Young Adult Book Reading Challenges discussion

What did you think of Ava and Jackson's relationship as portrayed in the story? Did you find it healthy and sweet? Or maybe a little co-dependent? What did you think of Jackson?

A little too co-dependent but I know of many high school flings that are similiar.

I agree with Brenda. The relationship was uncomfortable, but realistic. Some elements were sweet, but overall it seemed too serious and a bit unhealthy. Of course, it got more unhealthy, but Jackson definitely redeemed himself in the end.

I wonder how much of this is based on my perspective (older and a dad). My 13 year old daughter is reading it next and I am interested to see what she thinks.

Mostly the relationship seemed sweet to me, but then a couple of times I questioned it - for instance when Jackson follows Ava during her night out with her girlfriends. I also thought Jackson's addiction to thrill was unhealthy. I think the book would have been better with these issues explored in more detail.

For the most part, I found their relationship sweet, especially given these modern times, where pressure to have sex is so intense. I mostly thought that Jackson was very respectful of Ava and her feelings. These two did seem to love each other rather intensely, but those types of emotions, especially at that age, usually are intense given that individuals that young rarely have life experiences that temper the hormones. I agree with T in regard to Jackson's thrill seeking as well as his tantrum throwing, it was a bit over the top, and just a smidge bit frightful, but in the end, I felt as though Jackson was loving, and rather intuitive and mature. Furthermore, I felt that Ava demonstrated tremendous maturity in how she coped with her relationships. That isn't to say she did everything right, but she tried to do everything well, which is more than some people twice her age can say for themselves.

Tatiana wrote: "Mostly the relationship seemed sweet to me, but then a couple of times I questioned it - for instance when Jackson follows Ava during her night out with her girlfriends. I also thought Jackson's ad..."

I agree. I mostly liked their relationship but there were several times where red flags went up. I did appreciate the fact that Ava realized something wasn't right with that. It sounded like Jackson was like that when he was alive, though, too. There was some mention of how he'd fly off the handle about little things like that and how he wanted Ava all to himself. At least with his ghost she realized it was bad for him to want her to stay indoors and be alone with him.

I didn't find their relationship sweet or strange, just typical. It's not just their age, though, it was probably their first LOVE. Everyone remembers their first true love. You tend to overlook the bad and remember all the good. You romanticize everything, so the possessive becomes passionate.

Now that I'm thinking this over, I do find it strange that Jackson just let Ava go. We didn't really see his revelation like we did Ava's. He wanted her to stay in the house all the time with him. Since he didn't show up when other people were around, I thought he was trying to isolate her. He got angry when she left. What do you think?

Nice point, Courtney. If all he wanted was for Ava to forgive herself, why did he try to make her stay home all the time and created a mess in the house when she left?