Chris Chinchilla’s Reviews > A Stranger Here > Status Update

​A quiet, excellent coming-of-age ending. Starr’s ghostly presence isn't about finding a tragic soulmate; it’s a catalyst for Jada to understand love. He shows her not to settle for the shallow "plain love" of the boy down the road, while Uncle Mac & Rosanne show her that real love is messy, imperfect, and human. The memory of Starr stays, but Jada leaves with something better: high standards and self-worth.

Jada's arc in these final chapters is a victory in character agency. By forgiving her parents and reclaiming the "left on a bench" story, she stops letting past myths define her worth. And watching her use Daniel's embarrassing childhood memory to silence his gossip? Perfection. She may not know her exact future, but she’s fiercely grounded in who she is and what she’ll never settle for.

Ch. 12 delivers a solid lesson in subverting expectations. Learning Rosanne was never Starr’s "great love"—and that Starr was always looking for "someone from before"—recontextualizes the whole haunting. Jada isn't a stand-in for a lost romance; she’s the soul Starr was searching for all along. Wyss clears the emotional field, leaving us with a deeply compelling, impossible mystery.

Finally! Jada giving Daniel a genuine chance—only for him to instantly blow it—is crucial character agency. Her firm "never come around again" is the cathartic moment we’ve been waiting for. It proves her rejection of "plain love" isn't just a fantasy about a ghost, but a conscious stand for her own self-worth. Watching a YA protagonist claim her boundaries so cleanly is incredibly satisfying.

The 4th of July auction is a great narrative convergence. Starr bidding on Jada’s pie using his father's voice creates a devastating moment of tragic overlap. Watching Starr silently react while his father grieves the son (and heir) he lost grounds the supernatural in real human tragedy. It shifts Starr from a romantic mystery to a deeply poignant loss for the whole town.

When Jada pleads, "I'm alone and you're from another time," the core conflict of A Stranger Here clicks into place. It’s not a standard "will they, won't they"—we know a ghost and a living girl can't end up together. Instead, Wyss shifts the tension to the emotional: how do you navigate holding a profound love you can't keep? A fascinating, mature pivot for a YA supernatural romance.

Genius craft choice in Ch. 7. Because Jada’s nonverbal frustration with Daniel is so glaringly obvious to the reader without a single word of internal complaint, Daniel’s total failure to pick up on it pulls double duty. It doesn't just show Jada’s boundary-setting; it cements Daniel’s complete, self-absorbed aloofness. Perfect execution of characterization through contrast.

​Ch. 6 is a clinic in structural mirroring. Framed by Daniel at the start and Starr at the end, Wyss sharply contrasts the suitors. Daniel insults Jada’s name and makes crude advances at the Gideon tree; Starr calls her "Jada of the exquisite name" and asks to meet under the same tree with poetic respect. Smart character positioning that makes Jada’s supernatural pull completely understandable.

Ch. 4 shows why you don't need to dump town history in Ch. 1. Wyss waits until Jada is actively running an errand to reveal Ravensfield’s past as a bypassed railroad town. It feels natural because it’s tied to character movement. Perfect structural timing—withholding world-building until the reader actually has a reason to care makes the setting feel discovered, not forced.

Ch. 2-3 of A Stranger Here masterfully set up a peaceful but stagnant baseline. Love the "salt of the earth" dynamic of Uncle Mac vs. Aunt May’s view of "work." Wyss builds a cozy, ordinary world through sharp, witty dialogue, making us wonder exactly how this quiet reality is going to be upended by the supernatural. Excellent structural contrast—the calm before the paranormal storm.