Notes From Ghost Town
They say first love never dies...
When sixteen-year-old artist Olivia Tithe is visited by the ghost of her first love, Lucas Stern, it's only through scattered images and notes left behind that she can unravel the mystery of his death.
There's a catch: Olivia has gone colorblind, and there's a good chance she's losing her mind completely--just like her mother did. How else to explain seeing (and falling in love all over again with) someone who isn't really there?
With the murder trial looming just nine days away, Olivia must follow her heart to the truth, no matter how painful. It's the only way she can save herself.
Amazon | Goodreads
Seventeen-year-old Penelope "Lo" Marin has always collected beautiful things. Since her brother's untimely death, her collection has become an obsession. When she finds an antique butterfly necklace that belonged to a murdered girl at a flea market, she impulsively steals it and becomes fixated. As Lo delves deeper into the life of this girl she feels an otherworldly connection to, she finds herself in the middle of a violent underworld of crime, drugs and sex. But the more questions she asks, the more danger she is in. Can Lo uncover the killer's identity, or will she become the next victim?
Amazon | Goodreads
About Kate Ellison
Kate Ellison is the critically acclaimed author of The Butterfly Clues. She spent a lot of time as a child, in Baltimore, pretending to be things she wasn't: a twin, a telekinetic, a benevolent witch with a box full of magical stones, a spy, a soccer player. She trained as an actor in Chicago and has walked across the entire country of Spain. She is a painter and jewelry-maker, and has at least one artist friend who really does keep his true name a secret from the world. He told her, but don't ask her to tell you—she's not gonna do it. Kate lives in Brooklyn, New York.
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Thriller YA is essential because it is much better than watching it alone (that makes you scream) and it`s sparks your curiosity better~
ReplyDeleteThere is just not enough mystery/thriller in YA, I think. Or maybe I just don't know of very many titles like these? But I love a good mystery or thriller now and then!
DeleteIs this US only or international?
ReplyDeleteUS and Canada only. (It's stated in the Terms and Conditions on the Rafflecopter form.)
DeleteYA Ghost books are the best!! Plus, I love ghosts & ghost hunting =D
ReplyDeleteYay! I like them too.
DeleteI like murder mysteries but haven't really come across them in YA. I want to see the characters try to solve them and hopefully grow in different ways. It'll also be nice trying to solve it with them.
ReplyDeleteRight? There just aren't that many YA mysteries, especially murder mysteries. You may want to look into Kim Harrington's books. There are a few others floating around as well. Maybe I'll do a suggested reading post on YA mystery books!
DeleteI could so use some more mysteries and thrillers in YA! I'll def. have to check thest books out!!
ReplyDeleteYay for more mysteries and thrillers!
DeleteI LOVE me a good mystery - I grew up reading Nancy Drew and Trixie Belden and I still have a 200+ collection of them stored away :)
ReplyDeleteYay! My older sister handed her Nancy Drew collection down to me when I was younger. A couple of months ago, my dad found them in my parents' attic and tried to throw them away! :O But my mom stopped him, so they're safe for now. I have been meaning to look through them.
DeleteI LOVE thriller/mystery books--Nancy Drew and Cherry Ames were two of my favorite series growing up (my mom gave me her old collection of them and I still have them to this day). And when I was transitioning from younger books into the YA genre, I loved Meg Cabot's The Mediator series.
ReplyDeleteI feel like romance is so heavily over-emphasized in YA today, but YA mysteries show how YA can still be exciting and engaging without having the plot revolve so completely around a romance, depending on that to drive the story.
I've read a few good YA thriller/mysteries lately, like The Diviners, Virals, Unraveling, The Storyteller, Ultraviolet, This Is Not a Test, and Out of the Easy (which I'm currently reading). Some of them aren't real "mystery" or "thriller" books, but have strong mystery/thriller plot lines. I do think that more authors are venturing into this area, which makes me SO happy, because I love a good mystery! Probably why I'm so obsessed with procedural TV shows... ;)
Yeah!! I am sick of the focus on romance in every book. I've had authors tell me that they can't get some of their books published because the publisher told them it doesn't focus enough on romance. That's ridiculous! I mean, don't get me wrong, I like romance. It's just...does it really HAVE to be the central plot point in everything?! Especially with science fiction or fantasy books where the conflict and action should clearly be the driving force of the story? And then they throw in the love triangles to keep readers hooked on a series JUST to see who the characters end up with. I find that to be an insulting development on the behalf of both readers and writers. Many of these writers can write stories that are good enough to sell books on the merits of their plots and themes and (NON-romantic) conflicts. I feel like there's a disconnect between what readers want and what publishers THINK readers want. And I feel like teenage girls in particular (since that's who many YA books are marketed to) are being condescended to when publishers act as though their belief is that a book with less focus on romance won't sell, as though the majority of YA readers only care about romance. If you can't make your characters interesting without giving them a love interest, well... :/
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