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aprilbooksandwine's review against another edition
3.0
I’ve decided that I am a fan of the books that come out of Paper Lantern Lit. I loved Venom. I loved Meant To Be. So, it stands to reason that I would end up loving Notes From Ghost Town by Kate Ellison. Unfortunately, I thought that the book did not exactly live up to my expectations. There were some things that Ellison’s sophomore novel did very, very well and other things that leave me feeling unconvinced, if that makes sense. Notes From Ghost Town is many things: a ghost story, a contemporary story, a story of love and loss, a story of family.
Read the rest of my review here
Read the rest of my review here
kylek's review against another edition
2.0
I picked this one up thinking it was going to be really creepy and as exhilarating as the Mara Dyers. We have the teenage girl who thinks is going crazy, a ghost, even a murder! But even with all that this book turned out to be painfully average.
I still don't get why Olivia goes colorblind, and when I saw colorblind I mean she only sees in shades on gray, not like actual colorblindness where you mistake colors for others. If the only reason was because of the shock, then it was kind of a let down. I was expecting something more to come of it.
Olivia was a real brat, she was acting like the divorce and remarriage/Stern's death had just happened when this had all occurred over 10 months ago. I don't blame her with Stern's death, cause you never really just get over something like that, but the divorce was happening even before that, so she really needed to get it together in that regard. She was an ass to her friend too. The way she kept thinking about her made me not like her, but the thing is the friend never really did anything wrong, she was just trying to help distract her from the pain the only way she knew.
The murder mystery was a joke. I don't know why she took so long to figure it out, and she only did once she was confronted with the murderer...I knew who it was as soon as soon as we meet that person. I kept reading thinking it can't be just that, there just had to be more. There were more reasons behind the murder but nothing special, it was all just normal (for a murder).
Up to here I would have even given it 3 stars cause Olivia really does try to figure it out and is putting the pieces together somewhat and it was mildly entertaining. What I couldn't forgive was how EVERYONE kept telling the girl she was making it up.I just got so pissed. It wasn't just her dad either. It was everyoneee, her dad, best friend, possible romantic interest. It was all just a bit much.
In the end this book was just nothing new. I kept reading in the hopes it would pop out with a mind-blowing secret at the end, but no. You get what you see and nothing more.
I still don't get why Olivia goes colorblind, and when I saw colorblind I mean she only sees in shades on gray, not like actual colorblindness where you mistake colors for others. If the only reason was because of the shock, then it was kind of a let down. I was expecting something more to come of it.
Olivia was a real brat, she was acting like the divorce and remarriage/Stern's death had just happened when this had all occurred over 10 months ago. I don't blame her with Stern's death, cause you never really just get over something like that, but the divorce was happening even before that, so she really needed to get it together in that regard. She was an ass to her friend too. The way she kept thinking about her made me not like her, but the thing is the friend never really did anything wrong, she was just trying to help distract her from the pain the only way she knew.
The murder mystery was a joke. I don't know why she took so long to figure it out, and she only did once she was confronted with the murderer...I knew who it was as soon as soon as we meet that person. I kept reading thinking it can't be just that, there just had to be more. There were more reasons behind the murder but nothing special, it was all just normal (for a murder).
Up to here I would have even given it 3 stars cause Olivia really does try to figure it out and is putting the pieces together somewhat and it was mildly entertaining. What I couldn't forgive was how EVERYONE kept telling the girl she was making it up.
Spoiler
Your daughter is telling you someone tried to kill her and you tell her she is just making it up?! REALLY? Wouldn't you AT LEAST hear her all out and look into it a bit, just to make sure someone isn't actually trying to kill her?In the end this book was just nothing new. I kept reading in the hopes it would pop out with a mind-blowing secret at the end, but no. You get what you see and nothing more.
swirlnswing's review against another edition
3.0
Not sure how to rate this one. Throughout reading, I felt a strong compulsion to skim - it seemed to drag, although there was actually quite a bit that happened throughout the story itself. That said, I was a bit teary-red at the end, so ... Let's go with 3.5 stars for a story that handles mental illness the way it should be and doesn't trivialize the impact that first love and tragedy can have on people of all ages.
Also, that last page.... Adored.
Also, that last page.... Adored.
xan_van_rooyen's review
3.0
I'm not usually a big fan of contemporary books, but I thought I'd like this because of the supernatural element to it. The blurb made it sound more like a ghost love story than it really was.
I did enjoy this story although the pacing seemed really slow. It took forever to get the story moving forward and even then it was more of a shuffle. Around 80% of the way through, the tension picks up and there are a few engaging, awesome, couldn't-put-it-down chapters. After that it seems to take the book forever to end. It reminded me a bit of the third installment of the Lord of the Rings trilogy where it could've ended in about five different places but just kept on going. The ending we do eventually get wasn't nearly as powerful as some of the endings of previous chapters so I found that somewhat disappointing.
