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blurrypetals's review against another edition
5.0
I'm a huge sucker for sweet romances. It's out of character for a girl like me, but it's the kind of stuff I will blast straight through.
I think I first heard about this book on a site called Gaiaonline and someone described it as "a story about a ghost who falls in love with a human." I think I rolled my eyes so hard it hurt when I read that. Thinking something like, "Oh jeeze, not another Twilight knockoff."
Regardless, I skipped on over to Barnes and Noble's website to read the reviews. And I sort of ordered a $4.00 copy when I saw nothing but five star reviews on the front page (and the fact that it was published the same year as Twilight, and therefore, wasn't a cheap knockoff). I almost wish I would have paid more for the book. It feels like I should have paid more for the amount of enjoyment I got out of it.
However much I paid for it, though, the book ended up being just...absolutely touching. I've never read a love story that's felt more real than this. I also haven't cried so hard over a book since the end of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, three and a half years ago. It's sad. But it's happy. Maybe I'm weird for crying. I dunno.
I think I first heard about this book on a site called Gaiaonline and someone described it as "a story about a ghost who falls in love with a human." I think I rolled my eyes so hard it hurt when I read that. Thinking something like, "Oh jeeze, not another Twilight knockoff."
Regardless, I skipped on over to Barnes and Noble's website to read the reviews. And I sort of ordered a $4.00 copy when I saw nothing but five star reviews on the front page (and the fact that it was published the same year as Twilight, and therefore, wasn't a cheap knockoff). I almost wish I would have paid more for the book. It feels like I should have paid more for the amount of enjoyment I got out of it.
However much I paid for it, though, the book ended up being just...absolutely touching. I've never read a love story that's felt more real than this. I also haven't cried so hard over a book since the end of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, three and a half years ago. It's sad. But it's happy. Maybe I'm weird for crying. I dunno.
outoftheblue14's review against another edition
5.0
Someone was looking at me, a disturing sensation if you're dead. I was with my teacher, Mr Brown. As usual, we were in our classroom, that safe and wooden-walled box - the windows opening onto the grassy field to the west, the fading flag standing in the chalk dusty corner, the television set mounted above the bulletin board like a sleeping eye, and Mr Brown's princely table keeping watch over a regimen of student desks.
I stumbled upon a copy of A Certain Slant of Light by Laura Whitcomb, a YA ghost story. Not my usual read, but I'm glad I stepepd outside of my usual boundaries to try this. It was a very good book.
After benignly haunting people for 130 years, Helen finds out that a boy named Billy Blake can see her. Helen can't remember anything about her past life except for her name and age - she is never seen or heard by the people she haunts, whom she calls her "hosts" She refers to herself as Light, while she calls living human beings the Quick.
Helen discovers that Billy Blake's spirit left his body and now he is being possessed by a ghost named James, with whom she falls in love. At first, the fact that she hasn't got a body is an obstacle to Helen and James' relationship, but then Helen finds a girl, Jenny, whose spirit has also left her body. Helen and James can be together, then, and start to discover the mysteries of their past.
This is not your usual ghost story, and it is not your usual love story between teenagers, either, partly because Helen and James are adult ghosts in the body of teenagers. Their love story is intense and romantic, depicted in vivid terms, and this is one of the reasosn why the book is more suitable for older teenagers and adults.
One of the aspects I really liked about A Certain Slant of Light is the literary quotations. Helen usually haunts people with literary aspirations - she likes literature and poetry. The title itself refers to a line by Emily Dickinson, and the full name of the boy whose body James possesses is William Blake. Moreover, the book contains direct literary quotations, for example from Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre. This is one of the features that make this book less of a ghost story and more of a literary piece of fiction.
I liked this book very much. Laura Whitcomb has a talent with descriptions - while reading the book you can feel the characters' pain and feelings. I'd recommend this book, not only to lovers of ghost stories or YA books.
I stumbled upon a copy of A Certain Slant of Light by Laura Whitcomb, a YA ghost story. Not my usual read, but I'm glad I stepepd outside of my usual boundaries to try this. It was a very good book.
After benignly haunting people for 130 years, Helen finds out that a boy named Billy Blake can see her. Helen can't remember anything about her past life except for her name and age - she is never seen or heard by the people she haunts, whom she calls her "hosts" She refers to herself as Light, while she calls living human beings the Quick.
