I Heart You, You Haunt Me

The simple, charming story of a girl trying to find herself after she loses the boy she loves. What sets this story apart from other broken-hearted teenager novels? First, the book is written in verse, which gives a very immediate appeal to the voice of Ava. Second, the grief of her loss is compounded by her love's “reappearance” in her life as a ghost. Very sweet.

What's special about Ava Bender? She's hopeful.

Isn't it everyone's grieving wish to be in some sort of contact with the one they've lost? To live on with them hanging around, always there for you, letting you remember the happy memories? What happens when the bond that connected the two doesn't break when it was supposed to? Wouldn't that be a dream come true?

Ava understands the literal meaning of death, however, she's tested on what the words “moving on” mean. To have your boyfriend waiting for you would be your dream, never having to let him go. But when you come to the conclusion that he's holding himself back because he is an incorporeal being, how much are you willing to let him hold you back? For how long?

With such a brief book and so few words, the emotions that placated me throughout the grievance and self-discovery were amazing to feel. I believe that if it were done in any other way not in verse, the same amount and variety of emotions would not have portrayed themselves to the reader as well. I also believe that at times, reading in verse is more like an experience of another person's emotions if nothing else. One thing I liked the most was the pace, because it brought about all the stages that Ava essentially needed to go through for herself and also complemented the assurance of having the people around her trying to bring her back to the world of the living.

Schroeder wrote such an approachable book that would make lost readers be found. Lyrical yet relatable, I Heart You, You Haunt Me created a visual visage of what Ava went through and all the steps she took to make it there.

Grade: B