The Dead and Buried

by Kim Harrington

home sweet home...

Jade loves the house she's just moved into with her family. She doesn't even mind being the new girl at the high school: It's a fresh start, and there's that one guy with the dreamy blue eyes...

But then things begin happening. Strange, otherworldly things. Jade's little brother claims to see a glimmering girl in his room. Jade's jewelry gets moved around, as if by an invisible hand. Kids at school whisper behind her back like they know something she doesn't.

Soon, Jade must face an impossible fact: that her perfect house... is haunted.

Haunted by a ghost who's seeking not just vengeance, but the truth. The ghost of a girl who ruled Jade's school - until her untimely death last year. It's up to Jade to put the pieces together before her own life is at stake. As Jade investigates the mystery, she discovers that her new friends in town have more than a few deep, dark secrets.

But is one of them a murderer?

Genres: Young Adult, Mystery, Paranormal, Ghosts, Horror, Romance, Fantasy

295 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

Kim Harrington is the author of A Killer for Christmas, her debut adult mystery coming in 2026 from Crooked Lane Books. She is also known for her teen novels Clarity, Perception, The Dead and Buried, and Forget Me, as well as books for younger readers including Revenge of the Red Club, the Sleuth or Dare series, and Gamer Squad series. Visit her website at KimHarringtonBooks.com.

Reviews

[jv poore · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It begins with an entry from the diary of Kayla Sloane. She appears to have a remarkably high opinion of herself, coupled with an incredibly low opinion of everyone else. She is the ultimate Mean Girl. It is easy to despise her…..even after learning that she is also the Dead Girl. Of course her death is shrouded in mystery. Was it an accident? Was she killed? If she was killed, who did it? These questions envelop Woodbridge High like a thick, smothering fog. Chasms among the student body are created.

While Kayla’s diary entries appear throughout the book to provide insight and clues, we really get the story from Jade’s point of view. So enters the New Girl. Jade believes her dream has come true as she prepares to start her senior year in a suburban high school, instead of her tiny hometown school. Jade has the confidence to stick to her beliefs, she is honest, thoughtful, willing to give anyone a chance, and she is loyal and strong.

There are two traits in particular that I feel make Jade a stand-out character. She is completely smitten with her adorable little brother. She is fiercely protective of him, and will do anything to keep him safe, even if it means making a deal with Kayla’s ghost. Her “hobby” of collecting gemstones adds that ‘something different’ that I long for in such outstanding novels. Jade knows what each crystal represents and what powers it is thought to possess.

Ms. Harrington was spot on with the personalities of the supporting characters. We have the Jock and his Little Sis, the (Sorta) Mean Girl, the Robot Girl, and the Sullen Boy. If someone did kill Kayla, surely it had to be one of these people. Everyone had a motive. Everyone had opportunity. Jade must sort this out quickly. Kayla’s spirit is angrier and more threatening each day.

This captivating story unfolds at a fast-pace. I hated having to put the book down. When I wasn’t reading, I was thinking about when I could squeeze in another chapter. Not only would I highly recommend this book to my fellow readers, I would also suggest it for any teacher and/or parent hoping to get kids to enjoy reading.

[Maja (The Nocturnal Library) · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are several things you can count on when you pick up one of Kim Harrington’s books. First, that it’ll be entertaining, if a bit predictable. Second, that the main character will be likeable enough and that she won’t make incredibly stupid choices at every turn. Third, that there’s a decently plotted mystery at the center. Fourth, that she knows how to write sweet and believable romances. And last, that you’ll forget all the details in about a month or so.

I’ll tackle this (more or less) in order, shall I?

Like Clarity and Perception before it, The Dead and Buried is a read-in-one-sitting book. It’s rather short, you see, but more importantly, it’s well-paced and quite engaging. Because of its shortness, there are no filler chapters, everything that happens is pertinent to the mystery and Harrington gives you no time to relax. If you are to guess, or even just speculate the identity of Kayla Sloane’s murderer, your eyes must be wide open at all times. Even the smallest thing might be relevant.

Jade was a great main character, mature and organized, very self-aware. She was never careless or ignorant and she knew how to stand up for herself. I expected no less from Kim Harrington, especially since she didn’t need cheap tricks to further complicate the plot. Two boys were interested in Jade, but although she interacted with both, the love triangle never reared its ugly head. It was never a question who she’d end up with, only when and how. I liked how Jade handled that entire situation, and I especially liked how she treated both Donovan and Kane. She was attracted to Donovan from the first time she saw him and she was very much aware of it the entire time. For his part, Donovan was very sweet and outspoken about his feelings. His girlfriend died only six months before Jade moved into her house so of course he had a few issues, but I thought he handled them well overall and I really liked him.

The mystery was a tiny bit predictable, I admit, but whenever I started thinking that Harrington would fall into a painfully predictable pattern, Jade did something gutsy and unexpected that surprised me and put my mind at ease. I suppose there are worse things than an easy-to-guess murderer, especially if the main character is interesting enough and the book is tightly paced.

Lastly, the fact remains that I couldn’t remember the details of Clarity to save my life (although I do remember the basic plot and some of the characters) and I have a feeling it will be even worse with The Dead and Buried. It’s not a book meant to stay with you, but that’s something I can occasionally appreciate.

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually liked this quite a bit. It reminded me of the books I read when I was a teen and it gave me flashbacks to when we'd have sleepovers and play with an Ouija board and try to have seances.

This is pretty much your standard paranormal YA mystery with mean girls, a love triangle, and the protagonist being the new kid in town but somehow managed to not feel stale or boring. Yes, this has been done a million times before but it actually kept me guessing until the end. I enjoyed the fact that I followed the main character's thoughts and assumptions and arrived at the same conclusions she did. I was also glad that even though this was full of a ton of YA clichés, the characters didn't always do or say the things I thought they would.

Harrington has a nice easy flow to her writing that makes me want to seek out more of her books. If you're looking for something quick to read with mean girls, cute boys, a haunted house, and a mystery to solve, this is a really good standalone book to pick up.

[Louie the Mustache Matos · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Dead and Buried is a stand-alone YA horror, paranormal, mystery novel written by Kim Harrington. Jade has moved into a beautiful new home where a teen her age died. Her little brother begins to tell her about the glimmer girl in his room. Apparently, her death was not accidental. Kayla was a mean girl, and she has decided (as a ghost) that if Jade refuses to help her find the killer, she might just possess Jade’s little brother. The writing is strong. The characters are fleshed out. Jade is not a standard horror movie protagonist. The boy is suitably angst-ridden. The stepmother is well-written. There is a lot to like except that I figured out the whodunnit, and whydunit very early on. Still, this is way better than the usual horror dreck.