Helen discovers that Billy Blake's spirit left his body and now he is being possessed by a ghost named James, with whom she falls in love. At first, the fact that she hasn't got a body is an obstacle to Helen and James' relationship, but then Helen finds a girl, Jenny, whose spirit has also left her body. Helen and James can be together, then, and start to discover the mysteries of their past.
This is not your usual ghost story, and it is not your usual love story between teenagers, either, partly because Helen and James are adult ghosts in the body of teenagers. Their love story is intense and romantic, depicted in vivid terms, and this is one of the reasosn why the book is more suitable for older teenagers and adults.
One of the aspects I really liked about A Certain Slant of Light is the literary quotations. Helen usually haunts people with literary aspirations - she likes literature and poetry. The title itself refers to a line by Emily Dickinson, and the full name of the boy whose body James possesses is William Blake. Moreover, the book contains direct literary quotations, for example from Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre. This is one of the features that make this book less of a ghost story and more of a literary piece of fiction.
I liked this book very much. Laura Whitcomb has a talent with descriptions - while reading the book you can feel the characters' pain and feelings. I'd recommend this book, not only to lovers of ghost stories or YA books.
sarawildoosen's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Confinement
Moderate: Grief, Eating disorder, Pregnancy, Emotional abuse, and Drug use
Minor: Violence, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and Vomit
coraleva1993's review against another edition
3.0
I really love the concept of A Certain Slant of Light - the idea of spirits being trapped on earth and finding hosts is really interesting. It reminded me of [b:Her Fearful Symmetry|6202342|Her Fearful Symmetry|Audrey Niffenegger|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327939087l/6202342._SY75_.jpg|6382826] by Audrey Niffenger and [b:Behind Her Eyes|28965131|Behind Her Eyes|Sarah Pinborough|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1485279813l/28965131._SY75_.jpg|49193186] by Sarah Pinborough.
The start was a little too slow for my liking, and it took a while for the story to pick up - it wasn't until later on in the book i felt it was a real page turner.
That being said, this ticks the boxes of a Young Adult Fiction book - had I read this when I was a teenager, think I would have been obsessed with it.
The start was a little too slow for my liking, and it took a while for the story to pick up - it wasn't until later on in the book i felt it was a real page turner.
That being said, this ticks the boxes of a Young Adult Fiction book - had I read this when I was a teenager, think I would have been obsessed with it.
devansbooklife's review against another edition
5.0
I feel that any review I give will not do justice to what this book made me feel. I thought I was entering a chilling, ghost story. And I did, but I also got so much more. Laura Whitcomb has and astounding talent with words and this story is written in beautiful prose. The story is unique and the characters charming. I found Helen's character sweet and kind and was excited when she finally received some positive attention. Her haunting nature was a gift to those she clung to, and when she meets James she find herself blossoming. Can you image 130 years of isolation? 130 years of being unseen? That fact alone is the reason the insta-connection between James and Helen did not bother me. To quotes James, "How could we not? It's as if we were the only two of a species or the only two people on earth who spoke the same language. How could we not be with each other?" They are connected because they have been alienated for years. Like seeks like. They are already familiar. But the new world and the bodies they have taken over have bigger issues than either of them realize. Because I fell in love with these characters and the lives they began, I cannot wait to read book two. Jenny and Billy wake to find out that they are connected, but neither on can remember why.
stephxsu's review against another edition
2.0
Helen has been a ghost for over a century. Unseen and unable to communicate with anyone, she attaches herself to various human hosts in order to fight back her own personal hell. But then one day a human boy sees her. It's Billy, but it's not really him; instead, a ghost named James has occupied Billy's body instead. Persuaded by James, Helen occupies the spiritless body of Jenny and finds herself able to touch and sense the world around her. She and James, now in human bodies, develop their romance.
But each teenager's family has problems, and it's up to Helen and James to figure out what happened and right it, so that the spirits of Billy and Jenny can come back. But what will happen to Helen and James when they succeed?
While the plot is incredible, I felt like there was something important missing, and that was characterization. I wasn't able to feel connected with any of the characters. It was like looking at several people's interconnected problems through a glass pane. Thus, sadly, this book did not strike me in any serious way.
