Being a foster kid is hard enough without being labeled a freak too. Normally, she just ignores the ghosts and they go away. Toggle navigation. Buy on Amazon. Loved it 4.
This is a twisted reality. Grabbed me by the throat, stabbed me in the chest, and I had to finish it in a single sitting. Apr 01, R. Matthews rated it really liked it. Let me start by saying I'm a huge fan of horror films. And I love a good Stephen King. But I don't generally read books in the horror genre because I often find that it is the visual aspect of horror movies that really give me the biggest bang for my buck.
It takes a truly talented writer to describe a scene well enough to convey terror and have me shaking in my boots. So I'm really torn on how to rate this book That deserves praise - because despite the fact that I didn't care for the first person, present tense nor did I care for the short, brisque sentences - I could not put this book down.
The story is compelling. I cannot wait until this comes out as a film. I really loved the protagonist - Mattie - a sixteen year old foster child who has suffered through a really rough upbringing. She is spunky and sarcastic and smart. Unfortunately that style does not lend itself well to building tension and fear in a a reader or at least not this reader So while I was "told" that the protagonist was scared out of her wits, I never really felt it.
That is until the last third of the book when Mattie is relying on her sense of smell and hearing more than anything else. The pace slows down. Her thoughts are more rambling with a lot of insight into what was going on in her head. And my heart was racing. I also loved Officer Dan and his relationship with Mattie. These two together were a riot.
So in the end I landed on a 4 star rating. If you love horror stories then you really need to read this book. Dec 17, Elayne rated it it was amazing. I loved this book! Mattie is a sixteen year old girl who has been in the foster care system since she was five. Since her mother failed to kill her and then committed suicide. She is an intelligent, attractive young woman who is trying to live a normal life, going to school, making friends and going on dates with her boyfriend Jake.
The problem is she "sees dead people"! After successfully ignoring the ghosts she sees, an encounter with her foster sister's ghost sends her into a frenzy, Sally ha I loved this book!
After successfully ignoring the ghosts she sees, an encounter with her foster sister's ghost sends her into a frenzy, Sally has been murdered! How to prove it to the police and get people looking for the girl without disclosing her secret is a major problem for Mattie, especially when everyone believes the girl is just another runaway.
She starts to see other murder victims and when she manages to convince officer Dan as she calls him , a rookie cop to help her, the clock is ticking when she comes face to face with a still living victim's spirit, who's time is running out!
An enjoyable fast paced, witty and sometimes chilling read from a talented author. Apr 25, Anna Hub rated it it was amazing. This book wasn't entirely what I expected. With the title I thought it was going to be intense and scary as hell.
Instead, the plot focused a little more on the character's relationship concerns and teenage dramas than the ghosts. But that aside, it was told really well. The character voice was strong, and definitely encompasses a teenage thought process. Her back story was also really detailed and reflected her current behaviour. The pace worked well for me, and I was completely engaged the enti This book wasn't entirely what I expected.
The pace worked well for me, and I was completely engaged the entire way through. There may not have been as many ghosts as I was expecting, but whenever they did appear they were sufficiently creepy.
I'd definitely recommend this book. May 05, Liz rated it liked it Shelves: horror , ya. Loved the ghost story plus the sinister plot, but I was not at all keen on the 'romance' drama, because Mattie's character is flitting in between 'boys' like a swing in the wind.
Nice cliffhanger ending Mar 30, Linda Ulleseit rated it it was amazing Shelves: ya-fantasy. When you read about a world you don't know--in this case a foster kid who sees ghosts--you want to experience it as if you did know it. Baker does a marvelous job of getting the reader inside the character's head.
My favorite character is Officer Dan, the policeman who befriends her. A great read! Aug 15, Lissa Rice added it. Sep 03, Haley rated it liked it. The pros: Officer Dan. Love him. Mattie's attitude. Apryl Baker never started making her soft, didn't start out with her being sweet and turning sarcastic or vice versa; Mattie's character developed as the story went, but her personality stayed true and she was a very fun protagonist.
Mattie starts out with a boyfriend, but what I really liked was that as we learned more abou The pros: Officer Dan. Mattie starts out with a boyfriend, but what I really liked was that as we learned more about Mattie so did Jake. And that complicated view spoiler [and ruined hide spoiler ] their relationship. It made things complex. The relationship between Dan and Mattie.
It stayed on the edge between friendship and relationship, their banter was perfect, and the fact that they still have room to grow made any scene between the two of them the best part of the book.
