleader stereotype. She seemed careless and vain, even cold at times. As the story moved along, I felt like the author was trying to show me the deeper, more serious parts of Alona's life and experiences. The author seemed to want to make Alona grow as a person throughout the book, to change for the better. While this did occur, I felt like it wasn't nearly enough to redeem her character. Sure, she may have changed her views when it came to Will, eventually falling in love with the boy she previously referred to as a 'freak', but I felt like overall her development as a person was superficial. Did I absolutely loathe her character? No, she did have some likeable qualities. But I found myself unable to connect with her.

I found Will to be the best character in this book. Unlike Alona, I was able to connect with him and I cared about his life and story. I didn't find him at all superficial or stereotypical. He was a very complicated character with a troubled past and an uncertain future. He was what really kept me interested in the story.

The story itself was a humorous paranormal romance, with elements of mystery. As I mentioned, I usually read more serious paranormal stories, so this was a change for me. I appreciated the author's use of humor, however there were times when I felt the humor to be too stereotypical, or that it was in scenes where I felt it didn't make sense to include humor. I'd like to note that not EVERY scene contains humor, but sometimes I felt like one scene needed it more than another.

I recommend this book to YA readers fond of humor mixed with romance. If you'd like a light ghost story, this novel is for you.

This review can also be found at http://fortheloveofbooksreviews.blogspot.ca/2015/06/the-ghost-and-goth-by-stacey-kade.html

One of those books that is not too serious that it stresses you out, but thrilling enough to keep you on the edge of your toes.

Adorable. Sweet. Awesome.

Ya'll! You know my obsession with ghost stories. I was hooked from line one.

I'm really sad I didn't pick this up sooner. I need this refreshing read after the heavier stuff I was reading. Something light and fluffy.

Wasn't much too complain about! It's just an all around great book.

I’ve been wanting to read this book for so long. I wanted to read it before it hit shelves. Then I finally got my hands on a copy of it 2-3 months ago. I have been falling behind on my reading and reviews because I didn’t have internet, and then when I finally got it back, my computer didn’t work. But during that time, I finally took the time to read this book. My first impression was that it was just alright. I didn’t really want to read about some stuck up blonde that thought she was better than everyone, I saw enough of that in high school. But as I started to read, I started to get into it and I found this to be a quite enjoyable book.

Will was my favorite character. I always seem to fall for the type of guy that no one wants to be around. I just love the mystery of them. And Will has plenty of mystery. He keeps to himself, and his secrets as well.

Alona on the other hand, she’s not all super preppy. She does have some depth to her. And you do get a chance to see a glimpse into her life through her afterlife.

Reader reviewed by Lia

Alona Dare, "The" popular girl, meets her untimely end when she steps onto the street in front of a speeding bus. Now she's stuck on earth invisible to everyone...except Will Kill, the goth boy.
But Will's got his own problems such as an angry ghost that seems to be intent on harming him to get what it wants.

The Ghost and the Goth is exactly what the title implies. It was a fast entertaining read. I liked the perspective of both Will and Alona since it show both of their thoughts and feelings. Alona was a annoyingly shallow character that I couldn't seem to like. Her problems at home were not reason enough for her to be mean to everyone around her. Will had gone through worse stuff, but didn't resort to belittling people. Alona did get better towards the end, but still far from "the nice girl". Other than that the mystery was set up perfectly, and something I liked alot were all the different ghosts that followed Will.

Reader reviewed by The Bookshelf Sophisticate

What a cute book! I loved the idea from the second I read the back cover description and can say that the fun I anticipated from this book did not disappoint. Alona was the queen bee of her high school and may have been Miss Popularity, but mainly because of the fear she invoked in her fellow students. Fear that one wrong look given by Alona, or false rumor spread by Alona within her inner circle and you were toast. Kiss your seat on the homecoming court goodbye and any chance at being one of the popular kids. She unexpectedly dies and soon learns that her classmates don't miss her all, big shocked there right? She finds that much of her friends and most specifically her so-called best friend and boyfriend have wasted no time at all moving on...to each other. So what's a girl to do when she's dead and can't move on to the afterlife?

Alona is resourceful and quickly discovers there is someone who can see her....he just isn't a part of the "in-crowd" that she's used to dealing with. Will is a bit of a loner and who can blame the guy when you see dead people all around you, all the time? I'd keep to myself too. This unlikely pair team up to help each other out and fun is had the whole way through. It was entertaining and funny from start to finish and any reader looking for a light, don't take me too seriously book, doesn't need to look any further.

While trying to get the ice queen to be "nice" not to mention coaxing to get the loner to help some of the deceased complete their unfinished business is sure to keep you entertained until the very end. Although this books seems to be a stand alone, I wouldn't mind reading another like it. I'm looking forward to what Stacey Kade comes up with next.