Oh Cass. She is kind of hard to like at some points. Not in the beginning, but as her revenge plot gets under way a little more and her tentative acquaintance with Tim deepens, she retreats further and further into this bitter, brittle shell with a lot of bite. Understandable given the crap she went through because her former best friend decided that she couldn't share the spotlight for even a moment, but it was at times enough to make me want to shake her. Hard. Until her teeth rattled.

She was stubborn, she was pig-headed and she had a pretty black and white outlook on life (or at least high school). She was so vulnerable though that I found it hard not to want to cry when she did. To put it shortly, I went through a lot of the crap she went through with her 'best friend' Danielle. Only I wasn't strong enough (if you can call it that) to bounce back and tune it all out. I admired Cass for that. It might have made her a right witch to be around, but she didn't break because of it.

Tim...he was a lot more complicated then when he is first introduced. His descent into depression is horrifying and startling. Its the little things that start the trend, that make a person slowly wither and die inside. Stuff most people don't notice or care to notice. Watching him struggle and Cass try to figure out what she should do, could do, for him was heart-wrenching. I wouldn't say they were both too proud to ask for help, but it was more like they weren't sure they deserved that help.

If its not obvious the book had me engrossed (let's put it this way--I came home at 6pm to the package containing Give Up the Ghost , ate dinner, watched Dexter and finished the book all before 11pm). I've been looking forward to it since practically ever prayed to the blogger gods that an arc would wind up in my mailbox and had a deuced time finding a copy offline. Thank god for Amazon and for contests!

The story flows at a natural pace, moving from each day at an even clip with an actual sense of time passing. Which I appreciate since it seems more often then not a book will move time wise a lot slower then that narrative eludes to. Crewe doesn't pack an impossible amount of things happening into a relatively short time span and accept for one minor thing, nothing felt rushed or trampled past to get to the next plot point.

The only two things that nagged me mildly was that there was no 'closure' (or at least sense of consequences) against something a student does to Cass later in the novel. At the very least I wanted to hear there would be punishment, but it happens, is mentioned once and then sort of disappears. The other thing was just that I would have liked to know more about why Cass suddenly began seeing ghosts. I assumed throughout it was either the onset of puberty (she was 12 at the time) or the shock of her sister's death that caused it, but by the end I wasn't so sure.

In the end I loved the book, even if it did make me cry several times and it was honestly refreshing to read a YA-paranormal that wasn't romance. At best what Cass and Tim have could be called the beginning stage of 'seeing someone more then a friend', but as they just became friends (and rocky ones at that) I was happy they didn't progress further. ( )

I enjoyed Give Up The Ghost by Megan Crewe. This in my opinion is aimed at a much younger audience than myself, but it was still a lovely read. I don't really want to post any spoilers so i will just say that Cass Mckenna sees ghosts, and due to a certain set of circumstances has become the strange loner at school. Along comes a certain young man who has recently lost his mother and suspects that there is something not quite right about our lovely Cass, what forms is a friendship forged in shared experience and grief and you will have to read the book to see what occurs, a sweet angst filled clean teen read that i read in one sitting. ( )

I enjoyed Give Up The Ghost by Megan Crewe. This in my opinion is aimed at a much younger audience than myself, but it was still a lovely read. I don't really want to post any spoilers so i will just say that Cass Mckenna sees ghosts, and due to a certain set of circumstances has become the strange loner at school. Along comes a certain young man who has recently lost his mother and suspects that there is something not quite right about our lovely Cass, what forms is a friendship forged in shared experience and grief and you will have to read the book to see what occurs, a sweet angst filled clean teen read that i read in one sitting. ( )

From Megan Crewe comes Give up the Ghost, an unusual tale that sees young Cassie able to interact with spirits. Both sarcastic and brave, Cassie seeks to help out an unlikely friend, to act as a bridge of communication between worlds.

The author had me hooked from the first sentence, making me question the nature of Cassie's life and abilities. Hers is a deeply personal journey that touched my heart in many ways. I could feel every stitch of Cassie's heartache and adored her awkward, yet brutally honest personality.

'Every person is like a fascinating story you've never read before.'

I couldn't agree more with this and loved every moment of Cassie's story.

Rated 5 stars. A recommended read for lovers of Urban Fantasy, Young Adult, and the Paranormal. ( )

Wasn't able to put it down! I thought it would turn out to be a love story and was thrilled that it really wasn't ( )