Olivia's mother is awaiting trial for the murder of Lucas Stern. Stern was Olivia's bestie since forever and her mom's piano student. After Olivia left for art school in Michigan, something happened. Did it have something to do with her mom's mental illness or is the mental illness just making them all think that that's what happened? All Olivia knows is that she lost everything. Her mom, her ability to see color and paint, her best friend and the one she loved but never got to tell.

Now Stern is back, real or imagined, and it's up to Olivia to figure out what really happened the night he died. And she only has nine days....

This was one of those books that once it heated up, I didn't want to put it down. Olivia (Liv, Livie, Liver, Red, Grizzly... the girl has a lot of nicknames), has lost nearly everything and doesn't want to care anymore, but she just can't help it. Especially when Stern shows up. She knows she might be crazy (schizophrenia has genetic components after all) and it scares her to death. If the colorblindness and Sterns ghost are delusions, then they're pretty darn realistic. Stern tells her where to find things that she never knew about and she hasn't seen color in 10 months. As she starts digging deeper into the mystery of Stern's death and her mother's involvement (she did confess after all), she begins to realize there is a lot more to it... even if no one believes her.

I loved the mystery and the writing in this book. I sort of had my suspicions of where the mystery was going, but that was ok. The writing was beautiful and emotional. It didn't make me cry, but right at the end I was close. I thought it was pretty genius to make an artist be colorblind, especially during such a dark time in her life.

The relationship between Stern and Olivia definitely pulled at my heart, but at the same time it made me smile. I was sad that they could never be, but all the memories she had of him were so fun and happy. With her friend Raina it was the same way. They had these sweet little moments that made me wish I had a friend like that, but then at the same time I didn't fully trust Raina because she could be shady at times.

There was a romance in this book, but it was done perfectly. Austin wasn't used as a replacement and Olivia knew that just because she was attracted to someone else it didn't erase the fact that she loved Stern.

I definitely will recommend this book. It's so beautifully written, how could I not?

Quote I Liked:
"Chaos is what we are made of, and we will return to it, again, and again, and again. Our hearts will beat for it while our brains will search for order, and find that, almost always, it is elusive."

Overall: A seriously addicting, emotional roller coaster of a book. I think fans of The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer would like this.

My blog:

http://pinkpolkadotbookblog.blogspot.com ( )

(This review will be found on my blog (The (Mis)Adventures of a Twenty-Something Year Old Girl) around the end of June).



I had been wanting to read this book since forever. I was thrilled when I found out that my local library had Notes From Ghost Town. I really liked this book.

Olivia is a 16 year old girl who has just realized that she's fallen in love with her best friend, Stern. On the day they share their first kiss, Olivia goes colorblind without knowing why. Soon after, Stern gets murdered. People are saying it was Olivia's mother as she was found with his body and because she's Schizophrenic. When Stern's ghost shows up telling Olivia to solve his murder because he doesn't believe it was her mother, Olivia must decide if she should help or if she's going crazy like her mother. Whatever she decides, she only has 9 days...

I like the title a lot. To me, it sounds kinda spooky which I like and which the book is not. I don't really understand why that title was picked since there isn't really any notes from Ghost Town unless they are musical.

The cover is alright. The girl is supposed to be the main character, Olivia. I guess she's hugging herself because Stern is gone, and she just thinks she's losing it completely. I would've had her against a back drop of Ghost Town and possibly with a ghostly Stern, but then again, I don't design covers.

I loved the world building, and the way in which Stern exists in the living world is your typical unfinished business thing. However, the world was written beautifully, and I felt as if I was a person existing in that world. Everything about this book felt real. The only thing that made the world building a little off was the fact that it's mentioned in the book that Stern's body was found all bloated and such because he'd been in the water for awhile. Yet, later in the book, it's said that he wasn't in the water for very long. Which one is it? I believe it's the latter, but the fact that both were written annoyed me a bit. Oh, and one other thing. Olivia mentions how much of an idiot Austin is, yet she hooks up with him and starts falling for him after he seems to be nice to her one time. In the real world, I seriously doubt this would happen. Jock boys that are mean to "weird" girls don't suddenly go sweet on them all of a sudden. I don't know. To me, it just didn't make sense.

The pacing starts out a bit slow, and I was worried that I had spent all my energy wanting this book for nothing. However, after a few chapters, the pacing picks up and stays that way throughout the book. In fact, I read most of this book in a day with the exception of about 60 pages. My husband wanted me to come to bed or else I would've finished it that night. Chapters flow into chapters and sentences into sentences. The pacing was brilliant after a slow start.

I enjoyed the plot even though it's been done before. Girl finally realizes she's in love with her best friend. Best friend dies right as something is getting started. Ghost haunts person due to unfinished business. However, the way the plot was written was fantastic. I felt it was a bit predictable, but I still enjoyed reading the book nonetheless. I didn't feel that there were any plot twists, but as I said, it's still an enjoyable read.