I tend to be overly critical of books dealing with music, particularly piano, particularly classical music. Considering one of the characters was auditioning for Julliard and was considered a piano prodigy, I really battled to understand the choice of Elvira Madigan. One, that's a concerto, not a sonata, and he would thus have been accompanied by someone playing the orchestral part on a second piano, but there is no mention of that at all in the book. Two, that is neither a particularly showy nor technically advanced piece. If you're auditioning for Julliard and consider yourself a 'piano god' (direct quote from the character) then surely you could've whipped out something a little more show-stopping by Liszt or Rach or Scriabin or even Chopin. There were also a few other inaccurate references such as a pianist playing a symphony - grr, pet peeve. If you're going to write about art music, get it right!
Despite my issues with the book, I did mostly enjoy it and loved Olivia's friends although I wasn't the biggest fan of Olivia herself. Overall, a decent read.
I did enjoy this story although the pacing seemed really slow. It took forever to get the story moving forward and even then it was more of a shuffle. Around 80% of the way through, the tension picks up and there are a few engaging, awesome, couldn't-put-it-down chapters. After that it seems to take the book forever to end. It reminded me a bit of the third installment of the Lord of the Rings trilogy where it could've ended in about five different places but just kept on going. The ending we do eventually get wasn't nearly as powerful as some of the endings of previous chapters so I found that somewhat disappointing.
I tend to be overly critical of books dealing with music, particularly piano, particularly classical music. Considering one of the characters was auditioning for Julliard and was considered a piano prodigy, I really battled to understand the choice of Elvira Madigan. One, that's a concerto, not a sonata, and he would thus have been accompanied by someone playing the orchestral part on a second piano, but there is no mention of that at all in the book. Two, that is neither a particularly showy nor technically advanced piece. If you're auditioning for Julliard and consider yourself a 'piano god' (direct quote from the character) then surely you could've whipped out something a little more show-stopping by Liszt or Rach or Scriabin or even Chopin. There were also a few other inaccurate references such as a pianist playing a symphony - grr, pet peeve. If you're going to write about art music, get it right!
Despite my issues with the book, I did mostly enjoy it and loved Olivia's friends although I wasn't the biggest fan of Olivia herself. Overall, a decent read.
brokebybooks's review against another edition
3.0
Won a hardcover copy from The Reading Teen with a paperback copy of The Butterfly Clues.
Compared to The Butterfly Clues, there's more mystery, family and teen drama. Liver is less out there than Lo with using alcohol and sex to cope. The perspective is standard aside from being colorblind.
The "color blind but now I see" is too on the nose.
It feels forced, especially having it set in a week before Owen died. There doesn't seem to be a rhyme or reason to it. It just happens like that for tension and drama.
I think I'd like it better if seemed tied to one specific thing, like kissing Owen and getting closure with him or her mother committing murder and getting closure with her. Instead it's both and neither.
Mystery-wise it's more solid and straight forward. It's layered and flowed better than The Butterfly Clues but I still called it before 100 pages. Olivia's risky behavior has more to do with inner turmoil than the mystery.
It builds slowly considering we know going in she's going to investigate Owen's murder and there's obviously something to find. While reading and after finishing, I still had twinges that it was feeling too long. Maybe it could've been tighter but...meh.
It's more suspenseful and tense than The Butterfly Clues though I can't pinpoint why. I think it boils down to better disbursing and management of the clues.
The countdown for Liver's mother's hearing has a lot of wasted time with kid's wasted hookups and family drama. But at least some of it has a point in the plot besides being theatrical.
I do like how figuring out the 5 W's isn't the end. Olivia still has to prove it and that she's not making stuff up.
The personal stories afterwards is wrapped up well. It felt like good closure.
Not bad, not remarkable but solid and enjoyable.
atschakfoert's review
3.0
Pretty predictable and none of the characters were very likable....except for the dead kid....and the homeless lady. But it was a nice, quick read for a snowy afternoon.
lillahexan's review against another edition
4.0
This is hard to review because I don't feel like I connected very well with Olivia. This is a very sad story, and I didn't feel very sad watching her anguish. On the other hand, I thought her pain and confusion was very well done. Being torn between Stern--the dead boy she loved and Austen, a living breathing boy was very realistic. Her struggle to accept her father's new bride-to-be is also very understandable and realistic.
I think overall this is a decent mystery novel. I didn't expect what happened at the end. I am a bit disappointed there was nothing much creepy. Ghost stories should always be creepy! But this wasn't a ghost story. Not really. And this part of the novel was never really explained. Was it Olivia imagining things? Was Stern really visiting her and leading her towards the truth? Olivia doesn't figure it out and neither does the reader.
The writing is good, the storyline is significantly engaging. I don't usually reading YA like this and I enjoyed it, even if there were times I dreaded going back to it. I think it deserves 4 stars.
I think overall this is a decent mystery novel. I didn't expect what happened at the end. I am a bit disappointed there was nothing much creepy. Ghost stories should always be creepy! But this wasn't a ghost story. Not really. And this part of the novel was never really explained. Was it Olivia imagining things? Was Stern really visiting her and leading her towards the truth? Olivia doesn't figure it out and neither does the reader.