The cons: The relationship between Dan and Mattie. Yes, they were fun, and yes, they had excellent banter, but it felt like Baker couldn't decide on just what age to treat Dan. Technically he's 20, and a cop, and still in college, but sometimes he seemed much older than Mattie, and sometimes he was like a high school student. And I know that college students can totally be like that, but he didn't stay consistent enough for me. It was distracting, even though I liked his character.
Every boy in the book was in love with Mattie. She was hot and could take care of herself and was mysterious , but seriously, every guy spent the whole book hitting on her.
And she couldn't make up her mind. She's in love with Jake in the beginning, then she's trying to figure out how she feels about Dan more than once , and then she gets Mason's phone number and thinks he's so super cute, then, all of a sudden at the end, she's IN LOVE with Eric. The ghost who attacked her, who she knew for a day during which she was being tortured, the guy she didn't actually know in real life, all of a sudden, she's just freaking in love with him.
WAY too sudden, unreal, and Baker spent the whole book building Dan up just to throw in this guy at the last second that Mattie is way too attached to, way too quickly It didn't fit with the way the rest of the book had been going.
Overall: Anyone who knows me well knows that I'm a big fan of scary stuff horror movies, nighttime in general, getting good and truly spooked. So this book was fun: ghosts, murderers, mystery, oh my. And while the mystery was good and the ending was a surprise, there were things that were done well and then things that took away from the rest of it.
Mattie's attitude was great, but the fact that the author told us more than once how sarcastic Mattie considered herself and explained the fact took away from it because it felt to me as the reader like the author thought I had to be told what sarcasm was. I loved Dan and Mattie's relationship, then then a dozen other guys jumped in and took away some of the depth.
I wish it had all been more consistent, but it was still a fun read with a great protagonist and I'm looking forward to seeing what happens in the sequel. Nov 18, Lissa rated it did not like it Recommends it for: No one. Shelves: worst-books-i-ve-ever-read. Can't believe she thought she could pass those boots off as designer. I mean, really. But I'm stubborn. I hate putting books down before I've given them a fair chance.
So I struggled on. And I have to say, this may be the worst book I've ever read. I honestly have no idea how it got 5 stars or how it's in the process of being turned into a movie, but there's no accounting for taste. I can under "Didn't I see Ava over there wearing knockoffs? I can understand why the main character's mother tried to kill her. I wanted to kill her. I rooted for her untimely death every time she faced a dangerous situation.
Messed up, I know, but I really hated Mattie. I wanted to smack her almost every time she opened her mouth. I like a tough, snarky main character but she was a snot.
A little girl who had been shot- "The kid was at least 9 or old enough to know better than to go off by herself. I knew that even before entering the foster care system at five years old!
Really, how stupid can you be? A little kid is dead and she's going off about how stupid the kid was for wandering away.
And that was not the first or only time she went off like that. My first impression of her was that she was insensitive and shallow. And "Office Dan". Firstly, a cop falling for a 16 year old snot head- I can't suspend my disbelief that far.
He must not have valued his job very much when you also consider how much trouble he watched her get into without doing anything- like breaking into houses, and all he did was sit back and go, "Gee, Mattie, you really shouldn't do that. And let's not forget that she was dating a major hottie who she was totally in love with even though they'd only been dating for a week.
One word, guys- jailbait. The dialogue felt horribly stilted and false, the characters badly fleshed and unlikable. I wanted to like this book, truly I did. The book cover was drop-dead fantastic but that's the only nice thing I have to say about the book. I almost put this book down several times during the process of reading it but I forced myself to finish it because I didn't think it would be fair to review it without having read the entire thing.
It felt like the author mashed Suze Simon The Mediator series and Rose Hathaway Vampire Academy, same last name and everything but did a horrible job of it. Jun 25, JK rated it it was ok Shelves: kindle.
Mattie is sixteen and sees dead people. She knows there are people who need saved from imminent death, but instead spends a lot of time hanging out at the diner and pontificating over the variety of boys she has a crush on. Her motivations were strange, and wrong. I understood I was being given a teenage female protagonist, but she felt like a caricature of herself for the most part.
Both her inner and outer dialogue were peppered with insipid turns of phrase, ones which would probably come up if you surveyed a bunch of middle-aged white dudes and asked them how they thought teenage girls spoke.
She also told me frequently about the walls she put up, how strong she was, and how foster kids were a different breed from others. She told me these things, but rarely showed me. It was poor characterisation, and it really affected my ability to engage and sympathise with Mattie. For a horror, there was a real lack of suspense, no notable twists, and things began to take some very convenient turns in order to tie the story up to its ending.
