The Best Reader + TIME

Once again please welcome Sheila, from One Person's Journey Through a World of Books, as this week's Guest Reviewer. This is Sheila’s second time as a Guest Reviewer – check out her review of The Book Thief.
******************* Nothing But Ghosts – Beth Kephart
“Grief and all its anguish is at the heart of this story. Reeling from her mother’s death, Katie, 16, takes a summer job on a nearby wealthy estate as part of a work crew constructing a gazebo. As she bonds with her fellow teen worker, Danny, she stumbles across secrets about the beautiful, rich recluse who lives in the big house. Why has wacky Miss Martine not been seen for over 50 years? Is the hole that they’re digging really for the gazebo? With the help of the glamorous town librarian (yes, glamorous), Katie and Danny research local lore in newspaper files and microfilm. The connections between solving the mystery and Katie’s bereavement struggle are sometimes overstated. Her first-person present-tense narrative is clear and lyrical, though, especially in her portrayal of her genius dad, an artist who asks, “How do you paint regret?” and in her discovery that “beauty and sadness can both live in one place.” I found Beth’s writing to be wonderful and detailed. I enjoyed the flash backs of Katie’s mom and even though she was a character who had passed on, her presence in this book is sensed as well as felt, and I think appropriately so. I could imagine the pain of Katie losing her mother at such a tender age, yet trying to be strong for herself as well as her dad – as her dad was for her.
The mystery of Miss Martine in the book is actually a salvation for Katie and her dad. While going about doing what they do, they stumble blindly into something that not only brings them fully into the situation… but binds them together. As the book ends I had a sense of good things to come. The book left me feeling that they would be alright, that doors were opening to a future that in the final chapter as they all sit around the dinner table.
This book is categorized as Young Adult and I can see this being enjoyed by that age group. I certainly enjoyed the read and I will be looking for more from Beth Kephart in the future. Readers, I recommend you spend some time this summer with Nothing But Ghosts.
******************* As always, I really want to thank Sheila for taking the time to come up with such a great review! If anyone else has a great book to recommend to high school students, please email me (my profile has the address). Check out this post for more information on how to become a guest reviewer.
Please remember to check out Sheila's blog, One Person's Journey Through a World of Books, and share some book love.

Thanks again, Sheila, for the great review and for being the first Guest Reviewer to make a second appearance! Thanks!