Look, the dead have issues, and Cara has enough of her own. Her overbearing mother insists she be the “perfect” Chinese American daughter—which means suppressing her ghost-speaking powers—and she keeps getting into fights with Zacharias Coleson, the local golden boy whose smirk makes her want to set things on fire.
Then she stumbles across Zach’s dead body in the woods. He’s even more infuriating as a ghost, but Cara’s the only one who can see him—and save him.
Agreeing to resurrect him puts her at odds with her mother, draws her into a dangerous liminal world of monsters and magic—and worse, leaves her stuck with Zach. Yet as she and Zach grow closer, forced to depend on each other to survive, Cara finds the most terrifying thing is that she might not hate him so much after all.
Maybe this is why her mother warned her about ghosts. (Pub Date: Sep 26 2023)
This book has got a beautiful cover and a great backstory. Cara, a Chinese American who can see and speak to ghosts, has had to hide her powers since forever, as her mother hopes they will eventually go away. One day, she finds the boy she hates the most has died, but according to the story his ghost tells her, there is a chance they can bring him back if they can find the antidote to the magical snake that bit him within seven days. But for that, Cara would have not only to use her powers but also put her own life on the line.
The universe built here seems very cool if you discount the scary ghosts (and humans). Magical creatures, ghost hunters, helping people who died make the passage. Cara can actually see the deceased grandmother she never met in life, and this grandmother is a badass helping ghosts. The part of how conflicted Cara is with her mother wanting her to forget all this and with her grandmother who wants her to learn everything, it's also very relatable, even if none of us are in the art of ghost speaking. And during the development, we're taken on a journey through all the possibilities the book universe can offer: fantastic lands, terrible humans, beautiful creatures that should not exist. If you're not a fan of pure fantasy but like a book that doesn't stay too grounded, this is a great mix of contemporary and fantastic.
However, I'm not a fan of adventure. The cover and the description made me believe this book would be more centered on all the drama going on—and there's a lot. They do explore each of them coming to a good conclusion. But the focus is on the literal journey Cara and Zach must take to find the antidote. And to me that was very boring. Again, this is a me problem, who isn't into action unless I'm really in the mood for some. I wasn't.
One more thing I didn't realize until I was way past the middle is that this is written to be a series. There is so much they bring up in the story that never gets explained... To be honest, even for something that needs some loose ends to be continued, I got teased too much. For example, right in the beginning Cara's grandmother mentions Zach's grandfather. I may have not realized that they answered it, but I don't think they ever did. So did this have to have been so in the beginning, like it was a big twist to be expected? I didn't even know it was a series, if it will really become one (as of now, July 2023, Goodreads doesn't mention anything).
It's still a nice read with different elements that make it refreshing.
Honest review based on an ARC provided by Netgalley. Many thanks to the publisher for this opportunity.
Rating: 3 out of 5.
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