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Dancing with the Ghost
Noelle Jansen is a skeptic. For every mysterious thing she encounters in her house, she can find a rational explanation to blame it on. When she gets the idea to claim the attic space as her own bedroom, strange things start happening that she just can’t dismiss so easily. But trying to convince her family that their house is haunted proves to be more difficult than she thought it would be.
Chadwick Van Der Kamp is home again to visit his grandparents for the summer after years of being away. A goth who has lost touch with all of his old friends, he leaches onto Noelle just because he has nothing better to do. While she merely tolerates him at first, they soon become close friends, especially as he is the only one who believes her house is really haunted. But as their “just friends” relationship turns into a possible romance, the ghost activity starts to get uncomfortably creepy.
Noelle is determined to find out who the ghost is and what it wants – before something disastrous happens.
Chadwick Van Der Kamp is home again to visit his grandparents for the summer after years of being away. A goth who has lost touch with all of his old friends, he leaches onto Noelle just because he has nothing better to do. While she merely tolerates him at first, they soon become close friends, especially as he is the only one who believes her house is really haunted. But as their “just friends” relationship turns into a possible romance, the ghost activity starts to get uncomfortably creepy.
Noelle is determined to find out who the ghost is and what it wants – before something disastrous happens.
453 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 9, 2014
4 people are currently reading
35 people want to read
About the author
Heather Jones
3 books5 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.
Scared of ghosts? I would be lying if I said I wasn't. As a teenager, I can remember turning on all the lights in my Philadelphia home when I was alone, even the rooms I wasn't occupying. I'd turn my music up loud to drown out the random bumps in the night. When I went to the bathroom, I would run across the three feet of dark hallway to make sure nothing could grab me, and then pull back the shower curtain to check that nothing was hiding behind it. I always felt like someone else was there with me.
As an adult, I actually saw my first ghost. I can still remember that morning well; the cats were going crazy, scratching down the bathroom door while I was in the shower. Afterwards, I was about to iron my clothes to wear to work that day, when I looked up and saw a shadow walk by the door. It only lasted for all of two seconds, but it changed my life forever.
Determined not to relive my childhood and be scared in my own house, I started to rationalize what I had just seen. Just because you are dead and still sort of around, doesn't automatically make you threatening. What if it was a favorite relative that recently passed? What if it was a good friend of mine? What if it was an old boyfriend? Every so often I see something move in the corner of my eye, but no one is there when I turn my head. Nothing to be scared of, right?
I'm writing The Ghost In My Bedroom series as a way to not be afraid anymore. For anyone else that hides under the covers at night, hopefully, this will change your perspective on things too.
Scared of ghosts? I would be lying if I said I wasn't. As a teenager, I can remember turning on all the lights in my Philadelphia home when I was alone, even the rooms I wasn't occupying. I'd turn my music up loud to drown out the random bumps in the night. When I went to the bathroom, I would run across the three feet of dark hallway to make sure nothing could grab me, and then pull back the shower curtain to check that nothing was hiding behind it. I always felt like someone else was there with me.
As an adult, I actually saw my first ghost. I can still remember that morning well; the cats were going crazy, scratching down the bathroom door while I was in the shower. Afterwards, I was about to iron my clothes to wear to work that day, when I looked up and saw a shadow walk by the door. It only lasted for all of two seconds, but it changed my life forever.
Determined not to relive my childhood and be scared in my own house, I started to rationalize what I had just seen. Just because you are dead and still sort of around, doesn't automatically make you threatening. What if it was a favorite relative that recently passed? What if it was a good friend of mine? What if it was an old boyfriend? Every so often I see something move in the corner of my eye, but no one is there when I turn my head. Nothing to be scared of, right?
I'm writing The Ghost In My Bedroom series as a way to not be afraid anymore. For anyone else that hides under the covers at night, hopefully, this will change your perspective on things too.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 15, 2019
Read this back in 2014. (Where does the time go).
Loved it then and love it still.
The following my from my review posted on Amazon, back in 2014, under the name "Laura". Everything I wrote then still stands:
>>>>
What a shame more people have not found this book yet, judging from the lack of reviews. I absolutely loved this book. The characters really grew on me. The "ghost story" was kind of classic, but brought to life with great personalities throughout the characters. And... Noelle and Chadwick. What a pair. What a great romance. Very satisfying. Also, this book was very funny in parts, I laughed out loud many times, which does not often happen. I truly enjoyed this read.
Loved it then and love it still.
The following my from my review posted on Amazon, back in 2014, under the name "Laura". Everything I wrote then still stands:
>>>>
What a shame more people have not found this book yet, judging from the lack of reviews. I absolutely loved this book. The characters really grew on me. The "ghost story" was kind of classic, but brought to life with great personalities throughout the characters. And... Noelle and Chadwick. What a pair. What a great romance. Very satisfying. Also, this book was very funny in parts, I laughed out loud many times, which does not often happen. I truly enjoyed this read.
September 22, 2015
I was between 3 and 4 stars for this book. One thing that was a turn off was its overly simplistic language, especially in the opening chapters. On the other hand, the plot was interesting enough to keep me reading till the end AND it even got me invested in Noelle's relationship with her love interest, so I decided to go ahead and rate this 4 stars. I'm not sure if the plot is original, since I haven't read many ghost stories- but I did enjoy it.
The book opens with Noelle, the main character, during the summer before her senior year. She is in the midst of moving into the attic of her house (and obviously ignores everybody who claims the attic is creepy). Noelle is a fairly likeable character. I wasn't sold on her love interest at first (Chadwick is introduced early on as a sullen Goth), but as they spend the summer together, we see a different side of Chad and get his backstory. Pretty soon I found myself rooting for them. The writing especially shines in their scenes, and I love a story where the characters are friends first and then later fall in love. (None of this 'love at first sight' trope that is overdone and frankly annoying).
The reason behind the ghost in the attic becomes sort of obvious about halfway through the book, and luckily Noelle and Chad quickly catch on as well. One thing that perplexed me was that no one seemed overly CONCERNED that there was a slightly violent ghost living in their house (even after they all believed in it). If that was me, I'd definitely be hightailing it out of there- or at least hold an exorcism! So that was one criticism- they didn't really act "realistic" but other than that, it was an enjoyable and quick read.
The book opens with Noelle, the main character, during the summer before her senior year. She is in the midst of moving into the attic of her house (and obviously ignores everybody who claims the attic is creepy). Noelle is a fairly likeable character. I wasn't sold on her love interest at first (Chadwick is introduced early on as a sullen Goth), but as they spend the summer together, we see a different side of Chad and get his backstory. Pretty soon I found myself rooting for them. The writing especially shines in their scenes, and I love a story where the characters are friends first and then later fall in love. (None of this 'love at first sight' trope that is overdone and frankly annoying).
The reason behind the ghost in the attic becomes sort of obvious about halfway through the book, and luckily Noelle and Chad quickly catch on as well. One thing that perplexed me was that no one seemed overly CONCERNED that there was a slightly violent ghost living in their house (even after they all believed in it). If that was me, I'd definitely be hightailing it out of there- or at least hold an exorcism! So that was one criticism- they didn't really act "realistic" but other than that, it was an enjoyable and quick read.
February 27, 2015
by and far
One of the most age appropriate ya books in a awhile. I thought it was well put together, characters fit their parts and for a change the kids acted like kids I knew and wouldn't be embarrassed to acknowledge. BRAvO
One of the most age appropriate ya books in a awhile. I thought it was well put together, characters fit their parts and for a change the kids acted like kids I knew and wouldn't be embarrassed to acknowledge. BRAvO
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews