Review: Vintage: 13th Anniversary Edition by Steve Berman
SYNOPSIS:
On a chilly, autumn night, on a lonely New Jersey highway, a teenager meets the boy of his dreams dressed in vintage clothing. When the boy vanishes, the teenager discovers he’s encountered the local legend, the ghost of a young man who died four decades earlier and has haunted that stretch of road ever since. Curious and smitten, the next evening the teen returns with his best friend. So begins an unusual story of boy-meets-ghost complete with Ouija boards, hours spent in cemeteries, scares and macabre humor. This new edition of the book, to celebrate its thirteenth anniversary, features a new introduction by New York Times best-selling author Holly Black.
REVIEW:
*Book Received in Exchange for Honest Opinion/Review*
This book was a ride. Part mystery, part horror, part ghost story, part romance…all captivating, I quickly found myself sucked into this intriguing new world. The book starts off with a delightful Introduction by Holly Black who sets the tone for a story that will haunt my memories.
First off, I have to say that this is one of the most unique YA books I have ever read. The story is set in 1997 and it’s a startling reminder of how much the world has changed in the past 20-some years but yet a reminder of how far it still has to go. The book centers around an elusive, lost young man (MC), who fled home after being ousted as gay. He escapes to his Aunt’s house and befriends a girl named Trace. Along the way of making new friends, finding his footing in a new town, and struggling to accept himself, he realizes he can see ghosts.
The story carries and undercurrent of a message and that is that most people at the end of the day just want to be loved. Which is truly how the MC finds himself in this situation to begin with. He learns that not all love is equal or welcomed from his encounters with his first ghost. As the MC encounters more and more ghost throughout the story, some friendly and some frightful, things start to go awry.
It ends up being such a complex, well crafted journey. The storyline and characters interwoven together with overlapping history that had me reeling when revealed. I don’t want to spoil the plot but the MC really has to go through some trials and tribulations to find his little slice of happiness. This is the type of story I would enjoy reading each year when Halloween rolls around.
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