Review: "The Ghost and the Goth"

The Ghost and the Goth

by Stacey Kade

June 29th 2010

288 pages

From Goodreads.com: 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 here in spirit form with no sign of the big, bright light coming 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 type who hates the social elite. He alone can see and hear her, but he wants nothing to do with the former mean girl of Groundsboro High.


Can they get over their mutual distrust—and this weird attraction between them—to work together before Alona vanishes for good and Will is locked up for seeing things that don’t exist?

My Thoughts: When I first heard about "The Ghost and the Goth" I knew that I had to read it! Luckily I was able to get my hands on an ARC copy during a tour! I assure you it didn't disappoint! Unfortunately I had to send the ARC to the next person on the tour, but I know I will be buying this as soon as it comes out! I loved the story, and can I just say that this cover will look amazing sitting on my bookcase? YES!

The story is told in alternating POV's which sometimes can be hard to follow in novels, but in this case I felt that the different POV's helped move the story along very nicely! First we meet Alona... beautiful, popular, and definitely a mean girl. An unfortunate accident turns Alona into one of the living impaired (She'd rather not be referred to as a Ghost). She's confused as to why she hasn't seen the light and why she hasn't moved onto whatever is next. Then Alona notices that weirdo, Will, laughing at her. Meaning, Will is the only one who can see her!

Then we are introduced to Will. Misunderstood, and believed to be schizophrenic, he has been prescribed an iPod by his therapist to help block out the voices. What his therapist doesn't understand is that he isn't really schizophrenic, he can see ghosts. But he isn't willing to admit this ability he has, he'd rather turn on the iPod and ignore the ghosts around him. You see, the dead can be extremely demanding once they find someone who can actually see them!

Alona and Will hate to admit it, but they need each other. Will can help Alona find her light, and Alona can help keep the other ghosts from bothering Will! Just one problem... they kind of hate each other.

I hear that "The Ghost and the Goth" is the first installment in a series. I definitely can not wait to read more about Alona and Will!