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Marley's Ghost
Marley was dead to begin with…
When Marley died in a freak motorcycle accident, no one took it harder than his two nephews, Aaron and Kyler. Seventeen-year-old Aaron, who was adopted from China via a religious charity, worries that the heaven he was taught about is not for sinners like his uncle. But how could a benevolent God refuse a nice guy like Marley? And if being a nice guy is all that it takes to get into heaven, why bother to go to church? And is it wrong to even think such thoughts, especially now that he’s starting to date Vanessa, the most faithful girl in the youth group?
Meanwhile, fifteen-year-old Kyler has lost the only person who ever treated him like a normal kid. Always in fragile health, Kyler is constantly babied by his family. His uncle was the only adult who didn’t treat him like he would break. Marley encouraged Kyler to take risks, to be assertive, and to maybe ask out Jessica, his long time crush. Now that Marley is gone, Kyler is doomed to more years of ointments, noise-cancelling headphones, and gluten-free snacks. How is this fair?
When closing down Marley’s fishing cabin, the cousins discover some geographic coordinates that point to a location in a South Carolina swamp. They’re probably nothing…except someone has started following the boys, trying to get those papers. Something is in that swamp. Something Marley buried there. Something big.
Accompanied by Vanessa and Jessica, the boys head off on a Maine to South Carolina road trip to discover Marley’s legacy, and maybe to say good bye to their uncle in their own way.
When Marley died in a freak motorcycle accident, no one took it harder than his two nephews, Aaron and Kyler. Seventeen-year-old Aaron, who was adopted from China via a religious charity, worries that the heaven he was taught about is not for sinners like his uncle. But how could a benevolent God refuse a nice guy like Marley? And if being a nice guy is all that it takes to get into heaven, why bother to go to church? And is it wrong to even think such thoughts, especially now that he’s starting to date Vanessa, the most faithful girl in the youth group?
Meanwhile, fifteen-year-old Kyler has lost the only person who ever treated him like a normal kid. Always in fragile health, Kyler is constantly babied by his family. His uncle was the only adult who didn’t treat him like he would break. Marley encouraged Kyler to take risks, to be assertive, and to maybe ask out Jessica, his long time crush. Now that Marley is gone, Kyler is doomed to more years of ointments, noise-cancelling headphones, and gluten-free snacks. How is this fair?
When closing down Marley’s fishing cabin, the cousins discover some geographic coordinates that point to a location in a South Carolina swamp. They’re probably nothing…except someone has started following the boys, trying to get those papers. Something is in that swamp. Something Marley buried there. Something big.
Accompanied by Vanessa and Jessica, the boys head off on a Maine to South Carolina road trip to discover Marley’s legacy, and maybe to say good bye to their uncle in their own way.
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Published August 2, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
December 28, 2022
A new Brian Katcher book!! Review to come. But for now, add it to your TBRs and HS librarian friends, add it to your collection.
December 26, 2022
Marley may be dead, but he's as much a character as anyone in this book. In fact, he reminds me of folks I've sat in AA meetings with over the years, crusty on the outside, but scratch them and you find they're filled with the marshmallow of regret. If our dead loved ones live on through our memories, then Marley is alive as anyone in the story. His unexpected death in a motorcycle accident hit his nephews the hardest. They, along with the Vanessa and Jessica, semi and not so semi love interests, all suffer from what I'll call the Fizbin of self-doubt. Aaron is held hostage by fear...fear that his beliefs aren't enough, fear that his adoption might somehow dissolve, leaving him alone. Kyler's albatross is his having been sickly in his infant years ailments that still have his mother keeping him in metaphorical diapers.
When the two boys spend time at Marley's fishing camp, a fond place for Kyler, but one Aaron never got a chance to visit, they're surprised by a scruffy dude who doesn't know they're there, and after they chase him off, Kyler finds an envelope with numerical clues. It's Jessica who realizes they're GPS coordinates and what ensues is a road trip to a park in South Carolina that unfolds like a Hope and Crosby road picture crossed with PG rated Bonnie and Clyde.
All four teens come to interesting realizations during this adventure and, while it at first seems like they've lost, the opposite is true and the book ends with a neat teaser. I hope that turns into a second book.
When the two boys spend time at Marley's fishing camp, a fond place for Kyler, but one Aaron never got a chance to visit, they're surprised by a scruffy dude who doesn't know they're there, and after they chase him off, Kyler finds an envelope with numerical clues. It's Jessica who realizes they're GPS coordinates and what ensues is a road trip to a park in South Carolina that unfolds like a Hope and Crosby road picture crossed with PG rated Bonnie and Clyde.