I loved the characters! I felt bad for Olivia becoming color blind since she was an up and coming artist. I loved how much she loved Stern yet she knew she had to keep on living (don't worry, that's not a spoiler). The only thing that annoyed me was how trusting she was during her investigation of who killed Stern. Also, I felt like she was just a tad bit naive because I felt it had become painfully obvious who is was. Perhaps she just wanted to see the good in everyone. I also enjoyed reading about Stern. I just wish I could've got a bit of back story on him so I would've been able to really feel for him. He dies within the first few chapters, so I never really got a chance to connect with him. While I loved reading about him, I just didn't feel for him. I absolutely loved Raina! I loved how much she wanted to help Olivia even though Olivia kept pushing her away. As for Austin, I didn't really know what to think of him. Olivia says he's mean (although she used other words for him), but throughout the book, he seemed really sweet.

The dialogue flowed freely and smoothly. Character interactions never once felt forced, and I felt that everyone spoke and acted appropriately for their age group. There is a lot of swearing in this book though, but I don't feel like it was put in just for the sake of having it in the book. The swearing felt natural, and fit right in with what the characters were going through. And let's be honest, most people would be hard pressed to find a teenager that didn't swear.

Overall, Notes From Ghost Town was a interesting and intriguing read. I loved the way Ellison incorporates a romantic ghost story in with a murder mystery. This makes for a fantastic read!

I'd recommend this book to those aged 16 who are after an intriguing story that has a lot of different elements to read about. ( )

Notes from Ghost Town I've followed Kate Ellison ever since her debut novel blew me away. I fell in love with her writing style, and with the way that she manages to weave in interesting roadblocks for her characters to deal with. That being said, I was thrilled to be offered a chance to read Notes From Ghost Town. I hoped for mystery and maybe even a little romance.
 
The story actually kicks off with the romance element, and I can't deny that I thought Lucas and Olivia were adorable together. Ellison builds a quick, but believable back story for these two. Friends as children, growing up together, and ultimately ending up at that fork in the road where you wish you could be something more. Isn't that what every girl dreams of? Sadly Lucas dies, and from that point on everything sort of starts to unravel.
 
It was really tough for me to like Olivia during the majority of the book. Even 10 months after the incident that changed her life, she is withdrawn and angry. I couldn't blame her for missing Lucas, or even for worrying about her mother. What bothered me most was that she absolutely refused to accept any help. Her excuse was always that she didn't want people to think she was crazy, but it just felt forced. Like a way to keep her isolated so things would flow better.
 
The mystery aspect I was craving was also lacking a bit. I did enjoy the breadcrumbs that Kate Ellison uses to lead the reader on. I would have liked a quicker moving plot though, and possibly less of a paranormal feel to it all. The way that Olivia's mind works made me frustrated at times. I'm sad to say that I almost put this book down about halfway through. I'm glad I didn't, since the ending was great, but it did almost happen.
 
It's my opinion that Kate Ellison's first book, The Butterfly Clues, is a better fit for me as a reader. This story was a little to slow moving, and a bit more unbelievable. Still, the writing prowess that I fell in love with in the first place is still here. I know I'll be back for anything else that Ms. Ellison writes. ( )

Different than what I was exWhen I first saw this I loved the cover and the synopsis made me want it even more. Even after finishing it, I just couldn’t stop thinking about it. I knew this would be an emotional read, but I definitely got more than just than I expected. And definitely in a good way. Notes From Ghost Town is a story about a young girl that had a fabulous road ahead of her until tragedy strikes and her world is torn apart. The death of her first love, the accusation of a loved one committing the murder and a mystery that unfolds, is a lot for Olivia to handle. This takes us through this journey.
Olivia’s voice was utterly compelling and you feel the painful emotions she felt. With her mother suffering from schizophrenia, she is so afraid that she end up being the same way, so when she starts seeing Stern’s ghost and the loss of her sight for colors, she questions her own sanity. Somehow she remains strong and constant in her quest to find the truth. I found Olivia to be inspiring and refreshing. I can’t fathom going through what this poor girl has been through. Stern was amazing even in death, I can imagine him being the same way in life. The unspoken love between these two was so sweet.
The wold building was incredible and completely absorbing. You are sucked into the mystery of Stern’s death and the suspense of the events that lead up to the truth was so much so, that I just wanted to keep reading until the truth was finally revealed. At times, I wondered if Olivia really was losing her mind, so I read until my eyes burned I was so engrossed, I just had to know.
Notes from Ghost Town was a phenomenal murder mystery with a romance that even transcended death. Ellison’s writing was beautiful and captivating, and I look forward to reading more from her. This is one of those books that I think I could go on and on about. This is a must read for sure.pecting, but still was sooo good. ( )

Enjoyable read.
Review to follow. ( )