25 Oct 2011

A GOOD DAY FOR HAUNTING.


Most people don't realise that an entire Ghost World exists alongside their own. They aren't aware that they walk with ghosts every day.

Tom Golden is the only one who knows, the only one who can see them.

But when his friends start becoming visible to everyone else, he realises something somewhere has gone very wrong. Can he put it right before the two worlds collide?
..... Outer back cover.

FIRST SENTENCE (CHAPTER 1): You know how some people are utterly proficient liars?

MEMORABLE MOMENT (Page 118): 'There's no medical reason that humans can't see ghosts. It's all to do with that grey ... squishiness .... you carry around in your bony skulls.'

KEEP IT OR NOT?: Not though I will be passing it on to Niece #2 (13).

Grief, one of those books that could be summed up in one word ........ BORING. Alas I don't really like using that word so will substitute it for ......

  • Uninteresting
  • Mundane
  • Trite
  • Vapid.
Overlong and with very little action I really didn't enjoy this read.

Ok, so it was the 3rd book in a series and to be fair it might (though I very much doubt it) have been more readable if I had read any of the previous books as there were a number of references to characters and events that I had no knowledge of.

And talking of references ......

There were several references to films, trends and language that I think many readers may have difficulty understanding and that these references may age the book prematurely.

The plot was rambling, the characters weak and, to my mind at least, unoriginal - apart from the quotes from movies as mentioned above, several scenes put in mind of scenes from Harry Potter and two of the characters bore more than a passing resemblance to characters from the books, only not as well written.

So were there any redeeming features?

I like books that lead to discussions and I think several instances in this novel could lead to interesting discussions on what it is to be 'normal' and what it is to be seen as being different.

There were some funny moments, just not enough and none of them laugh out loud.


A Book Exchange read, this was the 80th book read for my 100+ Reading Challenge.

8 comments:

Mary (Bookfan) said...

Boring? I give you credit for hanging in there til the end!

Amrit said...

I don't know about the book BUT your reviews are so interesting to read :)))

serendipity_viv said...

Sorry it wasn't good. I love the cover though and would probably have picked it up myself.

Kelly said...

Awww. Sad to see a book described by any of those terms, but hey...if it is, then it is!

Betty Manousos said...

sorry to hear it wasn't good.

but i'm really glad you shared that so interesting review, tracy.
you're so talented.

big hugs
betty xx

Melissa (Books and Things) said...

I like the discussion part, but too bad it just didn't rock. Oh well, hope the next is better!

anilkurup59 said...

I think anything that has the unknown and matters that we know are super natural or abnormal as we call, evokes sensation.

Then the craft man-ship of the person who writes the story matters much, and that may be why we run across books that are best forgotten.

Sridharan said...

Book might be so.. but the review is not..!