But each teenager's family has problems, and it's up to Helen and James to figure out what happened and right it, so that the spirits of Billy and Jenny can come back. But what will happen to Helen and James when they succeed?
While the plot is incredible, I felt like there was something important missing, and that was characterization. I wasn't able to feel connected with any of the characters. It was like looking at several people's interconnected problems through a glass pane. Thus, sadly, this book did not strike me in any serious way.
4saradouglas's review against another edition
3.0
That was really weird! I liked the beginning, and the end made me cry quite a lot, but the middle was just... strange. It was insta-love, but this time with ghosts! And if you instantly fall in love with another ghost, you must then steal a body so you can consummate your love, right? And if the girl whose body you stole was only 15 and part of a very conservative family? Oops. I wish the middle had been tightened up and revised quite a bit and this really could have been a five star novel.
eatingwords's review against another edition
2.0
I had this e-book for quite some time now and I finally came around to reading it.
I heard this book had received high ratings, although I didn't know what it was even about. Just that there was something about a ghost as a main character.
This book unfortunately wasn't for me. It was okay. The story of Jenny and her life was definitely interesting, I couldn't relate in any way to James'/Billy's story. It just did nothing for me. James and Helen as such seemed also very shallow and their behaviour just didn't fit with them being hundreds of years old while haunting people/places and dying when they were almost thirty. They acted like small children sometimes.
Things that bothered me:
The instalove.
This whole relationship between Helen and James was rushed and their "love" just didn't seem authentic at all.
The religious part.
Don't get me wrong. I have nothing against religion, but if it is practiced and lived the way it is by Jenny's parents; it is something to get concerned about. I didn't understand how Jenny aka Helen just didn't do anything to set herself against her parents; to stop them from being ridiculous.
The ghost part.
I think there should have been more depth to the actual ghost part. Why they were ghosts in the first place and did not go to "heaven" or wherever. This mystery was solved in the end and fell pretty flat for me. It was disappointing to say the least.
I just was underwhelmed by this book. It had a [b:The Lovely Bones|12232938|The Lovely Bones|Alice Sebold|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1312524577s/12232938.jpg|1145090]-esque feel to it, where taking over another human being to violate their bodies just ruined the book for me.
The writing was nice and easy to follow, but it didn't save the story unfortunately.
Also the ending left almost everything out in the open: what happens to Billy and Jenny after they have regained their bodies? What about Jenny's mother? What about Helen and James? Did they now happily go to heaven like they wanted for years?
But I've seen that there is a companion novel to this book, but whether I'll read it or not, I don't know. Definitely not in the near future.
I heard this book had received high ratings, although I didn't know what it was even about. Just that there was something about a ghost as a main character.
This book unfortunately wasn't for me. It was okay. The story of Jenny and her life was definitely interesting, I couldn't relate in any way to James'/Billy's story. It just did nothing for me. James and Helen as such seemed also very shallow and their behaviour just didn't fit with them being hundreds of years old while haunting people/places and dying when they were almost thirty. They acted like small children sometimes.
Things that bothered me:
The instalove.
This whole relationship between Helen and James was rushed and their "love" just didn't seem authentic at all.
The religious part.
Don't get me wrong. I have nothing against religion, but if it is practiced and lived the way it is by Jenny's parents; it is something to get concerned about. I didn't understand how Jenny aka Helen just didn't do anything to set herself against her parents; to stop them from being ridiculous.
The ghost part.
I think there should have been more depth to the actual ghost part. Why they were ghosts in the first place and did not go to "heaven" or wherever. This mystery was solved in the end and fell pretty flat for me. It was disappointing to say the least.
I just was underwhelmed by this book. It had a [b:The Lovely Bones|12232938|The Lovely Bones|Alice Sebold|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1312524577s/12232938.jpg|1145090]-esque feel to it, where taking over another human being to violate their bodies just ruined the book for me.
The writing was nice and easy to follow, but it didn't save the story unfortunately.
Also the ending left almost everything out in the open: what happens to Billy and Jenny after they have regained their bodies? What about Jenny's mother? What about Helen and James? Did they now happily go to heaven like they wanted for years?
But I've seen that there is a companion novel to this book, but whether I'll read it or not, I don't know. Definitely not in the near future.
eachjen's review against another edition
2.0
Saw this book recommended somewhere, and I will never read another book from that list again. Not a fan of this one.