[Giselle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hauntings! In real life I would die of terror if I came upon a ghost, so naturally, I love reading about them to psyche myself out. And if you think mean girls are awful in life, wait until you meet one in death! The Dead and Buried follows such a story when Jade and her family move into a murder house--or at least that's what the rumour is.

Even though the culprit becomes obvious pretty early on (I guessed around p.60), being curious of their motive does leave some of the mystery elements undamaged. What's also great are the regular diary entries that shows us just exactly who this mean girl was, and how everything all ties together. The mystery wasn't my favourite part of the book, however, which is fortunate in this case, having figured it out so early. This book was a regular high school dramatics novel mixed in with a ghost story. I don't always enjoy reading about high school social circles, mean girls, and boy trouble, but in this case I found it worked very well. The creepy ghost appearances that become more sinister as the book moves along balances it out perfectly, leaving us fully entertained. Thus, the story itself--straightening out the rumor-filled details--is more interesting than the end result in this case.

At least, unlike some cliché mean girl novels, The Dead and Buried gives us believable characters that are eccentric in nature. Besides Jade who, herself, has a quirky side and does not fall prey to the lure of popularity, the most peculiar character is Jade's very first friend at her new school: Alexa, the school valedictorian and all around oddball. I found this girl highly amusing with her strange behaviours and nerdy references. It's unfortunate that she takes a backseat for the last half of the book, though; she gave it so much charisma. Stereotype does not completely escape the book, however. The cookie-cutter take on a dysfunctional family being one of them. The dead mother, the stepmother who demands Jade calls her mom (then, of course, thinks Jade is making the ghost story up to get attention), the father who takes Stepmom's side, denting his bond with his daughter, all concluded by an epiphany that makes them realize they simply hadn't accepted their mixed families as one. This part felt a little stale to me, forced even. To give more profundity to the story, maybe. Though all I felt was emotional detachment. This also affected how I didn't get to fully feel the danger in this novel, which does involve her brother. I understood the predicament she was in, but my heart wasn't in it.

There is quite a bit of romance mingling with the drama and chills: two boys who are both pining for Jade. One of which she's using, the other she truly likes. I didn't approve of how she lead one of them on, at all, just to solve a mystery--but again, my lack of emotional connection towards her motivation surely didn't help her case. I did find the relationship she had with Donovan very sweet, though. Cliché broken boy aside, his personality is attractive. Especially his lack of dramatics. There were a few times where I was expecting jealousy or controlling behavior that, to my delight and surprise, never surfaced.

Ghost who taunts and haunts to get closure may not be the most original story out there--but the journey is still engaging. I would recommend it with a warning that it will probably be a lighter read than you're bound to expect based on the synopsis or tagline.

--
An advance copy was provided by the publisher for review.

For more of my reviews, visit my blog at Xpresso Reads

[Katy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book wasn't terrible, but I felt Harrington missed a lot of potentials that could have made it a lot better.

First of all, I called it about a third of the way through and was dead certain (no pun intended) by the halfway point. I could tell from the very beginning that Harrington was going to try hard to throw readers off course by throwing every possible motive out there. Donovan, the ex who saw her last. Kane, the good guy friend that was possibly jealous. Faye, the best friend who tried so hard to be her. Alexa, the top competitor in academics. Mr. Tucker, the creepy neighbor. As Harrington was so blatantly obvious, I don't think she realized she was waving a bright red flag over the killer. I think if she had toned it down on the quick yet strong accusations, readers would have been more inclined to keep guessing until the end.

I also thought a contributing factor was because the whole book was so cliche with no question. The freezing temperatures, the uneasy feelings, the Ouija board and the possessions. Well, I guess I mean those too - at least in the sense I was hoping Harrington would have used more interesting tactics to make the book somewhat scary instead a ridiculously bad movie. Throw in the classic case of a mean (well Jade did give her reason to do so when she said she already had a mom) stepmother who is too absorbed with her son that she doesn't believe anything Jade says. But my complaint was I almost believed Harrington knew the elements she used were cliche because she didn't even bother really going in depth with the scariness or even the cliquish high school roles because the concepts are so widely accepted. So a lot of the details were just glimpsed over.

The reason why I didn't give this book 1 star was because there were elements that Harrington used that could have made her book stand out. The first was the numbering system in Kayla's diary. I thought it was a clever way to give readers a background on some of the characters. I mean, it wasn't hard figuring out who was who, almost as soon as she wrote about them. But it was a nice way of making the story somewhat different. The second was the whole symbolic gemstones. I liked how she used the stones to represent certain aspects of the stories - whether it was a coincidentally similar situation or a feeling or even a concept like clarity or protection.

Unfortunately, those two things were exactly what I was talking about when I said wasted potential. Harrington could have done so much with those - the numbering system a little more complex so it adds to the readers' guesses and the gemstones having a bigger role than just the jewelry she just happened to be wearing. I'm not saying turn it into some complex story involving magic. But the way she gave it so much attention in the first part of the book, the momentum kind of dropped off, and she kind of dismissed the whole concept as "a hobby." Wasted potential.

Overall, it's a terrible ghost mystery story, and all in all, it was a pretty quick read. I just felt if Harrington hadn't been so obviously steering us away from the culprit, and if she had sent a little more time developing the story outside cliche and given more thought to those potential, the story would have been a lot better than it was.

[Dianne · Rating 4 out of 5]

She was the IT girl in school, everyone wanted to be her friend and she knew it. She was pretty, wealthy, smart, talented and everyone wanted to be close to her, but it was more out of fear than friendship. Kayla had it all on her terms and she knew it. But when she mysteriously fell down a flight of stairs and died, she became the poor girl who died, almost saint-like, and her boyfriend was suspected in her death.

Long after he was cleared, Donovan remains a pariah at school, until the new girl moves into Kayla’s house. Jade had no idea the house of her dreams was the scene of a freakish death and her brother younger brother Colby insists there is a girl who talks to him and he is scared. What Jade discovers is the ghost of Kayla haunts her home and she will do anything to get rid of her. The key to getting rid of her is finding out what she wants, is it justice? Is it possible she was pushed down the stairs? If it wasn’t Donovan, who was it? And WHY?

Just in time for Halloween, The Dead and Buried by Kim Harrington is a great young adult mystery that includes all of the angst of high school, the gossip, and the recklessness of youth as one ghost who was mean-spirited in life, has retained her evil ways even in death. Follow Jade as she defies her family and searches for the truth before Kayla can hurt her brother again.

