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Book Review of Absent

Absent
Absent
Author: Katie Williams
Genre: Teen & Young Adult
Book Type: Hardcover
ophelia99 avatar reviewed on + 2527 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2


I got a copy of this book to review through Librarythings Early Reviewer program. Thanks to Chronicles Books and Librarything for giving me a chance to review this book. This was an interesting, engaging and short read.

Paige is dead after slipping off the roof of her high school during physics class. She finds herself haunting the high school with two other ghosts, a girl named Brooke and a boy name Evan. When rumors start circulating that Paiges death was a suicide, not an accident, Paige decides theses rumors must stop. When she finds she can possess her classmates she decides to take drastic measures to correct the rumors.

Paige isnt a nice character. She is selfish and ignorant, and does a number of seedy things as a ghost to take revenge on those who have hurt her. That doesnt mean shes evil...it just means she is a ghost and confused and in pain. She is your pretty typical teenager...except shes dead.

The irony behind it all is that sometimes when she takes over people and makes them do things they wouldnt normally end up doing....welll....their lives actually end up a bit better.

This story however isnt all about Paige and her revenge. Isnt it strange that so many kids have died at one high school? There is something going on at this high school and it is up to Paige and her ghost friends to figure it out before more students die.

This was a quick read. It was engaging and decently written. One of those books that you breeze through and think, huh, well that was interesting. There isnt a lot thats super original here, but it is well done. The book also does a good job of exploring the high school landscape and the cruelties that happen there.

The story touches on a number of teenage issues; suicide, GLBT issues, bullying, and stereotyping. For the most part it does just that...touches...none of these issues are really explored in depth.

Overall a good read. Its super short, but I enjoyed it. Its an engaging story that moves quickly and has a couple good twists in the plot. Recommended to those who like high school haunting types of stories.