Marly's Ghost (Paperback)

by David Levithan (Author), Brian Selznick (Illustrator)
Key Phrases: Valentine's Day, Saint Valentine, Ghost of Love Present (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal
Grade 7-10–In this modified version of Dickens's A Christmas Carol, Scrooge has been replaced by Ben, a high school student whose girlfriend has passed away, leaving him extremely cynical about love as Valentine's Day approaches. The creatively mutated story follows the basic action of the original as the teen is visited by Marly's ghost, then three spirits: The Ghost of Love Past, The Ghost of Love Present, and…well, you know. While this seems like a promisingly inventive way to address bereavement, nothing quite clicks in this remix of the classic. Prior knowledge of the original story seems to diminish rather than enhance the power of this adaptation. There are downright awkward moments, too. The character Tiny Tim has morphed into a pair of gay freshmen, Tiny and Tim, for example, and the young lovers' presence in the story seems gratuitous and synthetic. Selznick's pen-and-ink drawings, while very well done, don't quite seem to fit in either, reflecting the overall problem the story has establishing and sustaining a uniform tone and mood.–Jeffrey Hastings, Highlander Way Middle School, Howell, MI
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist
Gr. 7-10. "Love is humbug," rages teenager Ben in this sober, contemporary remix of Dickens'A Christmas Carol. Ben's beloved girlfriend, Marly, has died of cancer, and, as his town and high school celebrate Valentine's Day, he tries to cope with his raging grief. Levithan's heartbreaking narrative, illustrated with occasional small, crosshatched drawings, relates how Marly's ghost comes to Ben with three other spirits that take Ben first to the past he cannot forget (his first sight of Marly, their first kiss, their passionate embrace), then to his present sorrow (when, like Scrooge, he lashes out at everyone), and finally to the possible future (when he commits suicide--unless he can stop himself). The future vignette is the only point where the message gets heavy. The magical realism is powerful throughout, especially in the love story, and Levithan (who wrote Boy Meets Boy, 2003) also touches on gay relationships when dealing with the annual Valentine love fest enjoyed by the town and Ben's high school. A solid story to mark the holiday. Hazel Rochman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Young Adult
  
• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Speak (October 18, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 014240912X
• ISBN-13: 978-0142409121
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,164,992 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Love May Be Humbug...But 'Marly's Ghost' Is Quite the Opposite, December 8, 2005

By	Erika Sorocco (Southern California, USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Marly's Ghost (Hardcover)

Sixteen-year-old Ebeneezer "Ben" Scrooge, was always a die-hard Valentine's Day fan. Bringing his girlfriend, Marly, flowers and chocolates. But all that changes when Marly dies from a brain tumor. After three-years together, Ben doesn't feel that he can go on, and is angered by the fact that everyone around him is living their life as if nothing tragic has happened. What angers him even more is Valentine's Day. Suddenly, Ben wonders how a stupid, commercialized holiday can mean so much to people. So he boycotts it. But Marly's spirit obviously isn't going to allow Ben to ruin this holiday, or go on living angry. For on the eve of Valentine's Day, Marly's ghost arrives, bringing along several other ghosts that will haunt him within a 24-hour period - the Ghost of Love Past, the Ghost of Love Present, and the Ghost of Love Future - that will show Ben that the way he's been acting is doing nothing more than dishonoring Marly's memory, and making him...a scrooge.

Charles Dickens' A CHRISTMAS CAROL has been one of my favorite books since I was very young. So when I heard about David Levithan's MARLY'S GHOST, I didn't think that it could compare. I was wrong. Levithan's MARLY'S GHOST is a wonderful "remix" of the story A CHRISTMAS CAROL, and easily brings Dickens' ideas into a modern day scene that will leave readers enchanted. The storyline is sad - as is A CHRISTMAS CAROL - and the descriptions of Marly's sickness bring to mind scenes from Nicholas Sparks' A WALK TO REMEMBER, yet end on a happy note - as did Sparks' effort. Levithan has created characters that embody updated versions of all of Dickens' previous characters, even including a modern day Tiny Tim - that is actually two gay freshman named Tiny and Tim. The storyline, on its own, is wonderful, and keeps the reader turning the pages until the very end, while Brian Selznick's illustrations bring the spirit of A CHRISTMAS CAROL to life. An inspiring, emotion-charged story, that will warm the hearts of all readers - even the biggest cynics about love.

