Appointment with a Stranger

by Jean Thesman

Deeply self-concious about her severe asthma attacks, high school student Keller Parrish finds solace in the company of an attractive but mysterious boy at a remote pond, unaware that he is an insubstantial echo of a forty-year-old tragedy

Genres: Young Adult, Paranormal, Paranormal Romance, Fiction, Ghosts

176 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1989

About the author

Jean Thesman was a widely read and award-winning American author known for her young adult fiction, with a career spanning over 25 years. Her novels often explored themes of family, identity, and belonging, frequently featuring heroines who find their place in the world by uncovering truths about their families and forming chosen connections. “I loved telling the story,” she once wrote, “because I really believed that families were made up of the people you wanted, not the people you were stuck with.”
Born with a passion for storytelling and literacy, she learned to read before starting school and recalled having to wait until she was six years old before being allowed her first library card. Throughout her career, she authored around 40 books, most under her own name but a few under the pseudonym T.J. Bradstreet.
Thesman published a wide range of novels for teens and middle-grade readers, including stand-alone works such as The Rain Catchers, Calling the Swan, and Cattail Moon, as well as series like The Whitney Cousins, The Birthday Girls, and The Elliott Cousins. Her lyrical style, emotional depth, and strong female characters earned her a loyal readership. Notable works like The Ornament Tree and In the House of the Queen’s Beasts remain particularly admired for their nuanced storytelling and emotional resonance.
She was a longtime resident of Washington state and an active member of The Authors Guild and the Society for Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. Jean Thesman passed away in 2016 at the age of 86, leaving behind a significant legacy in young adult literature.

Reviews

[Ryan]

I loved this book when I was 12, I think I made everyone I knew read it. But I did notice that the boy on the cover was wearing a digital watch even though he died before the Second World War. It's just always bothered me.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this cover to cover as a kid. That is saying something for me. It was a rainy fall night. I kept the window open and read to the ghosts outside.

[Grace Chan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Preeetty sure it's not a spoiler to say there is a GHOST BOY and GHOST DOG in this book, esp. since they're pictured on the cover AND in the quick synopsis from Goodreads 😅

So yes our protag Keller is a bit of outlier due to her hardcore asthma attacks that incessantly land her in the hospital, and render her helpless in social situations. She meets a hot boy and his cute dog by the lake, down the way from her grandma's house, and when she's with him, her asthma all but disappears. Heeey, Doctor Feel Good! So he says he lives in the house next to the lake, but isn't it abandoned? No one at school has ever heard of him when Keller asks around, maybe bc he is ghost boy 🤣🤣 Meanwhile Keller is all making out with him and everything 🤣💋👻

I really enjoyed this read, despite my jokes. It was well written, engaging, and dare I say, kinda romantic in a melancholy way. The writing was very 'Carol Beach York', if you've read any books by that 80's spooky YA author - descriptive, visual, and lovely.

The ending is a bit heartbreaking if you're a lame sap like me, who can't handle the emotional pang of being tied to the past and having to leave when you're just not ready to. Also hearing about animals in peril will make me teary-eyed, EVERY. DAMN. TIME. Buuuut (mild spoiler) I will say Ghost Dog gets his comeuppance in the end 👏

A new stan of author Jean Thesman now, off to read another by her!

[Sunshine Klein · Rating 5 out of 5]

The fact that I still think of this book almost 30 years later says something!
I think I read it about 7 times.
I wish I still had it.

[Elizabeth Gibbs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Edge of your seat, up-all-night book about a girl who falls in love with two boys - one turns out to be a ghost.

[Miranda Dallis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read this book probably 20 times since I was 13. It never gets old. And I still love it just as much today as I did then.

[Lois · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my favorite book at 12! I read it over and over and over again!!!

[AquaMoon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read and re-read and re-re-read this as a teen, so obviously I loved it, like, SOOOO much. It may have even been my favorite book at one point.

On the "I'm An Adult Now Re-Read", I'm happy to say it pretty much holds up. And, although far from perfect (by today's nearly impossible standards), this book is much better written than some of the other terrible-but-delightful trash I was reading at the time (Christopher Pike, VC Andrews).

But maybe that's just the nostalgia talking.

