Review: I Heart You, You Haunt Me by Lisa Schroeder

Title: I Heart You, You Haunt Me
Author: Lisa Schroeder
Publisher:Simon Pulse
Date Published: January 2008
Genre: Young Adult
Main Themes: Death, Ghosts, Love, Grief
Pages:240
Plot
From Amazon.com: "Girl meets boy. Girl loses boy. Girl gets boy back... sort of.

Ava can't see him or touch him, unless she's dreaming. She can't hear hisvoice, except for the faint whispers in her mind. Most would think she's crazy, but she knows he's here.

Jackson. The boy Ava thought she'd spend the rest of her life with. He's back from the dead, as proof that love truly knows no bounds."

This book was not at all what I expected. To be honest, I bought it because of the cover, title, and the little blurb on the back - I had no idea that it was written in verse or what it was really about.

This book really was haunting, just not for the reasons I thought it would be. First off, it wasn't a book about a love that lasts even after death - not really anyway. It was more about first love and moving on - whether that first love is dead or not. I think that that was the really beautiful thing about this book - I could relate to Ava because their is grief and loss in break ups as well as in death, granted it isn't exactly the same, but sometimes it feels like it is.

I really enjoyed that the book was written in verse. It made for a quick read, but it flowed wonderfully.

My one complaint was Jackson - I just didn't really like him all that much. I think that if I would have known the Jackson of before I might have, but I really didn't feel a connection to him. But there were some great flashbacks that made me look at him a bit fondly.

Ratings (out of 10):
Plot: 10
Characters: 8
Writing style: 10
Romance: 9
Originality: 10

Total: 47/50 (A-)

I recommend this book because it really was quite intense and the writing was beautiful, but I can't say it's a favorite of mine. However, I am really excited about Lisa Schroeder's upcoming novel, Chasing Brooklyn! I'll definitely give the new one and her other novel, Far From You, a look!