Kim Harrington has a ghost story topped with all of the pitfalls of being a teen, definitely an interesting and very “scary” combination! A quick read, not too dark, but definitely twisted, this mystery is a killer!

I received this copy from Scholastic, Inc. in exchange for my honest review.

Publisher: Scholastic Inc. (January 1, 2013)
Publication Date: January 1, 2013
Genre: YA Murder Mystery
Print Length: 309 pages
Available from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
For Reviews & More: http://tometender.blogspot.com

[♥Rachel♥ · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

The Dead and Buried is one of my favorite combinations for a story: mystery, suspense and a little romance thrown in for good measure.

Jade is thrilled to be starting school where there’s more than thirty students in her whole grade. Growing up she lived in a rural town, and longed to be in a big city and school. Somehow, her dream has come true. Even the house her family has moved into seems too good to be true: new, big and beautiful. When Jade receives strange looks from her classmates, she soon finds out why her parents were able to afford the big and beautiful house. Murder houses are always discounted. Jade finds out the most popular girl in school, Kayla Sloan died under suspicious circumstances, where she now lives. When her little brother, Colby starts seeing a “glimmering girl” in his room, and she is anything but Casper the friendly ghost, Jade must dig further and find out exactly what happened.

As she investigates, Jade finds out Kayla had a lot of potential enemies. She delighted in manipulating and crushing people, so there’s no shortage of suspects. Among the possibilities is, Donovan. He’s got eyes as striking as blue topaz and a thoughtful personality that intrigues Jade, and she’s drawn to him. He provides that little bit of romance that I always crave in my reads!

Jade was an admirable and determined character. She cared more about her little brother’s welfare than her own. Even though Jade never met Kayla, her presence is everywhere and still impacting lives, and not in a positive way. If you’ve ever seen the movie Rebecca* or read the story and enjoyed it, this will appeal to you because there’s a lot of similarities. Rebecca is even mentioned as Jade’s class assignment. Kayla’s presence overshadows everything and everyone, even in death.

The mystery had me guessing until the very end. I had suspicions, but was a little surprised. I had goose bumps reading some of the scenes because some of them were downright creepy, and I loved those suspenseful feelings. This was a fast, addictive, and fun read. You could easily finish this in one sitting.

*As a side note, I recently read Rebecca, and I enjoyed the Hitchcock movie more. The book had me drowning in descriptions, and to me, lost some of the dramatic and suspenseful effect that the movie radiated brilliantly. Hitchcock was the man!

A copy was provided by Scholastic through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

You can read this review and more at The Readers Den.

[Glory · Rating 3 out of 5]

Неплохая развлекательная молодежка с призраком, мини-детективным расследованием и лямуром. Все достаточно просто, но увлекательно.
Героиня с семьей переезжает в новый дом и узнает, что некогда жившая здесь королева-матка местной школы умерла при загадочных обстоятельствах. Теперь ее призрак достает Джейд и ее младшего братишку, требуя найти убийцу. А учитывая, что девица была той еще стервозиной, подозреваемых уйма. Единственный, кому героиня может доверять, как ни странно, - это бывший парень покойной, которого все вокруг как раз и обвиняют в убийстве.
Объем небольшой, читается быстро, особых заморочек нет. Если сравнивать с другим YA-паранормалом, то, к примеру, семейка Гуднайт в исполнении Клемент-Мур мне нравится куда больше – там и юмор, и рефлексии поменьше. Здесь улыбаться не пришлось и страшно особо не было, но о прочитанном не жалею. Крепкий середнячок.

[Lisbeth Avery {Domus Libri} · Rating 1 out of 5]

Just so everyone knows, I'm trying to limit my cursing in this review because someone *glares accusingly at that someone who knows who she is* told me that I do that too much. I'll be substituting every expletive with the name of a fruit or vegetable.

THE DEAD AND BURIED is a book that I had really high hopes for since at that time, I seemed to think that I have pretty good luck with these sorts of books (I don't really have that good luck with mystery ghost books actually - I have no idea what I was thinking). However, THE DEAD AND BURIED really disappointed me.

The book actually started off really well, like many of the evil books do. The main character Jade was interesting and compelling. I really liked her gemstone hobby and the fact that she knew useless things about practically every gemstone was awesome. In case you don't know, I collect useless facts so this was right up my alley.

So, I had this crazy idea that maybe, just maybe, the rest of the book might be great too.



Crazy idea, I know. I have no idea what I was thinking at the time. Obviously, not much.

The main problem I had with the book has the romance plot. It was just URGH no. Horrible. I suppose the best thing I can say about the romance was that the two loves interests weren't total mushrooms but that wasn't because they were nice and cute.

It was because they were nothing.

No, what I hated about the romance was Jade. Jade turned into a complete orange when it came to the two guys. Minor spoilers ahead but nothing major really since the whole cheating scandal is treated like it wasn't cheating at all. I'll put the summary in spoilers for those who are really don't want to be spoiled.

Jade enters a non-relationship with Kane. Non-relationship because she tries to tell her dad that she's not dating him even though they go on numerous dates - I mean non-dates. Kane however thinks they're dating and so does everyone. I think Harrington was trying to excuse what Jade did by saying that the dates are "non-dates" even though she makes it clear that Kane thinks they are and so does every pickle-ing person in the whole town (even the dad).

She then cheats on Kane and with Donovan who insists that they not tell anyone. Donovan and Jade have numerous make out sessions all while Kane and Jade go on their "non-dates". On one of these non-dates, Jade goes to the bathroom to make out with Donovan before returning to Kane who calls her "his girl" and gives her hot chocolate. She accepts without feeling bad that she cheated on her boyfriend.

Next is a spoiler for the rest of the plot, not just romance so I'll put it in a separate spoiler tag. It turns out that the dead girl, Kayla, was cheating on her boyfriend with Kane and guess who is the boyfriend? That's right: Donovan.



DONOVAN. The guy that broke up with his girlfriend because she was cheating on him is making Jade cheat on her boyfriend for him.

... I'm speechless. I'm banana-ing speechless.

AND GUESS WHAT THE BEST THING IS?

Jade ends up with the apple Donovan. So guess what girls? It's ok to cheat as long as your cheating for a hot guy.

Ok, I've spent long enough detailing the romance. Onto the characters.

Characters
Jade started off really awesome but that awesomeness tapered until it hit rock bottom and didn't work on climbing back up - at all. After about 40%, Jade as an awesome character slipped further and further until I could barely remember that Jade was an awesome character at one point.

I've already detailed why I hate her somewhat so this will be a fairly short part but there are some other parts which made me see red.