More nuanced characters, a plot with some more complexity, and less use of the word fudgepops would have been all that was needed to make this excellent. Dec 01, Kyobeh Bryant rated it it was amazing. I am nowhere near what you'd call a professional critic, and I'm just a book-lover, but I'll try to be as coherent as I could. Thrilling: check Good humor: check Cheeky protagonist: check Love interest: check Page turner: check Must-sleep-but-must-finish-this-chapter-first moments: check Can't-stop-reading urges: check Need I say more?
But, honestly, this book is good and well beyond. Mattie just keeps you on your toes, and the ghosts and problems somehow connives in making you anticipate the next part. It's really a refreshingly new story.
Normally, a book with horror as one of its genre wouldn't be in one of my 'To-read' nor in my 'Favorite' list. I'm such a wimp that even watching a horror movie almost gives me a heart attack even though I don't have any heart problems.
What made me read this? I would never be completely sure of. It could be because I wanted a new and different experience from all the romance and fantasy I've been reading; could be that the summary intrigued me; could be that I was bored to death and that this novel popped up on my search.
Whichever unknown reason it was, reading it was worth it. I applaud Apryl Baker for this wonderful job. I'm currently following the second installment and I hope everyone would, too. Oct 09, Jeanelle rated it it was ok. I really don't understand why this book has so many five star ratings. Typos and grammatical errors everywhere.
There is telling, but almost no showing. And then possibly my biggest pet peeve of all: the use of "of" when "have" should've been used. The protagonist is not a character, but a caricature.
In fact, most of the people in this book are. I like snarky girls who aren't afraid to break a nose if they need to. I don't like I really don't understand why this book has so many five star ratings. I don't like characters who get all googly-eyed every time they meet someone of the opposite sex who's attractive. You're trying to solve a serial homicide with the aid of ghosts; who fucking cares how attractive the equally attractive cop's friend is?
The premise of the story was really interesting, and if written differently, it could've been an awesome book. Oct 25, Britt rated it it was amazing Shelves: five-stars , female-mc , female-author , contemporary , books-became-movies , things-i-loved , reviewed , paranormal , dark , mystery. Hell, love is the understatement of the century.
It reminded me exactly of a horror movie I'd see on TV I can't wait to see the movie! I also loved Mattie's character. She was funny, snarky, and quirky. It definitely seemed like she was a real person and not just some character in a book.
I could hardly put it down! I al Words I also loved all the plot twists - I definitely didn't see any of them coming. And holy heck, the cliffhanger at the end—how could you do that to me??? This review is hella long, but holy heck Readers also enjoyed. Young Adult.
About Apryl Baker. Apryl Baker. So who am I? Well, I'm the crazy girl with an imagination that never shuts up. I LOVE scary movies. My friends laugh at me when I scare myself watching them and tell me to stop watching them, but who doesn't love to get scared?
I grew up in a small town nestled in the southern mountains of West Virginia where I spent days roaming around in the woods, climbing trees, and causing general mayhem. Nig So who am I? Nights I would stay up reading Nancy Drew by flashlight under the covers until my parents yelled at me to go to sleep.
Growing up in a small town, I learned a lot of values and morals, I also learned parents have spies everywhere and there's always someone to tell your mama on you. So when you get grounded, what is there left to do? My Aunt Jo gave me my first real romance novel.
It was a romance titled "Lord Margrave's Deception. But I also learned I had a deep and abiding love of mysteries and anything paranormal. As I grew up, I started to write just that and would entertain my friends with stories featuring them as main characters.
Now, I live Huntersville, NC where I entertain my family and watch the cats get teased by the birds and laugh myself silly when they swoop down and then dive back up just out of reach. The cats start yelling something fierce I love books, I love writing books, and I love entertaining people with my silly stories.
Other books in the series. The Ghost Files 6 books. Books by Apryl Baker. Related Articles. We love a good mystery, and we are especially intrigued when a brand-new debut author appears in the genre! Who knows what thrills and Read more Trivia About The Ghost Files No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now ». Quotes from The Ghost Files.
Welcome back. Just a moment while we sign you in to your Goodreads account. Creatures, Creatu YA Buddy Readers' Around the Year i The ghost files! The Spooks Apprentice. T Wave. Vida Nocturna. Christmas Shopping. The Girl in the Basement. Other books by The Ghost Files. Ghost Fire. The Ghost Files 3. The Ghost Files 2. Ghost College. The Ghost Files.
Other books by Apryl Baker. Related articles. Review: The Girl in the Glass Tower. Writing a new Screenplay.
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