Reviews

Haunt Me by Liz Kessler

kawarwick's review

4.0

Romantic ghost story! Yes, a little cheesy but none the less, I couldn't put it done. Teen girls will love this one.

mandyist's review

2.0

This review first appeared on Addicted to Media.

A boy wakes up from a long sleep to discover that his family is packing boxes into a van and moving out of home. Where are they going? Why did nobody tell him? That is just the beginning of Joe’s problems. He soon discovers that they cannot see or hear him and that he appears to be incorporeal. What has happened? Is he dead? In a coma?

Seemingly trapped in his bedroom, Joe has no other option but to wait. Soon, another family moves into the house and Erin moves into Joe’s former bedroom. What starts off as a vague feeling soon becomes more as Erin begins to feel and then see Joe.

The pair have a lot in common and begin to fall in love. But what of Joe’s brother Olly? What is he hiding and can Erin trust him?

Haunted. I had read her short story “Love Is a Word, Not a Sentence” that appeared in Amnesty UK’s Here I Stand collection and was impressed with her idea that being gay may be punishable by death in many parts of the world but can still be a death sentence in other societies due to bullying and hatred.

I therefore expected a lot from Haunt Me. I expected Kessler to tackle some very serious issues and to be fair, the book does address drug taking, suicide, bullying and bereavement. The problem is that these were more of a backdrop to the story and ultimately, Haunt Me is just another young adult story about an ostracised girl falling in love with a supernatural being and almost destroying herself in the process.

There was also a mean girls sequence that I found to be completely unnecessary. When are authors going to start writing about strong supportive friendships, the ones that start in school and last until old age? Could that not also be a form of wish fulfilment and escapism if written well?

Not surprisingly, I did not enjoy Haunt Me and found the long, descriptive paragraphs describing each character’s point of view to be incredibly laborious. Reading a novel should not feel like a chore.

I give Haunt Me a disappointing 2 out of 5 stars. It's been a long time since I was this disappointed with a novel but comparing it to my last two-star review Rachel Vincent's The Stars Never Rise, I see that I have a theme of disliking stereotypes and tired old clichés in young adult novels.

bansku_1's review

emotional inspiring lighthearted sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

sweetslaughter's review

emotional sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

it was pretty mid, got repetitive sometimes and felt very y/n fanficy but it hit emotional beats well and i cried reading the end

oceana_bookworm's review

dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

The ending was amazing, I did not  expect the plot twist with characters and saddens. This book made me cry 🥲.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Death, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Bullying

chrissireads's review

3.0

I thoroughly enjoyed Liz Kessler’s book Read Me Like A Book, so when I had the opportunity to read Haunt Me, I didn’t think twice. I actually preferred Haunt Me. I thought it was a highly engaging story which I didn’t want to put down. There are some people that might find this book a little too sweet, but it really does have some depth within it. It’s not just about the romance.

Haunt Me centres around Erin and Joe. Joe wakes up and is surprised to find that he has died, he is stuck in his old bedroom watching from the window as his brother, Olly, and his parents move away. Erin moves into Joe’s house. Erin has been suffering from bullying and anxiety. Her family have moved in order to start afresh. Erin manages to see Joe and they begin to fall for one another. Erin bumps into Olly at school and makes the connection between them both. Erin is stuck between two brothers and has to make a choice. The choice is between a ghost and someone that’s living. It seems obvious to Erin to go for Olly, but Joe warns her off when he tells her something very worrying…

This book deals with so many challenging themes. There’s bullying, drug abuyse, suicide, grief… to name a few. None of the characters are in a good place. As a reader, we get to experience their struggles as they try to make a fresh start. It’s a sweet read because there is so much focus on the relationships. The relationships are never easy and
hard decisions have to be made.

I thoroughly enjoyed Haunt Me and think it’ll interest many fans of the YA genre!

obliviousapple's review

3.0

I did enjoy this book. It took me a little longer to read than usual because I did find myself struggling through parts of it. It definitely brought a new perspective to the typical "boy meets girl" teenage love story and I did find myself wanting to finish it and find out the end.

The end I kind of had an idea, but I wasn't completely right. There was a few surprises in there. The whole story was pretty far fetched and not incredibly believable, but then are most "boy meet girl" love stories these days?

I did like the twist to this one. I'm generally not one for a love story but this didn't feel completely like that. I give it 3/5 which is still a good rating for me. Probably a book I would reread again in a few years and I would recommend it to someone who was maybe a little younger than me.

caroleheidi's review

3.0

3.5*
I so desperately wanted to love this book, and in some ways I did. But it just missed the mark for me somewhere along the way.

I found the idea of the story interesting and the way it handled sensitive subjects such as bullying, mental health, grief, suicide and drugs to name but a few, was brilliant. Gentle but honest and it felt truthful throughout, the characters behaving believably and consistently through the book.

I think my main problem with the book was that the first half dragged. I kept putting it down and not bothering to pick it up again, in contrast to the latter half of the book which I couldn't put down and raced through.

I tried to work out what I struggled with, beacuse nothing about it was bad as such, and the only thing I could come up with was that the two narrators of the first half, Joe and Erin, were incredibly similar. Despite switching between them to break up the story, they sort of blended together. This was why they got on so well, of course, but I almost felt like it could have done with being half as long so that I didn't get bogged down in their same-ness. Once Olly arrived to break them up I liked them all a bit more and the story seemed to find its feet and pick up pace.

I did enjoy Haunt Me and it left me feeling all fluffy and warm inside but it didn't blow me away. A great holiday read that is worth grabbing out of the library if you spot it, but probably not a book I'm going to remember forever.

carlavalenzuelaa's review

dark sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

emprice2022's review

challenging dark funny lighthearted mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0