Number one, she was hypocritical. She was saying how horrible a person Kayla the dead person was even though she copied some of those qualities in her own actions. As everyone says, actions speak louder than words. Judging everyone? Check. Cheating? Check.

The next part I hated was the slut shaming. Jade was saying how horrible it was that she slept around. It was obvious that Kayla wasn't a virgin and personally, I found Jade's words to have a minor slut-shaming feel to it.

The rest are simple, everyday YA heroine occurrence which honestly, most of you know about already and there's no reason to talk about them. Pick pretty much any of my reviews and take the qualities from there.

The other characters were unoriginal and bland. I found no personality to them and didn't hate any of them really. Just disliking. No need to cover that really.

Plot and Writing
Plot
The plot mirrored the standard plot of basically every murder paranormal mystery there is - ever.

- Girl moves into haunted house.
- Girl goes to school and everyone is like "OMG she moved into zeh haunted house".
- Girl gets scared.
- Someone (usually little sibling) gets possessed.
- Girl needs to find out who killed ghosty.
- Ouija board.
- Kissing.
- More kissing.
- OMG THAT'S WHO KILLED GIRL?

Yup. That's it. Except sometimes, this can be done really well sometimes.

THE DEAD AND BURIED was not one of those cases however. It was done really really badly. And the murderer exposed scene? One of the worst I've ever read. Just terrible and I can't see the person's motive. Seriously people. It's like Harrington said "Umm... we gotta wrap this up quickly so... yeah, that person works. Let's make up some random backstory to it. And we're done." I’m not even overreacting.

Writing
Not terrible, but not fantastic either. Horrible tension building and very little plot twisting. However I have to say that writing is engaging enough to keep me reading. I finished the book in one day because I just had to keep reading!

Likes and Dislikes
Liked:
- The beginning

Disliked:
- Jade
- Plot
- Writing
- Everything

In conclusion
Definite not recommend. In fact, unless you're Ade and can't resist it, don't read it.


ps I made it through a review without any cursing. *party*


Find this review and more at my blog:

[Melanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

See more reviews at YA Midnight Reads
I am a wuss. Lemme just tell you that before you bother to continue reading this review. The Dead and Buried isn't necessarily a spooky book, it's just it awakened my fears of everything and I started to hyperventilate. So while this could've been a one night read, it turned into two as I couldn't bare finishing it off without squealing at every creak in the floor. *shudders at the thought*

Me gusta this cover. I mean seriously, that purple and that chick there...it is so damn creepy and beautiful at the same time! Even though my favourite colour is blue, I am a big fan of purple covers as they just add a whole new level of attractiveness and tone. Hmm..maybe that's why I got my blog to have a purple theme...hmm...

The Dead and Buried was a horrific deadly ghost story that kept me clinging to my dear life each time I turned the page. Jade has just moved into a new house-- it's everything she wanted, a large, expensive looking one, a rich neighbourhood and a posh school. However, something's up, everyone is giving Jade weird glances, whispers erupt whenever she enters a room. Then the secret is out. Her house is haunted. And everyone seems to be hiding a bigger secret too, something that Jade needs to find out.

Immediately, when I started reading this purple galore, I already liked Jade. She's a little like me, head strong, impulsive and protective of her brother. (In my case sister) A very good choice of personalities for a main character, I'm so glad that Jade wasn't a shallow, naive teen!

And there, at the bottom, was what she had wanted me to find.
I closed my eyes tightly, the paper trembling in my hand. I didn't want it to be this. Anything but this.
I reopened my eyes, but the words remained the same.
Death by unnatural causes.
I was living in a murder house.

One thing that irritated me at the beginning was that we got introduced to so many people simultaneously that it began to be hard to remember and unnecessary. While it was nice to get a little bit of everyone's characteristics, some were just irrelevant. MAY CONTAIN TINY SPOILER***However, this does create more complication when I was trying to figure out who the heck was the killer. It broadened the chances of identifying the murderer and kept me second guessing. SPOILER ENDED*** It was so damn suspenseful!

I liked the plot line, it was rather simple though. I felt like Kim Harrington could've had a twist or unexpected addition to the work, only till the last page, I realised that there wasn't. *sighs* Great attempt though, something simple but nothing too dark and twisted. Also, not too much romance drama, there is a bit, but not too much that it just dominates the novel.

Okay, something I've been trying to steer clear of showed up in this book, if you haven't guessed it already, it is....*drumroll* insta-love! *throws it angrily* I really really really really...HATE INSTA-LOVE! It is unrealistic, shallow and lacks depth! *takes a deep sigh* WHY?!?!

Overall, The Dead and Buried was a entrapping read that I recommend to people who are wusses that want to have a quick taste of spooky stories and ghosts. For the brave, this is a very light read that will keep you second guessing to the end. Deliciously intriguing and otherworldly!

[Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

Initial reaction: Solid YA mystery with paranormal elements. I'm usually fond of ghost stories and I found something to like not only in Jade's respective journey, but also in the unfolding murder mystery that kept the ball rolling right up to the very end. There are some familiar YA elements in this, but somehow I thought they wove themselves pretty well in this when it was all said and done. I'd probably give this a solid 3.5 stars.

Full review:

Before I say anything else going into this review, you guys should know that I love ghost stories. It's one of my favorite subsections of paranormal (If it weren't enough that I'm a fan of "Ghostbusters", reading YA books like "Wait Til Helen Comes" and "Time Windows", among others. So it was a given I'd come across Kim Harrington's "The Dead and the Buried". It's my first read from her.

I'm really surprised by how much I enjoyed this book from beginning to end. I think there are parts of it that are formulaic with respect to juggling affections and some side eye glance moments. However, the mystery in this is rather solid, and the author does a great job balancing the stakes. The story toggles between Jade, a "new girl" moving into town with her family - father, stepmother and little brother. Jade especially has a great relationship with her little brother Colby, though a rather tense relation with her stepmother.

Jade has a very interesting affinity towards gemstones. I thought that was a nice touch in the narrative for what they represented and the character's passion for them. They come in handy when Jade faces off against - well - a ghost.

The ghost isn't just any run of the mill haunting, but rather the spirit of a girl who used to attend Jade's school. It's interesting to note that the ghost used to be the ruler of the school, a subsequent mean girl who was killed. When said ghost realizes Jade can help her, she will stop at nothing to get Jade to comply in helping her find the killer. Even if that means she has to manipulate Jade's family to do it.