All four teens come to interesting realizations during this adventure and, while it at first seems like they've lost, the opposite is true and the book ends with a neat teaser. I hope that turns into a second book.
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September 12, 2022Note: I no longer put stars on my reviews.
Second note: For full disclosure, this author is a friend of mine.
Despite starting with a death, this is a pretty fun book overall. Plenty of laugh out loud moments. It does deal with some serious issues, too, but not in a heavy-handed way.
"Marley was dead, to begin with." That would be Uncle Marley to his teenage nephews Aaron and Kyler -- cousins to each other. Marley was the wild one in the family, but always loving to his family. When the two boys find what appears to be directions to a buried treasure in Marley's fishing cabin, they decide they could both use a little adventure, along with the money they hope to find. Of course, it might be drug money and there might be some bad guys who are also tracking it down, and the two boys might accidentally involve two girls they like and they might not actually make it to the church camp which is the cover for their road trip.
Really enjoyable.
Second note: For full disclosure, this author is a friend of mine.
Despite starting with a death, this is a pretty fun book overall. Plenty of laugh out loud moments. It does deal with some serious issues, too, but not in a heavy-handed way.
"Marley was dead, to begin with." That would be Uncle Marley to his teenage nephews Aaron and Kyler -- cousins to each other. Marley was the wild one in the family, but always loving to his family. When the two boys find what appears to be directions to a buried treasure in Marley's fishing cabin, they decide they could both use a little adventure, along with the money they hope to find. Of course, it might be drug money and there might be some bad guys who are also tracking it down, and the two boys might accidentally involve two girls they like and they might not actually make it to the church camp which is the cover for their road trip.
Really enjoyable.
June 26, 2023
I have been a fan of writer Brian Katcher since Playing with Matches, and Marley’s Ghost is my new favorite. Katcher’s expansive, inclusive heart is displayed in each of his titles, but in Marley’s Ghost his maturation as a writer is very evident.
Marley’s Ghost offers flawed, believable, and loveable characters with a plot full of twists I never saw coming. As true of all of Katcher’s books, in his dedication to depict real-life problems for both teens and adults, kindness prevails.
Full disclosure: I was briefly acquainted with Brian some 25 years ago when we taught First Grade children in Pachuca, Mexico. Now I delight in reading snatches of his off-the-wall-humor that had left us U.S. teachers there simultaneously baffled and tied in stitches.
Marley’s Ghost offers flawed, believable, and loveable characters with a plot full of twists I never saw coming. As true of all of Katcher’s books, in his dedication to depict real-life problems for both teens and adults, kindness prevails.
Full disclosure: I was briefly acquainted with Brian some 25 years ago when we taught First Grade children in Pachuca, Mexico. Now I delight in reading snatches of his off-the-wall-humor that had left us U.S. teachers there simultaneously baffled and tied in stitches.
August 20, 2022
Another entertaining book by Brian Katcher worth reading. Katcher is one of the few authors whose writing actually makes me laugh out loud! He has the ability to write character's thoughts and speech so cleverly that it both surprises me and yet makes me hear the voices in my head exactly as teens speak. I believe many teen readers will identify with the characters: Aaron's questioning of his faith; Kyler's self doubt; Vanessa's insecurities; Jessica's home life. I'd recommend this book to any young adult reader wanting a good mystery, suspense. Worthwhile purchase.
September 22, 2022
Katcher's voice is always a delight! I fell in love with Kyler and Aaron just as I have all Katcher's characters, who jump from the page from the first chapter. This was a fun read with plenty of twists and turns and who doesn't want to find lost treasure?
Everyone has layers in this novel, and it's refreshing to see nuances in what could be cliched characters in another author's hands. Do yourself a favor and pick up Marley's Ghost (ideal for YA or adults, honestly).
Everyone has layers in this novel, and it's refreshing to see nuances in what could be cliched characters in another author's hands. Do yourself a favor and pick up Marley's Ghost (ideal for YA or adults, honestly).
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November 16, 2022How far off the rails can a plot populated by overprotected church kids go?
I recommend this to those who enjoy road trip books with unexpected adventure and disaster (think Unpregnant, but with a different sort of mission than obtaining an abortion, or Adventures in Babysitting, but all of the kids are old enough to take care of themselves, even if they never have been trusted to do so before).
I recommend this to those who enjoy road trip books with unexpected adventure and disaster (think Unpregnant, but with a different sort of mission than obtaining an abortion, or Adventures in Babysitting, but all of the kids are old enough to take care of themselves, even if they never have been trusted to do so before).
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews