Customer Reviews

Listen to the Ghost

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Blurb: All seventeen-year-old Jade Dalton wants to do is show her paintings at Charleston, South Carolina's, annual Piccolo Spoleto Festival, swim in the ocean, forget Kurt Sinclair, her ex-boyfriend and his lying lips, and prove she's as perfect as her brother, David. So how does she end up with Phoebe, a ghost who doesn't want to be a ghost; Doc, a one-hundred-year-old neighbor who talks in riddles; and Matt, a gorgeous saxophone player who changes her opinion about guys?
Jade and Matt are soon caught up in a desperate search for two wedding bands that will set Phoebe free. They must find the rings by Jade's eighteenth birthday, the same day that Phoebe was to marry her fiancé, Isaac, in 1923, or she is doomed to remain a ghost for eternity.

What Stephanie Thought: Listen to the Ghost is a cheery, meaningful novel for preteens and teens that dabbles on the importance of friendship, family, and perseverance.
After a messy breakup, all Jade wants to do is have a fun-filled, drama-free summer with her best friend and brother at her grandparents' mansion in her favorite town. The only problem? There's a rumor going around that the house is haunted, and to Jade's horror, the ghost may just be haunting her!
But Phoebe (yes, the ghost has a name) isn't just doing it for kicks and giggles; Phoebe needs something from Jade, and she needs it before time runs out. When Phoebe reveals who she is, or rather, who she was, Jade realizes she really needs to help Phoebe out, or else Phoebe may remain a meandering ghost forever -- something that could affect her and her family's lives.
Beverly Stowe McClure creates an original, witty plot that is full of suspense, as well as creepy spine-tingling situations.
What I find a little "off" about this novel, is how evident it is that the narrator is not a teenager. Jade is seventeen going on eighteen, and obviously not many young adult authors are that age. However, the reason most young adult authors are so successful is because their voice and diction are both as fresh as young readers today. I'm not saying McClure is a bad writer, because she certainly isn't. But her writing is a little too chaste, as if she doesn't know how real teenagers act, or how they should act. Teenagers are inappropriate, they are moody, they are horny and angry and enthusiastic. McClure's characters are rather flat, and seem too polite, which is not very believable.
Listen to the Ghost itself is a great story, but I wish it had been written from a more perceptive viewpoint. One that really captures the essence of adolescent frustration, rather than innocence that is probably very hard to find and relate to in our modern teenage world.

Stephanie Loves: "'It has been a long day,' [Matt] said. 'I'll walk with you. I have some things to do, like planning my next assault on old boyfriends, should they decide to cause more trouble.'
[Jade] couldn't tell whether he was serious or joking. 'Kurt's not all bad,' she said. 'Actually, I owe him a thank you.'
'How's that?'
'He taught me a valuable lesson -- not to believe everything a guy tells me.'"

Where Stephanie Got It: Directly from Lida at Twilight Times for review

Radical Rating: A few flaws here and there, but wouldn't mind rereading.

Jade and David are house sitting their grandparents' home in Charleston. David is earning money for college, while Jade is trying to sell her paintings at an art festival. Elaine, Jade's best friend, is also staying with them, and David finds another college friend, Matt, who also comes to stay at the house.

Everything is going great until jewelry and clothes are either missing or moved. While having a barbecue, hamburgers and vegetables fly suddenly all around them. It turns out that the house is being haunted by Phoebe the ghost.

Phoebe was Jade's great aunt who had a tragic life -- her death happened on her wedding day. Phoebe gives Jade the task of finding her and her groom's wedding rings so she can rest in peace.

Matt and Jade start to look for the rings but then Jade's ex-boyfriend, Kurt, shows up. Kurt is a real piece of work and starts to stalk Jade.

This was a roller coaster of a story and I enjoyed every minute. I liked the relationship between Jade and her big brother. During the course of the story they end the relationship they had as children and start a mature adult sibling relationship. There isn't any blood or guts but the haunting can be quite scary when we don't know about Phoebe. Kurt is very scary, as well, realistically so. There is also a good romantic twist which is fun. So this Halloween or at anytime, do yourself a favor and read LISTEN TO THE GHOST!

Reviewed by: Marta Morrison

It is a sweet, funny and romantic ghost story for teens. At the heart of the book is a mystery, several relationships and a ghost of a young woman from the 1920ies, who is not above starting a food fight.
I would recommend this book for readers who love ghost stories, old houses that come with them, and a desire to see what will happen if several very responsible teenagers, but teenagers nevertheless, get to housesit a haunted house without any adult supervision.

Jade Dalton is at the threshold of her eighteenth birthday and is to spend summer vacation at her grand-parents home in Charleston, South Carolina with her brother, David and her best girlfriend, Elaine. Strange occurrences happen to Jade, from musical sounds at night to pink mists.

"Out of the corner of her eye, Jade caught movement. Ha! I see you. She swung around. She blinked. She blinked again. She rubbed her eyes and stared in awe at a faint pink mist hovering over the fireplace mantel on the far wall."

Over time, events and auras are seen by all and a journey of past truths is the path Jade must take to put the spirit to rest. As the summer progresses it is revealed through the resident ghost, Phoebe, that the lives of Jade, Matt and her ex-boyfriend Kurt are intertwined with the past. To be able to fit all the pieces together, Jade is more determined then ever to solve the mystery and reunite past loves, so that all involved can continue on their path...whether it be in this life or the afterlife.

Beverly Stowe McClure places you in the midst of the action from the get go. And her expertise brings you along for Jade Dalton's mysterious journey with the feeling that you are there and you can't help but cheer the heroine on. Visit Beverly at: http://www.beverlystowemcclure.com

"Phoebe the ghost is a delight who borrows the girls' jewelry and clothing, paints a mustache and beard on the portrait of the ex boyfriend and lobs veggies and patties at the young people. Writer McClure creates a nicely honed work filled with spine tingling action, clever scenarios, and well fleshed characters in this deftly written narrative."
From the review of M. J. Hollingshead (Molly)