Harrington does a great job of having Jade pick up what pieces she can in the overarching mystery, while at the same time navigating some rough relationships in order to discover the truth. I definitely enjoyed the writing here, and found it stronger not just in the prose, but also in the flow compared to some novels of its type I've read in recent sittings. It kept me guessing throughout the narrative up until the end, and there were some points in this that were downright creepy in an awesome way. It certainly makes me want to check into more of Harrington's works in the future, and I would definitely recommend this for those who like YA ghost stories with a helping of creepy and an overall decent mystery.

Overall score: 3.5/5

Note: I received this as an ARC from NetGalley, from the publisher Scholastic.

[Jon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Find this review at Scott Reads It

The Dead and Buried is a modern ghost story that I read recently. Even though I did not have high expectations for this book, I was still disappointed. My major problem is that The Dead and Buried was just way too typical. The whole entire time I kept thinking sarcastically "Haven't seen this before".
I just really wanted an awesome and original Ghost Story unlike anything I have ever read before. The Dead and Buried takes all typical ghost story elements and mixes them together unsuccessfully. Most of what I read felt like a rehash of random ghost stories and I felt extremely let down.

Jade is your typical new girl living in a new town. She makes enemies with the mean girls and she hangs out with guys she's not supposed. She even throws a party to "get in" with the popular kids. I didn't like Jade much because she was nothing special and her attempts to be popular irritated me. Hasn't she heard What's popular isn't always right?

The other characters also seemed familiar, maybe because they are the generic stock characters from YA literature. We have the jock who is really troubled and is a bit of a jerk. Also we have his nemesis the artsy guy who also has a bit of a troubled past. Did someone say love triangle? The love triangle in TDaB was nothing new to me and it really was a bore to read. Does every book have to have a love triangle?

The plot was extremely slow paced and I think certain scenes were unnecessary. Another thing that bothered me about the plot was the ghost scenes, or rather lack of. There was really only one awesome ghost scene and I wish it went on longer. Another thing was that The Dead and Buried wasn't scary at all and I expected to be scared even a bit.

Even though The Dead and The Buried was nothing new, it wasn't terrible. I wouldn't recommend this to any of my fellow Goodreaders due to it's lack of originality and slow pacing. One thing that really was the best part of the book was the ending. The ending was so much better than the entire book for some odd reason and it felt alot better written than other sections of the book. The Dead and The Buried wasn't a very good reading experience and I doubt I would read any other Kim Harrington books.
2.5 stars

[Danny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read full Review at Bewitched Bookworms




A haunted House and a New Life

Jade moves with her family into a new house, this new life of course also comes with new interesting friends and a new town. But, Jade is excited and always wanted to live in a bigger town. Needless to say that this excitement fast vanishes when she figures out why this house was so cheap... it comes with the murdered ghost of a girl exactly of Jade's Age.. And... this ghost is so NOT a friendly one and needs Jade to find her murder....

Jade - wonderful strong, loyal and genuine

I so so so loved Jade! She was a wonderful protagonist and I feel in love so fast with her voice and characters. The way she loves her family, and especially her Dad and little brother warmed my heart! As we followed Jade on her path getting new friends she easily connected with everyone because she's just an honest and truly and perfectly nice girl who doesn't care about appearances. She befriends people because of their character and not their social status! Even when Jade made a few choices I didn't truly like, Jade never lost me as she was perfectly genuine in her character.

Donovan - arty boy of cuteness and incredible supporting characters...

I absolutely adored Donovan! He's also connected to the murder - somehow - but Jade feels drawn to this vulnerable and sensitive boy right from the beginning. And oh boy, I did too!!! I loved this broken boy and wanted to fix him just like Jade. Hug and make it all right again...

Also, nearly all supporting characters were incredibly flashed out and beautifully developed. Kim Harrington took very good care of each and every character which is always something I especially love...

Murder, Mystery, Twists and Turns

The murder mystery combined with the ghost story was thrilling, creepy and very suspenseful! I was hooked to the pages desperately wanting to know who was the murder. In between chapters were short excerpts of the ghost/girls diary with perfectly added to the suspense! There was some twist and turns I was not expecting and some I did .. a little :)

[Lil · Rating 2 out of 5]

I went into this book expecting an awesome haunted house tale and instead I am disappointed to admit that all I got was a generic ghost tale that wasn't that well executed. I requested this from the publisher due to my excitement from the synopsis, but the synopsis is ten times more exciting than the actual book.

My biggest problem with the book was the writing. It was very simplistic and choppy. I was reading a middle-grade book as I read this one, and I felt like this one is better marketed as a middle-grade because the writing style was so uncomplicated. There wasn't much detail and I didn't connect to the characters at all because of this.

Our main character was dry and our ghost was a narcissistic and inconsiderate in both life and death. Originally, I thought the usage of her journal entries at the end of every chapter to help unravel the mystery was cool, but as I realized that she referred to people in a numerical code because she cared so little to use their names, I was disgusted. Sure, it was easy to put a face to a number, but it wasn't right. She's referred to as a huge bully, but she simply believes that she can do whatever she wants. The only character I liked at all was Donovan, but hey, it's hard not to love the broken soul that has to slowly get pieced back together.

Another qualm of mine was the cliches when it evolved around Jade's family. Jade's Dad remarried after her mother passed due to cancer and then they had a little baby boy that is now the family golden child. The step-mom really cares about the child, but never listens to Jade, threatens her often, and is your typical "evil" step-mother. The Father is absent most of the time on business, so this puts very little importance on the family in the book because they're rarely ever around. This cliche is like a recipe for a disaster for books. Marie, the stepmother, had so many character flaws that enraged me. As a parent, you are there for your children and you listen to their concerns as ludicrous as they seem. You don't go and suddenly hate your child because she doesn't want to call you Mom since her real mother happened to pass away. You're a nurse, Marie! Ever think that perhaps having a second Mom literally within a few short years of her real Mom's death is too much for her to handle psychologically? You're demanding and inconsiderate and I really, truly hate parents that are portrayed this way.

For a murder mystery, I didn't see any clues to the real killer either. They pretty much revealed themselves before I had any clue who it was. I wish there was more foreshadowing pointing to the proper murderer instead of a potential decoy that was entirely accidental on the murderer's part. I liked Jade's original hunch about the murderer more than the actual murderer. I understand the motive, but it's not as awesome as I would have enjoyed. When the murder mystery that makes up a murder mystery novel falls flat, you know there's something wrong.

I really have nothing else to say about this one. I managed to get through it due to curiosity, but it was an overall let-down. I don't think this review can possibly put my thoughts into words properly. I'd recommend checking out my trusted friend Krista's review here because hers portrays our similar thoughts beautifully.

