Smiling Ghosts

by Bridgette Ehly

Miranda is surprised when she's chosen for a photography scholarship to an elite old school far from home. She feels out of place until she starts dating Leo, a fun but mysterious astrophysics student who won't talk about his past.

While doing research, Miranda finds an original photo of a girl from the 1880s. She is perplexed to see a modern electric light reflected in the girl's eyes. When she shows the photo to Leo, he acts guilty, as if he knows something about the image.

The next day, the photo is missing from her bag and her research partner is murdered. When she confronts Leo, he says she stumbled upon a dangerous secret.

He claims everything she knows about her family and the entire world is a made-up story. Clever beings control the university and most of the earth.

Miranda doesn't trust Leo, but can't help falling in love with him. If only she can stay alive long enough to find the truth.

Thrust into the role of soldier, she must outsmart the masked villains that surround her and save her human family from a second death.

Genres: Young Adult

364 pages, Nook

Published October 2, 2018

About the author

Bridgette Ehly had a 15-year career as an award winning TV news journalist. Now she stays at home with her kids and writes about strange things.

Her imagination has run wild since she grew up in the thick woods of Indiana, a place where fallen trees are castles and winding streams lead to other planets.

She graduated from Indiana University and worked as a reporter in Dallas and Boston and anchored news programs in Ohio and Texas.

She lives near Louisville with her husband and two children. When they aren’t experimenting in the kitchen, they ride horses and hike in the forest around their home.

Her favorite authors are Jack Finney, Ursula Le Guin, Richard Peck, Samantha Hunt, C.S. Lewis, and George McDonald.

Reviews

[Rick Marschall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Smiling Ghosts is an astonishing first novel by Bridgette Ehly. It would be a terrific read
if it were her tenth book.

Readers should fasten their seat belts for a wild ride – a complex story that is multi-layered; populated by real and interesting characters; propelled by a compelling storyline full of twists and startling turns.

There is fantasy aplenty. This is speculative fiction, yet realistic. The world Ehly creates is plausible, even familiar. It is no easy feat to make fantasy seem credible, simultaneously questioning readers’ understanding of reality. But those parallel tracks are masterfully adhered to on every page.

The premise(s) and story alone do not constitute the sole attractions. Ehly’s skill as a novelist is arresting. Her cast is interesting and sympathetic; the story structure is solid and almost breathtaking; and the dialog is superb – characters speak in individual and consistent voices, realistic, and, as I suggested, seasoned.

It is an act of courage, but also confidence, to launch a novel and announce that it is the first of a trilogy: especially for a first-time writer. But I was sorry when Smiling Ghosts ended. I am eager for the next roller coaster ride of the reluctant protagonist Miranda. Readers are along for that ride as she manifests an everyday character reminiscent of Andromeda, or Gretchen in Faust, or characters in Hitchcock movies, or in contemporary series… or reminders of ourselves when we wonder if things in life really are what they seem to be.

Smiling Ghosts is a terrific read.

[Sally Green · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book deserves five stars up-front, just because it's fun to read. The main character Meranda demonstrates friendship and and love as she stands up against the extraterrestrial beings that have taken over and control much of her college. She stumbles onto to a secret of theirs while doing research and they have no intention of letting her get away with it. It's one of those I CAN'T WAIT TO FIND OUT WHAT HAPPENS NEXT BOOKS... Also it's a trilogy and I can't wait to read the next book.

[Connie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had no idea where this book was going to take me next. Just so disappointed that I can't find when the second book in the trilogy is due.
Is our past really our past? Is everyone who looks human even human? What do the non- humans look like and just how many different types are here on earth.
Won this on Goodreads. I really lucked out this time. Thanks

[A.B. Shepherd · Rating 2 out of 5]

Only read to 8%, really hating the author's writing style. Finding it tedious.

[Elaine Plourde · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was not what I expected but toward the end it turned out O.K

[Paul Dornfeld · Rating 1 out of 5]

Didn't like it at all. Didn't finish reading it.