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maddiepondss's review against another edition
2.0
What the heck even was that ending?
A lot of things just didn't make sense in this book. Also, really annoying characters. Meh.
A lot of things just didn't make sense in this book. Also, really annoying characters. Meh.
bookstuff's review against another edition
2.0
Reads like an after school special. Not sure why GR kept recommending it to me.
slc333's review against another edition
3.0
This is an enjoyable YA story about loss and forgiveness, letting go, growing up and letting people in after you have been hurt. Cass was severely bullied in junior high – the campaign led by a jealous BFF. Around the same time her older sister drowns and her parents withdraw. Cass is able to see her sisters ghost and then other ghosts hanging around the school. Cass uses secrets told to her by the school ghosts to get her revenge and keep her peers honest which further alienates her from people. Her only friend is her dead sister and that is the way she likes it. Then student VP Tim who recently lost his mother figures out what she can do and convinces her to help him try to contact her. Tim & Cass gradually develop a friendship, although Cass doesn’t really know how to be friends at first. Tim & Cass need each other and are good for one another and Cass is finally able to let go of some of her resentment and anger in order to help Tim.
I would have like to see a bit more romance develop between Cass & Tim but given their issues (and particularly how messed up Tim is) the pace of their relationship in the book is probably a more healthy one.
I received a free copy from the author via instafreebie in return for an honest review.
I would have like to see a bit more romance develop between Cass & Tim but given their issues (and particularly how messed up Tim is) the pace of their relationship in the book is probably a more healthy one.
I received a free copy from the author via instafreebie in return for an honest review.
shannonleighd's review against another edition
2.0
The premise of this book was really interesting, but it ended up just being another cliché- and angst-filled young adult novel. I would give it 2 1/2 stars if I could but I decided to round down because it's not quite a 3 star book.
Cass can see and talk to ghosts. Just before she got this ability she had a huge falling out with her best friend. The best friend, the most popular girl in the school, turned the entire student body of not one, but two schools, against Cass. Now that Cass has a few ghost friends at the school that spy on everyone for her, she has all the dirt on everyone. So she's not picked on or bullied anymore and now everyone pretty much ignores her. Then one of the popular boys, Tim, asks for Cass's help in talking to his recently deceased mother. She decides to help him and slowly beings to form a friendship with someone who's actually alive.
The problem I had with this book was that the main idea seemed fresh but the execution, not so much. The fact that Cass only uses the ghosts to be vindictive and further alienate herself from her classmates is both unimaginative and petty. I understand that she's a teenager and that's how they think, but really, she's just being a jerk. Cass gets excited when she finds out that her ex-best friend is being cheated on and you start to agree with everyone else that Cass is a creepy bitch.
So obviously, I had a hard time connecting with Cass. But then again, any time I read a book about a socially awkward teen outcast I have a hard time connecting so that could just be a problem with me. I don't understand the mentality of being bullied and not standing up for yourself. Cass has no friends and no ambition in life and basically her only goal is to make everyone as miserable as she is, and I just can't fathom putting that much energy into something so negative.
Another big thing that really bothered me; why do so many teen books have to end at the prom? It's just so overdone.
I wish this book had centered more around Cass's ability and her ghosts and less about her petty vindictiveness. Thankfully, she did grow up a little toward the end, but if the author writes a sequel I don't think I'll bother with it.
Cass can see and talk to ghosts. Just before she got this ability she had a huge falling out with her best friend. The best friend, the most popular girl in the school, turned the entire student body of not one, but two schools, against Cass. Now that Cass has a few ghost friends at the school that spy on everyone for her, she has all the dirt on everyone. So she's not picked on or bullied anymore and now everyone pretty much ignores her. Then one of the popular boys, Tim, asks for Cass's help in talking to his recently deceased mother. She decides to help him and slowly beings to form a friendship with someone who's actually alive.
The problem I had with this book was that the main idea seemed fresh but the execution, not so much. The fact that Cass only uses the ghosts to be vindictive and further alienate herself from her classmates is both unimaginative and petty. I understand that she's a teenager and that's how they think, but really, she's just being a jerk. Cass gets excited when she finds out that her ex-best friend is being cheated on and you start to agree with everyone else that Cass is a creepy bitch.
So obviously, I had a hard time connecting with Cass. But then again, any time I read a book about a socially awkward teen outcast I have a hard time connecting so that could just be a problem with me. I don't understand the mentality of being bullied and not standing up for yourself. Cass has no friends and no ambition in life and basically her only goal is to make everyone as miserable as she is, and I just can't fathom putting that much energy into something so negative.
Another big thing that really bothered me; why do so many teen books have to end at the prom? It's just so overdone.
I wish this book had centered more around Cass's ability and her ghosts and less about her petty vindictiveness. Thankfully, she did grow up a little toward the end, but if the author writes a sequel I don't think I'll bother with it.
justasking27's review against another edition
4.0
I don't read much YA any more because the angst and insta-love annoys me too much. But this story grabbed me and kept me hooked from page 1. The characters, 'breathers' and ghosts included, are all layered and realistic, and their development kept the plot moving. Although I think everyone in the story could really use a hug, that's probably true of most people.
serenityfire's review against another edition
3.0
There were elements of this book that I liked, but it really felt like it ended too abruptly. And the heroine was a bit hard to like.
I received a free copy of this book to review.
I received a free copy of this book to review.
aprilbooksandwine's review against another edition
3.0
Cass McKenna from Give Up The Ghost by Megan Crewe has the dirt on everyone, she knows everybody's dirty little secrets. How? Well, she can interact with ghosts, who see everything. However, there is one little problem, some has discovered Cass's secret and now she must decide the value of interacting with humans for a change.
Read the rest of my review here
Read the rest of my review here
devafagan's review against another edition
5.0
I will start this off by admitting that I have known Megan online for many years -- we've exchanged critiques, commiserated over rejections, and cheered each other onward to publication. I am always a little nervous about writing something about a book by a friend -- my policy is to be honest, but I also tend toward the "if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all" camp.
But with this book, I feel free to gush, because I really, truly loved it! I actually had critiqued a much earlier version of the same story several years ago, and thought it was good. But Megan has taken that good story and made it great. The lovely prose and sharp characterization is still there, but this time around I found what I value most in fiction: strong emotional connections to the characters. These characters worked their way into my heart and stuck there.
There's much more I'd like to say, and perhaps I will update this in a bit, but I wanted to get down my initial reaction.
But with this book, I feel free to gush, because I really, truly loved it! I actually had critiqued a much earlier version of the same story several years ago, and thought it was good. But Megan has taken that good story and made it great. The lovely prose and sharp characterization is still there, but this time around I found what I value most in fiction: strong emotional connections to the characters. These characters worked their way into my heart and stuck there.
There's much more I'd like to say, and perhaps I will update this in a bit, but I wanted to get down my initial reaction.
mouse909's review against another edition
5.0
This book was amazing! I loved it and didn't want it to end. It's a must read.