Rating: 
Summary: Ghosts and the Living
Review: This is a wonderful collection of ghost stories. Although the collection is titled after the final story, it is more about being alive than being dead. Most of the stories deal with hard issues as well as the ghost. The stories are as follows.Drop By Drop - A 16-year-old has to put up with her family's move from city to country. To make it worse, the ghost of a young girl is trying to tell her something.
Dancing With Marjorie's Ghost - Beware of what you promise the dead.
Shadow Brother - A young girl has to deal with her brother reluctantly going to war in Viet Nam.
The Ghost - Students move into a house that was the scene of a murder. The ghost has different ideas.
For Love Of Him - A boy becomes fascinated with a tombstone for two lovers who died two days apart. He seems to get sucked into their history.
October Chill - A girl dying of cancer discovers she can see a ghost at the museum where she works.
Being Dead - At the start of the Great Depression, a young paperboy gets killed when a jumper lands on him. He can move on but decides to straighten out a few things first. I was pleased by all of these stories. The author shows a real sensitivity to the plights of the characters. The collection is split in the middle by the almost humorous "The Ghost" which is far less serious than the three stories before or after it. Check it out.
Rating: 
Summary: Read it in one sitting...IF you dare!
Review: Vivian Vande Velde writes with such a sure grasp of teen dialogue, teen humor and teen life one is convinced that she must be a perpetual teenager herself. The seven stories in this volume are by turns spine-chilling, rib-tickling and heart tugging. Some of them all at once. Each story gives us a protagonist with a haunting problem, a sense of grim humor and (with the exception of the sweet but predictable "October Chill") a surprising resolution. Included here is a tale of near perfection...thrills, chills, mystery and even a little comedy..."Drop by Drop" will make you laugh even while it's scaring you out of a year's growth. The protagonist, Beth, struggles to make friends in a new town--and to wonder WHY she, of her entire family, is haunted by the spirit of an angry little girl. Beth is so funny about her misery, and so typical of the parentally put-upon teenager that we can't help but be sympathetic to her problem. But as the story (it's a long one--64 pages that fly by) unfolds, clues and ominous hints to the nature of the vicious little ghost are also revealed...and they spell disaster for Beth. In fact, this story is not terrifying because of the ghost but because of the disaster her revelation will mean for Beth and her family. I
sat in breathless wonder when I finished this tale. It is the best of a wonderful lot and should be read to all teens of a certain age.... Of the other tales, "Dancing With Marjorie's Ghost" is a great
tale for campfire tellings...the final lines will chill you, "For Love of Him" offers a darker view of romance beyond the grave and "Shadow Brother" will disturb anyone who has an older brother and a father who just don't get along. "The Ghost" is
a short, funny piece that certainly owes much to a certain popular film of a few seasons ago. The title story features one of the wildest ways to die and humorously examines the lengths one will go to to provide for one's family. In all, a delightfully chilly bit of mist and mirrors, perfect for the young reader who loves ghost stories and wants something fresh, thoughtful and funny.
| 
