By: Laura Whitcomb Publisher: Graphia Average Rating: Binding: Paperback Label: Graphia Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 288 Publication Date: September 21, 2005 Reading Level: Young Adult
Product Description: In the class of the high school English teacher she has been haunting, Helen feels them: for the first time in 130 years, human eyes are looking at her. They belong to a boy, a boy who has not seemed remarkable until now. And Helen—terrified, but intrigued—is drawn to him. The fact that he is in a body and she is not presents this unlikely couple with their first challenge. But as the lovers struggle to find a way to be together, they begin to discover the secrets of their former lives and of the young people they come to possess.
This book was so different from your typical Ghost Story! When I first started to read it, I thought this is going to be a slow book. All of the sudden it took off and I could not put it down. I had to see how it ended. It had a twist at the end and I was very happy with the outcome! I was shocked at the boldness of the author though. I do not think it is a YA book.
Special A Certain Slant of Light is the story of Helen, James, and the romance that develops between them.
That's the simple version. What makes it special is in the details for Helen and James are spirits and their courtship is a fascinating study in behavior of past and present.
To be with James, who by luck, inhabited the body of a boy whose spirit is absent, Helen must learns to do the same thing.
But the bodies that they choose have painful histories of their own that they cannot escape or avoid.
As Helen and James learn more about her host bodies's lives, they gradually remember the details of their own.
Ms Whitcomb does a masterful job of weaving a story that encompasses melancholy, joy, loneliness, forgiveness, spirituality and the need for people to connect. In Helen, she creates a heroine whose longing for something is tangible and her romance with James is touching and genuine.
The story unfolds at a leisurely pace but it never gets boring. The suspense of what will happen to the spirit lovers as well as their young hosts is handled well.
If there was one drawback, it is that end comes up way too quickly and we can only trust that all with work out in the living world. But that's a quibble.
Overall, this is a very special novel. The prose was gorgeous, the characters intriguing, and a plot that keeps the reader on his/her toes to the very end.
Really enjoyed it I liked that this wasnt your typical ghost story, nor was it your typical love story. It was a simple read and I couldnt put it down until I had finished it.
An odd YA novel, but interesting nonetheless. Prior to reading A Certain Slant of Light, I expected something along the lines of Stephanie Meyer's acclaimed supernatural romance. The books are entirely different, however, such that A Certain Slant of Light targets the young adult crowd very oddly and lacks character development. It chronicles the existence of Helen, a ghost anchored to earth for 130 years by a series of hosts, who is puzzled over why a human high school boy can see her. This developing romance goes awry, however, when the author has her main character announce that she is (or had been when she died) in her late 20s-- a big no-no when you are gearing your book towards teenagers. But it doesn't stop there: This high school boy is a ghost named James who is equally old, inhabiting a boy's body. The fact that two twenty-something year old ghosts are carrying out an elicit romance through two "borrowed" bodies is enough to throw off the teenage crowd, who usually want to read about relationships between people their own age, instead of two well seasoned souls. Despite the fact that both Helen and James have had nothing to do but observe the goings on of the people around them, they amazingly have not caught up on the ways of the times and proceed to make a mess of things with their old-timely ways. However, the plot was original and progressive, leading up to a satisfying conclusion.
Insightful, and yes, graphic, but it was an amazing book, regardless. I rather liked this book, I must say. I'll admit that it had both graphic language and sexual moments... but, being 19, myself, I didn't mind it at all that much.
I'm a college student, and having lived in a dormitory, I've heard much worse said verbally right in front of me than she's written. I'll give it to the author that she at least capped off the graphic language to some degree - I mean, Mitch, and Billy's friends aren't the best of people in this novel, so their language depicts that, but it's not as if the author went around throwing profanity left and right - she rarely even used such language with the adults in the novel.
The sexually graphic scenes, I didn't mind, because I guess I can understand where they're coming from. They're ghosts, for goodness sakes. Neither of them, after being dead for that many years, cared too much about age. They just knew that they had a love unlike any other they'd ever felt, and they wanted to express such physically.
That said, I agree with other raters saying that this should not be considered a young adult book. Teenage, maybe...but it's more ideal for 17+. I don't think it should solely be an adult book, since kids as young as 14 are having sex now. But yes, 14 year olds shouldn't be able to easily read about it, just in case their minds haven't already been corrupted by the media.
The Christian aspect of this book surprised me. I think..it was depicted accurately to some degree (because, regardless of how many Christians DON'T behave the way the religious characters in the novel do, there are still some out there that do.).. I don't think the descriptions were used to present a stereotypical view of Christian society, however...since, if considered such, then the same was also done in regards to Billy's family - being poor, or drug addicts, or basically, those considered 'sinners', in my opinion (both should be acknowledged - not just the former).
I think the family situations were presented in a way to best emphasize the point that the author was trying to make, as well as give the book a great sense of emotion (because, by the end of this novel, I was in absolute tears lol. I'm not ashamed to admit that) and suspense, regarding character situation. Not to mention, merely an antithesis when comparing the aformentioned situations.
I think the point of this novel was to show how valuable life truly is. Why it shouldn't be wasted. That people should listen more, and rethink before they condemn or come to assumptions... and that they should take the time to make the most of what real love they do find, whether it be with a 'soulmate' or with family. Because tomorrow isn't guaranteed to anyone, and it'd be a shame to leave this world having done nothing of worth. I think it was really special to see how much Helen tried to help people, even as a ghost.
All in all, this story was truly a beautiful one that often brought tears to my eyes. I look forward to hopefully reading more work by Laura Whitcomb, and give her five stars for this story.
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