Helen is a ghost who has haunted for many lifetimes. She has attached herself to several different hosts over the years, and can’t figure out what is holding her to Earth while her hosts have all moved on when they passed away. Her current host is an English teacher named Mr. Brown. She discovers that for the first time in her entire time as a ghost, there is someone who can see her. Helen soon realizes that Billy, Mr. Brown’s student, is not the one who can see her, but it is James, another ghost who has taken over Billy’s body.
James and Helen are drawn together, and decide to find a body for Helen to possess too. They find a girl who goes to the same school, and Helen is able to inhabit her vacated body. Complications arise as James and Helen realize that they cannot simply begin their life together, but have to continue to pretend to be Billy and Jenny. That also means that they need to deal with the issues that caused Billy and Jenny to vacate their lives. As James begins to help Billy overcome his problems with drugs, an abusive father, and a strained relationship with his brother, Helen sees that he has started to deal with the issue that hasn’t allowed him to move on. Following James’ example, Helen helps Jenny solve her issues, and she begins to realize why she can’t move on.
Overall, I felt that the writing was fairly average. The unique plot is the piece that kept this book from being ordinary. Perhaps because I listened to the audio version, I was much more aware of phrases that were overused, for example, the narrator continually said “I was shocked.” I also felt that the narrator, Helen, did not have views towards relationships and intimacy that were consistent to the time period in which she died. I felt that the author didn’t stay true to the idea of history that she had been trying to infuse into the character.
Not my favorite book, but a very interesting concept--give it a try!
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