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Town Ghosts by Laika Wallace
4.0
emotional hopeful reflective sad fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

This is a coming of age about middle schoolers who see the ghosts of animals who were buried a long time ago. One of the teens is Marnie, whose parents moved to the small town of Pryeville. Her father is terminally ill. At night she sees the ghost of a horse. Edgar lives with his cruel, abusive, and homophobic father. He is interested in technology and wants to build a computer. He is the one who sees the ghost of a dog at night. Soon Marnie and Edgar become friends and with the help of their friends Sophia and Donald, they come up with a plan to attempt reuniting the horse and dog.

This is told in first person narration, and at first it was difficult to tell when it was Marnie or Edgar narrating, but it then quickly became easier when Marnie brings up Sophia and Edgar thinks about Donald, as well as when they discuss their home life. Also it's never stated what year it is in the book but it seems like it takes place during the early 2000s since some teens are shown to be listening to CDs. The writing is simplistic but this is a young adult coming of age so that's not really a problem for me. I liked this novella and I'm happy I found it through the Queer Liberation Library.

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