[Mehsi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not a long review, but a short one. (sick, but I feel like writing a review)

When I first pre-ordered this book I was confused. The two titles differ greatly from each other. Dead and Buried to The Killing of Kayla Sloane.

I must say, now after reading this book, that I find the second title more fitting to the book.

The book itself was really wonderful and great. I loved how terrifying it was at times, how it first started all fluffy but soon escalated to something terrible and scary.

Kayla (our ghost) is a total mean girl. She was that when she was alive, but in her death she is even more so. I can kind of understand it, when no one can see you, you are desperate to know who killed you, but still, I am sure she could also have tried nicer ways.

Our main character Jade was a really nice and great character, I really loved her and how she interacted with people. And she was quite a Nancy Drew.

The book left me guessing until the end, it wasn't who I thought it would be.

I would recommend this book to everyone who loves ghosts, paranormal, love, romance and a bit of sleuthing.

[Annette · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Dead and Buried had me guessing until the end, as well as spooking me a bit along the way!

Jade is happy in her new house and ready to begin the year at a new school. But when she goes to school, people are whispering and sometimes avoiding her. She finds out that a very popular teen girl died in her new house the previous year, and her death is suspicious.

Jade is understandably having difficulty making friends, but she does have the attention of a couple of boys. One very popular. The other, Donovan, is the boyfriend of the dead girl.

Given that Jade's mother died and her father is re-married, her relationship with her step mom is a bit stressed. However, she loves her little 5-year-old step brother to death. When he comes and tells Jade that he sees a glittering girl in his room, she is suspicious. But when weird things start happening in her room -- things being moved and cold drafts -- she wonders if her brother is really seeing a ghost.

Harrington has weaved an interesting plot with interesting characters. The Dead and Buried is a ghost story and a mystery. Jade soon becomes compelled to find out what really happened in her house the previous year. She needs all the popular kids to talk about what they know, but she doesn't want to hurt Donovan because she is really attracted to him. She also is friends with the "weird" girl Alexa, who is one of my favorite characters.

The plot slowly builds, and we get a few creepy moments with the ghost. I didn't know who the killer was until it was revealed, and I loved the way it ended. Anyone who likes a spooky mystery story will certainly enjoy The Dead and Buried. It's got memorable characters and the pacing keeps you turning the pages. I'll be recommending The Dead and Burried often.

[Sabrina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ingredients of The Dead and Buried: an intelligent and mature teenage girl, a bit of mystery, a little brother to protect, an evil (dead) girl, a spoonful of romance and a huge scoop of friendship. How could I not like it?

This book remindend me closely of Deadly Cool by Gemma Halliday, so if you have read and liked it, just pick up this book too; I can almost guarantee that you're going to love it.

Jade, the main character, is very realistic; her thoughts and her actions are always understandable and attest a healthy amount of common sense.

The plot is well-paced and the timeline is well built. You see, it's not good for the reader when authors go back and forth in time and end up confusing things. In this case, a lot of back-jumps were needed, and the author managed the timeline without missing a step.

I don't want to spoil the mystery nor the love story. I'll just say that the mystery is an interesting one: even if a bit unoriginal and predictable (hence the not-quite-5 stars of my rating), its paranormal aspects managed to keep my attention throughout the book.

[Kim Harrington]

Released today! YAY! :)

[☠Kayla☠]

DNF at page 25... I love ghost stories, but this one just isn't doing it for me. I don't know if it's the writing or just not the right time but I'm not interested in it.

[Octavia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hear me out first ok??

Review to come soon. (I promise)

*Update*

Really? So no one is going to say it? Nobody?



Ok. Fine. If you all won't say it I guess I will be the bad guy.

I didn't like "The Dead and Buried".

There, I said it. It's out there into the infinite universe that is the internet.

I waited patiently and eagerly for "The Dead and Buried". I figured that a book with more than 90% of 3+ stars reviews on Goodreads would be good. I didn't see too many it was better than a chocolate covered orgasm 5 stars or I'm in love but there were a few tiny mistake 4 stars and only a couple it was a pleasant read 3 stars. It was a nice enough mix for me to be excited.

That's what I get for putting all my faith in Goodreads.

Please, stop your cries of blasphemy. I know it isn't Goodreads fault that "The Dead and Buried" fell flat on it's back (damn cover). I should have known better. Yes I love ghost but I really don't like mysteries. Yes I love YA but I absolutely LOATHE constant and vigorous teen angst. If I would have paid more attention to the blurb instead of the darn cover and mixed but nice reviews I would have seen that this was not my kind of read.

"The Dead and Buried" starts off with Jade (our heroine) finally living her dream. Her dad and step-mom has finally agreed to move Jade and her little brother from their podunk rural hometown to a suburb right outside of Boston. She finally has that big suburban house she always sees on "those movies", she is starting her senior year at a big high school, and she has just meet a amazingly hot boy with unbelivable blue eyes. Everything is just "perfect".



Ugh, B-O-R-I-N-G!

But wait! Jade just found out she is living in a house were a girl who went to Jade's new school, who "ruled" that school, who would have been entering her senior year just like Jade, was murdered! And now this girl (Kayla) is haunting Jade's "perfect house.




GASP!! SHOCK!! CRIES OF OUTRAGE!!!!

This is typically the part where a person who was unimpressed with the first portion of the book would gush about the amazing plot twist, suspense, and pace change the book made in the second part.

I am not a typical person.

Even though Harrington threw in this amazing paranormal feature (what kind of person doesn't love a ghost story?), it just didn't do it for me. I mean seriously! A shallow ghost?! Don't believe me? Here is a snippet of Ms. Kayla's diary:

And yeah, I'm spoiled by my parents and, yeah, I'm used to getting what I want. But I work hard for it, too. Sure, some things are handed to me. But others take time and effort. The difference between me and losers is that I don't quit. That's why I usually end up getting my way.
But why am I mean? Simple.Because I can be.

I know, there is always a "mean girl". But you would think that someone pushing you down a flight of stairs so hard your next snaps, would make you take your head out of your ass. But nooo, instead of going to hell like a horrible bully who literally and selfishly stole the future of a hard working kid, she decides to haunt the house she died in so she can get revenge on her killer. I'm sorry, I just can't. I appreciate the writing (which was superb). I appreciate the plot twist. I even appreciate Jade because she had a backbone. But a shallow, single minded , selfish, ghost who still believes she is Queen B? No I can't accept that.

