Reviews

Ghosts of Harvard by Francesca Serritella

spicypenguin's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

mbkarapcik's review against another edition

3.0

While the writing in this novel is beautiful and highly descriptive, sometimes there's just too much of it. It slows down the plot. However, you can tell how much the author enjoyed her time at Harvard by the lovingly rendered descriptions in the book.

The story does capture your interest and every so often takes hold of you with surprise, but the plot is very convoluted with too many pans on the fire. Some things just don't dovetail as much as they could. Some stories seem too quickly wrapped up and others disappear.

All that being said, much research went into this book, and the writing is strong and eloquent. This is her first long-form novel, despite her entertaining and soulful essays she shares in books with her mom, so I think she will go forward with more stronger books in the future. The plot is very original and refreshing from most fare out there--mental illness, history, paranormal situations, other subjects I cannot mention. Most books don't cover the diverse material you'll find in this novel.

chaosandbooks's review against another edition

2.0

I'm not really sure what I was hoping for with this book, but it just couldn't hold my interest the way other dark academia have in the past. It essentially examines the way grief and mental illness affect a family as the main character tries to understand the days before her brother's death. I mostly felt frustrated while reading this book and the ending left me sadder than anything else. I also wasn't a fan of the ghosts, although I recognize the author's attempts to create conversation. They felt forced more than anything else.

melaniereads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

romethegreenwood's review

2.0

this would have been a three star book for enjoyment but

the author decided that actually the evil professor is working with the bad bad foreign russians instead of the notoriously good department of defense??? also the white saviour narrative which the author clearly recognised she’d done because Ranjoo calls it as such?

also cady was ridiculously bland i could not name a single character trait of hers beyond dedication to figuring out what went down with her brother. absurd and abysmal choices. 

kristenelizabeth's review against another edition

3.75

Despite its plot holes and odd turns, this story was emotional and atmospheric and did really draw me in.

mimsyreads's review against another edition

4.0

this is a ~450 pg book, and i got through it in 3 sittings, mostly because of the easy pacing and narrative structure. in reading what is considered dark academia, i notice a few essential qualities that each novel should have under that genre: this one carries that similar guise quite well.

one thing: i grew progressively more stressed as i navigated my way thru this work, as our main character delved deeper into the explorative obsession for her brother’s moments at harvard. this alone was generally enough to keep me hooked me reading (at 3am, as usual). cannot speak for how accurate the portrayal of mental illness was, but i can tell that a lot of thought and research was involved in the creation of the story. i would say that the last few sections of the novel seemed more so out of the blue and rushed, so i can’t exactly give it all five stars.

thebookhaze's review against another edition

4.0

This is a very interesting story in that I had no idea where it was going to go. I found this book only beause I was reading Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo and people said that Ghosts of Harvard was similar. It is in some ways; just the general premise of ghosts at a prestigious college that the protagonist can communicate with, but this is a completely different story. A little bit more realistic than fantastic, but they are both pretty dark in their own ways.

I listened to this on audiobook initially and realized later, when I switched to the ebook, that I might've missed some nuances in the story because I got confused over who was speaking with some of the dialogues. I'll also say that there is a LOT going on in this book,

Spoiler

her brother's suicide and schizophrenia, her own mental health, the ghosts, her parents' relationship and roles in the story, her friends and roommates and their roles in the story, the various different professors and their stories, the things she had to deal with as a regular college student, conspiracy theories, espionage...

and they aren't just little things here and there, almost all of them had some kind of weight to the story. Which is at the same time incredible and somewhat frustrating because I feel like this could've become a longer-running series with some very interesting characters, and we weren't able to see enough of it.

Who knows? A single book can very well turn into a TV series, and it could happen with this book too. It's happened before.

hayleybeale's review against another edition

3.0

This is an odd mishmash of a book with two distinct storylines, one of which worked for me and one didn't. Cady Archer starts at Harvard, a year after her mentally ill brother committed suicide there. As she tries to find out more about what led to his death, she starts hearing voices which turn out to be the aforementioned Harvard ghosts. The novel feels unnecessarily long and does get caught up in the weeds a bit, but there's some interesting ideas mixed in with some nonsense.

rageofachilles's review against another edition

4.0

Pretty good campus novel. A thriller, mystery, and quasi-supernatural book rolled into one.