The lead character, Keller, is wonderfully flawed. She's got severe asthma and has been in and out of hospitals all her life. Because of her condition, she has endured bullying and, also, hasn't been able to participate in a lot of typical peer activities like Skate Parties and School Dances. Because of this, her self-esteem has taken a major hit. She is both reluctant to trust people and afraid she'll disappoint those few she does let inside her circle of trust (see: physical limitations). She carries this baggage with her when she is sent to live with her grandmother, who lives out in the country (fresh country air = better for her lungs). How much of these fears are in her head, we don't know, exactly. Keller is a bit of a pessimistic drama queen when we first meet her...and remains that way for much of the book.

But Cascade isn't like other small towns. Keller is instantly befriended by Rose, a popular girl from her art class, and Drew, a cute boy who wants to be more than just friends...but is firmly and absolutely in Keller's Friend Zone (poor dude). Then a near-miss accident conspires to put her in touch with Tom, the romantic lead of the story. Tom is everything Keller (or, really, ANY lonely teen girl) dreams of finding in a potential boyfriend: Good looking, kind, loves animals, mysterious... Emphasis on the "mysterious," because the guy definitely has some major stuff to hide!! Despite warnings from her friends, Keller keeps going back to the rural pond where she first encountered Tom so she can meet up with him in secret. But it's getting harder and harder for her to balance both lives. And the reader knows it's only a matter of time before the proverbial shit will hit the proverbial fan.

But what form will that shit take?

Ah, but that's the Twist.

And I remember being absolutely blown away by The Big Twist when I first read this book when I was, maybe, 12 or 13. It was on (or near) the level of the "No Effing Way" level of shock I felt when I first encountered The Big Twist in We Were Liars. Of course, I was still pretty inexperienced with Twists back when I read "Appointment," so even if said Twist was glaringly obvious early on in the story (which it totally is), I still didn't catch on.

Reminded me of The Clearing and When Marnie Was There

[Winter · Rating 5 out of 5]

So glad I read this book again. I first discovered it on a shelf of discarded books at my high school, though I'm unsure which grade I was in. It was one of few books that I had discovered that I couldn't put down, and I believe it played a pivotal role in inspiring me to read more novels. It's a story that's stuck with me ever since I read it the first time, and I would think about the characters and story periodically over the years since, about how haunting and magical it felt experiencing it for the first time. Reading it again, I felt pretty much the same way and can understand it's appeal and impact on my teenage imagination. It really is a special story. But unfortunately there are some instances in the book, mainly involving the main female character that are frustrating to read. She's feels helpless and alone throughout the story and only the companionship of a man seems to be what completes her. And there is a sexist line near the end of the book that surprised me. But I understand it is a 30 year old book, and we are now able to see the issues with these ideas and how they belittle the female lead. But otherwise, it is a very well written story and I will definitely go back to it years from now to relive it again, and again.

[Gina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book for the first time when I was 11 or 12 years old. It was the first book that I remember standing out to me and I absolutely loved it. I let a friend borrow it and I never got it back. I've spent the last 20 years trying to remember the name of this book and trying to track it down. A month ago I went on thriftbooks and I stumbled upon it! I could not believe it! I could not buy it fast enough! Although it wasn't as impactful as I remember because of my young age. This is still a great read and beautifully done! I will never let it leave my library again! Lol

[Kristin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful bittersweet romantic and sad. The only thing was the treatment of asthma seemed very dated but this was written in 1989.

[Lauren Covaci · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the book that inspired me to become a writer.

[Just a person]

This is a quick and easy read. While it was good, and the characters were pretty well developed for novel length, something was missing for me. There is nothing overtly wrong with this book except that I wish that I didn't know from the beginning that he was a ghost. I don't know if that would have made it any different.
I also really liked Drew, he is funny, caring and persistent, and I know if she would have chosen him off the bat, there wouldn't really have been a story, but I favored him the whole time, and wish that I knew for certain rather than hinting that she at least gave him a chance.
This is reminiscent of Lurlene McDaniel, so if you enjoy that kind of read, I would give it a go.

[Katrina Sutton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was definitely a page turner. One of my favorites, I was memorized with the story of a girl and a boy who was ghost. I only wish that I happen to have a copy of this book because then I would lend it out to my friends. It's that good.

[Chantal Sordzi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Light read -I read this when I was twelve years old over the summer and I still remember how intriguing it was.

[Heather Shuck]

Sequoyah Winner: 1991-1992 (YA)