{yes I went a little gif crazy but I needed some excitement after this one}

[Naoms · Rating 4 out of 5]

Originally Posted on Confessions of An Opinionated Book Geek

I don’t usually read horror, mystery or ghost stories, but after reading Kim Harrington’s “The Dead and Buried,” I have decided it might be time to change that. The story follows Jade. A girl from a not so great neighborhood who finally gets the life she believes that she has always wanted. She moves into a nice house, in a great neighborhood with an even better school system. Jade is not your typical high school girl. She doesn’t care about appearances, could give a damn about popularity and chooses her friends based on personality and not status. This makes Jade stand out, but it’s not the reason everyone at school is staring at her. Jade is more than a new girl. She is infamous, because she lives in the house where Queen B Kayla Sloane died.

I may be wrong, but I personally think it is humanly impossible to read a mystery and not try to figure out the villain. The guessing game is my favorite part of this book. Everyone is a suspect. From the boy Jade likes, to her new best friend and her creepy next door neighbor. No one was safe from Kayla’s mean spirited actions and because of that, they are all suspects. Harrington did an absolutely fantastic job with red herrings, misdirection’s and misjudging of characters. Every five minutes I’d scream “THAT’S THE KILLER,” in my head and then change my mind five pages later. This book is also great with making you facepalm at your own thoughts. I quickly judged people and when the truth came out I would feel guilty. Guilty, because I misjudged a fictional character in a book!

“The Dead and Buried,” is definitely a page turner. Once it pulls you in, it will not let you go until you know the truth. I like that about a book. If it’s a mystery it better be mysterious. If it’s a horror it better at least freak me out. Kayla, the girl who died in Jade’s house, was a total mean girl and the idea that a mean girl may or may not be haunting Jade, is pretty freaky in my opinion. Regular ghosts yup freaky, but the ghost of a mean girl is terrifying!

This book is probably not the greatest thing ever written and Harrington is probably not going to become the next Edgar Allen Poe, but I believe that this book is smart. The author gives us an interesting cast of supporting characters. On the surface they seem like the normal cliché people you read in every young adult book, but they are not. They have family secrets and ambitions that you wouldn’t guess from just looking at them. Our misconceptions and prior knowledge of the popular girl, the nerd and the jock helps Harrington to muddle the investigation in our minds. We take what we think we know and we decide that makes them guilty or innocent and most of your guesses will be wrong.

There are two guys in this book that catch Jade’s attention or better yet Jade catches their attention. There is the artsy guy with the chip on his shoulder named Donavan and the nice, but is probably a player jock named Kane. Both these guys have very different personalities and yet we like them both. They both have a stake in the truth about Kayla and are both major players in the twists and turns of the story. Harrington doesn’t have Jade thinking about boys for every second of the day and I really liked that. As much as I love romance, sometimes heroines think about boys in life or death situations and I want to slap them. Jade knows how to multitask and boys while nice are not her priority. It is also not the priority of the book, but still I had very strong opinions about Jade’s love life.

This book is a quick and very entertaining read. The mystery and the investigation is interesting, but not overly taxing on the mind. You will not ask “what?!” in utter confused frustration. This is a young adult novel and it’s for entertainment and it succeeds at it’s goals. Lastly, Jade is an absolutely excellent heroine. She is smart, without being pretentious. She is friendly, but doesn’t need the approval of her peers. She is pretty and while she is not completely ignorant of it, she doesn’t sit around staring at mirrors or using her looks against others. I really liked her and I think if you give this book a chance, you will to.

Recommended for fans of Pretty Little Liars (the TV show, I have never read the books) fans of YA and everyone who likes a good ghost story.

[shre ♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have really enjoyed reading Kim Harrington's books as they are light, fun and make for good mysteries that give the reader a thrill from trying to put pieces together. Like Clarity and Perception, the first two books in Harrington's Clarity series, I was able to read The Dead and Buried in one sitting. Also like those two books, the plot revolves mainly around a girl who has magical powers and her goal to find the secret behind a mysterious death. Even though this book is short, it flowed smoothly and had engaging dialogue. Yes, the the whole mystery was a tad predictable and the idea behind this book wasn't anything unique or mind-blowing, but the fact that I was able to finish it and be content with it in the end has to count for something, right? Personally, I think that Harrington's books are mostly middle-grade reads, which is why they're not too long and intense, which makes sense.

The major aspect that like about Kim Harrington's books are her mysteries. They're not your typical CIA, NCIS mysteries in which everything is blown up to wider proportions so that you're confused as hell, but ones that you can easily wrap your head around and still be hooked at the same time. Like I said before, even if they're predictable and you almost want to scream the correct answer to the main protagonist, it's hard to be bored because of Harrington's writing skills. Every once in a while, there is a little twist or turn which completely throws the reader of the mark and that's always the best part. In this book, I had a great time reading about Jade trying to pull all the pieces together to figure out the mystery behind her haunted house. There were ups and downs, shocks and "aha!" moments, and to put it simply, this book was absolutely F-U-N.

Another thing I like about Kim Harrington's books is her main characters! One, they're never clueless, two, they're smart and brave, and three, they're mature and NOT annoying. Jade is a perfect example of these traits as she displays all of the above mentioned in this book. She was an engaging main character who stood up for herself when needed and was never the kind to back down when the going got tough. Her determination to find out the truth behind the murder in her house when everyone was willing to ignore and forget about it was highly notable. She wasn't complicated to understand, just a regular teenage girl with real, understandable problems, but with some spooky powers and one serious murder investigation on her back. I mean, come on, she can't be all nice with no spice right?

You guys might have already noticed, but the one thing that I haven't mentioned yet was the romance. There are two love interests, Donovan and Kane, both relatively likable, that Jade's interested in. Donovan was kind of like the loner, quiet types but that just happens to be because his girlfriend had died six months ago, and Kane was the complete opposite, popular, sweet, and outgoing. You guys might be thinking, ahh, the dreaded love triangle, but it wasn't that over-bearing at all. First, because Harrington isn't one of those authors who puts a significant importance on the romance in her books and two, because it was kind of obvious who the main character would end up with. So the romance aspect of the book just added to its already hooking writing.

Overall, although it's not memorable, The Dead and Buried was still a satisfying read which I'd gladly pick up again maybe at a later time if I am looking for something suspenseful. I really recommend this for readers who need a filler book or a light read or are just reluctant to pick up mystery novels. This book kind of ranges between middle-grade and young adult, so don't be expecting anything too intense, but no fluffly either. It was just...well...right smack dab in the middle, and it's perfect the way it is.

