Title: The Ghost and the Goth
Author: Stacey Kade
Publisher: Disney Hyperion
Pages: 304
Summary: After a close encounter with the front end of a school bus, Alona Dare goes from Homecoming Queen to Queen of the Dead. Now she’s stuck as a spirit in the land of the living with no sign of the big, bright light to take her away. To make matters worse, the only person who might be able to help her is Will Killian, a total loser outcast. He alone can see and hear (turns out he’s been “blessed” with the ability to communicate with the dead), but he wants nothing to do with the former mean girl of Groundsboro High.
Alona has never needed anyone for anything, and now she’s supposed to expose her deepest, darkest secrets to this pseudo-goth boy? Right. She’s not telling anyone what really happened the day she died, not even to save her eternal soul. And Will’s not filling out any volunteer forms to help her cross to the other side. He only has a few more weeks until his graduation, when he can strike out on his own and find a place with less spiritual interference. But he has to survive and stay out of the psych ward until then. Can they get over their mutual distrust—and the weird attraction between them—to work together before Alona vanishes for good and Will is locked up for seeing things that don’t exist?
Title: Queen of the Dead
Author: Stacey Kade
Publisher: Disney Hyperion
Pages: 272
Summary: Alona and Will spend their summer vacation doing the usual: helping ghosts crossover, solving murder mysteries, and the like.
I spent last week and part of my weekend devouring both of these books. I’ve had a copy of Queen of the Dead that was provided to me by the publisher for a few months and it wasn’t until I started hearing so much buzz about it that I decided to give it a shot. I didn’t realize, however, that it’s a sequel. So first, I had to dive into The Ghost and the Goth.
Alona Dare is one of those girls who, on the outside, look perfect. But on the inside—and at home—things aren’t as they seem. She has a father who’s abandoned her for a new, younger model wife. And a mother who’s drowning her sorrows in bottles of alcohol. It’s because of this that Alona finds herself in the middle of the street facing down a bus.
When we next see her, Alona is no longer the popular beautiful girl she once was. Because now nobody can see her. Except for Will Killian. The quiet, weird kid in school who everyone assumes is a ‘Goth’ because of his dark clothing and otherwise antisocial attitude.
The truth is, Will isn’t a Goth… He can see dead people.
He’s tormented by ghosts, talking in his ear or distracting him from real people (the ones who breathe). He lives his life with music blasting in his ears to drown out the sounds and tries to pretend they don’t exist. It’s been working (for the most part) until the principal of their school decides Killian’s iPod (whom he’s lovingly named Marcie) should be taken away as punishment for him being late.
Forced to endure a day without his music sends Will into a spiral that—of all people—Alona Dare just might be able to help him out of. When she pushes her way to the front of the ghostly line to get his help, she unknowingly designates herself as his Spirit Guide. It forces these two into an unlikely friendship and perhaps even more as time passes.
These two have great chemistry, and a lovely dynamic. I definitely enjoyed spending some time in their world throughout both of these books. If you’re looking for something that’s a quick, simple read with little angst and some fun, this series is for you.
Have a good one!
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