Erika Sorocco
Book Review Columnist for The Community Bugle Newspaper

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars may be better than the original..., December 22, 2005

By	Karusichan "Karusichan" (Lansing, MI. USA.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Marly's Ghost (Hardcover)

"I repeated it now- I love you. I love you. Please. I love you. Then it came- that one small gasp. We waited for the next one, but there was no next one. You expect death to bring some new form of punctuation, but there it is: one small gasp. Period."

Ben is a 16 year old man grieving the loss of his first love, Marly, a woman who died from cancer. He was with her until the end, and those moments leading up to her death still haunt him, so much so that he feel that he can't go on with her months after her death. His loss wells to such an intensity it causes him to lash out to his family, friends, and even strangers with heated animosity. On the day before Valentine's day he even tells off a couple by the names of Tiny and Tim (the school's only gay couple) proclaiming that love is pointless and other such nonsense. It is obvious that his depression has taken a toll on him.

That evening in a moment of sheer loneliness he is visited by the ghost of Marly, who tells him his ties on him are weighing her down in the afterlife and that he has to move on. He admits he wants to die, so she tells him that he will be visited by three ghosts over the next few nights... if the story sounds familiar that's because it is a retelling of Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol"... only set in contemporary times and with a Valentine's day theme instead.

It is true that Charles Dickens wrote "A Christmas Carol", but to me it feels as if it were meant purely as a study for David Levithan to use to pen this book. Now, I freely admit I have never been the biggest fan of Dickens' style of writing but I have read "A Christmas Carol" (in class, I wouldn't have finished it had I not been forced to). So I do know the story. However, it feels that Levithan's retelling is so much more suitable than Dickens' ever was. We really do feel Ben's anguish whereas before it was difficult to sympathize with Scrooge. His heartache seems far more definite than Scrooge's ever was, and the character is more likeable, even is he is difficult, at times.

I enjoyed this retelling, short as it was. It feels more fleshed out, somehow... perhaps because Ben's revelations come out of the fact that he was near suicidal at times, and that grief just reached out to me. The end seemed rushed, however that did not take away from the story. This was a pleasant read.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Modern, Teenage Take On Dickens's Christmas Carol, February 1, 2006

By	Teenreads.com (New York, NY) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Marly's Ghost (Hardcover)

As a fan of David Levithan's BOY MEETS BOY, I was anxiously awaiting the chance to read his latest, MARLY'S GHOST. Anyone familiar with Levithan's work knows what I'm talking about when I say that he wields words with the precision of a surgeon utilizing a scalpel. He can put you in someone else's head and make you feel like you've always been there. He can lift you up or shoot you down with a carefully crafted sentence. I'm happy to report that his most recent book does not disappoint.

As the title suggests, MARLY'S GHOST is a modern, teenage take on Charles Dickens's A CHRISTMAS CAROL. The twist is that it's set around Valentine's Day, not Christmas. Ben and Marly are the perfect couple at their high school. When Marly gets ill and dies, Ben is convinced he'll never recover from the loss. Just as his counterpart, Ebenezer Scrooge, turns from Christmas, Ben turns from love. He spurns his best friend, Fred, refusing to join him for their annual anti-Valentine's Day party. He verbally abuses a gay couple (amusingly bearing the names Tiny and Tim) who attempt to get Ben to buy a Valentine's Day flower. And he falls deeper and deeper into a brooding depression that takes him farther and farther from the people who care most for him.

Even a passing familiarity with the Dickens story tells you what happens next. Marly's ghost visits Ben (her "chain" is a mammoth charm bracelet she wore in life, which Ben now unknowingly uses to tie her to this world) and announces that three spirits will visit him so that he might remember the meaning of love. Ben is then taken on a tour of love from the past, the present and the future, and (I don't think it's spoiling much to reveal) he returns to his life a changed man.

But don't dismiss this as a simple parody or pastiche of Dickens. Levithan very thoughtfully crafts his characters, granting them heart and heartache. You sympathize with Ben's loss from the very beginning in a way you never felt for Dickens's Scrooge. The sundering of Tiny Tim into two boys who are very much in love is a smart and fascinating move.

The only criticism I would raise is the anachronistic language that mimics Dickens's original dialogue but seems very out of place in this modern story. True, other classic works (such as Shakespeare) have been set in modern times while retaining the original language and still maintained their integrity. But Levithan jumps back and forth from the Dickensian discourse to contemporary teen speak, which is a bit distracting. However, this minor complaint should not deter anyone from this very earnest and touching story.

--- Reviewed by Brian Farrey