The writing is good, the storyline is significantly engaging. I don't usually reading YA like this and I enjoyed it, even if there were times I dreaded going back to it. I think it deserves 4 stars.
alittlebookish's review against another edition
3.0
This book is about Olivia, a teen whose mom has some mental health issues. After finding out her mom killed her best friend/love, Olivia goes colour blind and begins seeing her dead best friend/love Lucas.
I got this book from Netgalley for review and it took me a while to find the time to read this one. When I first saw it I was really excited for it but for some reason the book just wasn't calling my name.
Even as I read it I found that I couldn't get quite into the book. I really really wanted to because I love a good ghost story. I think there were just a couple things that bugged me. To begin with, the whole colour blind thing seemed a little far fetched. I can see where Ellison was going with it- Olivia wasn't really living until she figured everything out and let go of the past and came to terms with her mother's mental illness. That being said, I think that the novel could have taken place without that element of the story.
I do like the whole mystery to the novel but I have to admit that after reading countless adult mystery novels, I kind of figured out the ending way before it happened. I think that this may have been a case of reading a YA book that was a little too YA for me. Again, as you can see from my blog, I love reading YA and most times I think it's done in a way that all ages can read it. This just wasn't the case, for me, this time around. I think that in the future I will stick to adult mystery novels.
I did quite enjoy Ellison's writing style and I think that many will enjoy this novel. There are ghosts, and a crazed murderer, what more could you ask for?
I got this book from Netgalley for review and it took me a while to find the time to read this one. When I first saw it I was really excited for it but for some reason the book just wasn't calling my name.
Even as I read it I found that I couldn't get quite into the book. I really really wanted to because I love a good ghost story. I think there were just a couple things that bugged me. To begin with, the whole colour blind thing seemed a little far fetched. I can see where Ellison was going with it- Olivia wasn't really living until she figured everything out and let go of the past and came to terms with her mother's mental illness. That being said, I think that the novel could have taken place without that element of the story.
I do like the whole mystery to the novel but I have to admit that after reading countless adult mystery novels, I kind of figured out the ending way before it happened. I think that this may have been a case of reading a YA book that was a little too YA for me. Again, as you can see from my blog, I love reading YA and most times I think it's done in a way that all ages can read it. This just wasn't the case, for me, this time around. I think that in the future I will stick to adult mystery novels.
I did quite enjoy Ellison's writing style and I think that many will enjoy this novel. There are ghosts, and a crazed murderer, what more could you ask for?
amanda_'s review against another edition
2.0
“Cerebral achromatopsia, which seems to be what you’re complaining of, is almost unheard of. It’s an extremely rare condition—almost always a result of some kind of damage to the occipital lobe on both hemispheres of the brain, which is why it’s so unlikely that you have it.”
Notes from Ghost Town was not my favorite. It's the story of Olivia. Last year her best friend, Lucas Stern, was killed. Just before this, Olivia realized that there might be more to their relationship than just friendship, but she never got the chance to tell him that. Not only was he murdered, but the suspect for the murder was no one else than Olivia's own mother. It's now almost a year later and the hearing regarding Lucas Stern's death is coming up. Right before everything went down, Olivia's parents split up, and now, almost a year later, her father is planning his wedding to his new girlfriend. But then, by a turn of events, Olivia sees Lucas' ghost, and he claims it was not Olivia's mother who killed him. And so, Olivia sets out to find the truth.
Now, I had my issues with the book: Olivia was not likable and refused to accept anyone's help, she constantly whined about how no one saw her and her father and his new girlfriend. It was all reasonable for her to be acting up (she's seeing her best friend's ghost, her mother is in jail, Olivia is afraid she might be schizophrenic like her mother (due to the sudden lack of colors in her vision "The Gray Space" her mother always talked about), but it was almost impossible to sympathize with her anyway. Mostly because Lucas Stern was such a small part of the book; we never get to see what their relationship was like before he died except for a short story about when they kissed. Then there was the mother we never got to see Olivia's relationship with her mother, we were told all about it. Since these two people (and relationships with Olivia) are what's bothering and pushing Olivia at the moment, it was hard to understand her motivation.
The second biggest issue was the mystery regarding Lucas Stern's death. For people who haven't read mystery a lot, it might have been full of, well, mystery and suspense. But personally, it never resonated with me: it's easy to predict what will happen, who was the murdered. Especially the latter was incredibly easy given that there are only one major option to who could be the murderer among the cast. All together, it ended up being a read where I waited for everyone else to catch up (even before clues were given) and in the light of that, with not having to focus too much on the mystery, the rest of the cast came off flat and underdeveloped. There's even a love interest that played a part, but the romance element of it all felt forced, like something that "should" be in the book simply because it's young adult.
Despite all the issues, the writing was strong. It flows well and was surprisingly readable, and even when the story went a little too slow (for my taste) it kept me reading simply for the pretty writing. So while the story was not strong or convincing enough, the writing certainly was!