[Amy Fournier · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love a good mystery so of course I was drawn to this book. Me being perceptive like I am I fully expected to figure out who killed Kayla, but that still didn't take away from my enjoyment of the book at all. I loved getting to know the characters and trying to figure out not who did it, but why they did it. There was a few good chilling scenes in the book to keep my creepy book loving self satisfied, and a few swoon worthy moments to make my romantic side happy. This was a great and somewhat creepy mystery book that will appeal to people who love this type of book. What made this book even better for me is that it is set in Massachusetts and I love when I can find some familiarity in a book I am reading. (I asked the author if the small town Jade came from was a specific one, and it wasn't, but it made me think of a town I grew up in.)

Jade is a great character. She is originally from a small town in western Ma (woohoo shout out to my area!) and has now moved to Woodbridge, a more populated town with rich kids and a fancy school. She has always wanted a big house in a bigger city, but she doesn't understand how they could afford a huge house like that. It's not until she starts school and finds out that a girl not only died in the house just months ago, but it's suspected it was murder. Now she has to figure out what really happened to Kayla because Kayla's ghost is going to destroy her family if she doesn't. Her little brothers life is at risk and there is no way Jade will let that happen. She does everything she can to discover the mystery of who killed Kayla. She also collects gemstones which is cool because I do too. I loved hearing the meanings of each one since I didn't know a lot about that.

There is a bit of romance in the story, but it isn't enough to take over. It's there and it's a big part of it, but it's not overwhelming, and it seems genuine and realistic. There does seem to be a bit of a love triangle, but I never really saw it that way. It was always obvious to me who Jade was interested in and she made it clear for the most part too. I really enjoyed the romance in this since it was believable and it fit in with the story well.

I will touch on Kayla briefly since she is a main part of the story. She is not a pleasant character. We get to know her through diary entries which is really cool. We get little snippets of her life and hints at what really happened. She labels people in her diary as numbers so you get to figure out what number correlates to each person. She is the queen bee of the school, but people don't really like her. They all fear her because she can destroy anyone's reputation without even trying. Everything she does is calculated. She is manipulative and evil. She does have issues, but still. She's just not a character you can like. As a ghost she is even more evil than she was when she was alive. She doesn't care who she hurts or has to take down in order to discover who killed her so she can move on.

I thought this book was fantastic and I really enjoyed getting to know the characters and watching the story unfold. Even thought I knew who did it early on, I had not clue why. And of course it's written so cleverly that the book makes you want to doubt yourself, but I know better. I think I read too many mystery books to really be fooled by them. The way the story was put together was great to read since you get not only Jade trying to figure things out, but you also get to read the entries in Kayla's diary and piece things together. Fantastic job Kim Harrington. This book had just enough creepiness and mystery to keep me engaged from beginning to end.

[Sam · Rating 2 out of 5]

"And perhaps heavier than the ghosts were the secrets we carried"

Ok, I have to start by saying that this book wasn't horrible, it just wasn't for me. I was expecting a really chilling story and a mystery behind it to boot. It was all a little sub par.

The idea behind the book was really intriguing and I liked how the book was written. The book was written from the main character, Jade's, point of view but every now again there is a diary entry written from the ghost girl back when she was alive. This was cool because we as the reader get a little more insight to maybe what happened to her, while the characters don't know.

I think what did let me down though was the mystery, I had it pegged from very early on who murdered the girl. At one stage though the author did manage to make me second guess myself which was good. Another thing that let the story down a tiny bit was the less than eerie feel. I was hoping for real moments of spookyness but I didn't get that.

On a little side note, something I really loved was that Jade collects jewelry with precious gemstones in them and It was awesome to read the different meanings for each stone whenever Jade would wear one. It got me inspired to want to have a gemstone collection of my own.

The Dead and buried got two stars from me because I was very disappointed and was expecting so much more from this because it had lots of potential.

Also on my blog

[Andreanna Q · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am totally glad i chose this book as another collection of mine. No disappointment, but thrilled and once I read it, seriously it's hard to put it down. I'm glued to it's story, to find out what's next, to solving the mystery & the case. As Jade (the main character) busting her ass off to find out anything that could help her in finding who is the real killer of Kayla, me myself turns out to think hard & listing my own suspects too like somehow I'm together with Jade to solve the case. hehe. It's nothing horror for me about the Kayla ghost, which is good, because I'm looking for more than just a ghost stories. So, this book is perfect for what I'm looking for in such horror genre. Totally loves it! :D

[Ayra Jamal · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author Kim Harrington has done a pretty good job of writing this suspenseful novel. This novel falls in the mystery genre. The main character in this book is a girl named Jade who recently moved to a new town. She absolutely loves her new house, but what she doesn't know is that her house is haunted by the ghost of a girl who ruled Jades new school. As the days go by, Jade is getting closer to the girls boyfriend, Donovan. The ghost is threatening her that if she doesn't find the person who killed her, she will kill Jades brother. Will Jade and Donovan be able to find the murder, or will Jade loose her brother forever?

[kelly · Rating 2 out of 5]

If I'm going to read an R.L stine book, I want it to be filled with descriptions of 90s fashion. That being said, I would give this to a reluctant reader horror fan.

[Gloria Piper · Rating 5 out of 5]

Seventeen-year-old Jade is delighted when her family moves from a cramped house in a small town to a big house in a wealthy community with excellent schools. Somehow her parents could afford this beautiful roomy home.

When Jade attends school, she notices students whispering behind her back. Eventually she discovers the house her parents could afford was the site of a murder. The high school's leading student, Kayla, had been pushed to her death down a flight of stairs.

Worse, Jade's little brother and she discover that Kayla's ghost is haunting the house.

We see the world from Jade's viewpoint, but occasional pages from Kayla's secret diary create a tension in the reader, concern for Jade and her brother's safety. Kayla is a vengeful ghost.

Jade realizes it's up to her to appease the ghost, so she'll leave them in peace. Which means finding the identity of Kayla's killer. She learns Kayla was not only popular; she also had enemies. And to complicate matters, she was involved in more than one romance.

Throughout this adventure Jade learns to look beyond snap judgments and find understanding. Those she might dislike have their hardships that explain their actions.

The author keeps us focused on the issues, and we see only the character development that moves the story along. Nevertheless each individual is interesting, and we have our favorites. The read is quick and enjoyable. We get delicious chills without being grossed out. That's one of the charms of young adult literature.

[Abby Meiers · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would give this book a five star rating because there was a lot of suspense and it kept me reading. I think the author did a good job at telling this story because she used a lot of descriptive words. Some people disliked this book, I disagree,because the author told the story very clear and some parts it was funny because of the kind of words she used. I would recommend this book to a lot of people. If you like suspenseful books or horror stories you would most likely love this book.