Ghost Maven
Tony Lee Moral
Saturn’s Moon Press
Available October 3, 2016
Amazon| Barnes & Noble | Goodreads
After Alice’s mom dies, Alice, her sister, and her dad move to Monterey, California. There Alice tries to confront her fear of water by kayaking in the bay. A sudden storm drags her out to sea, and a mysterious boy rescues her. Alice can’t stop thinking about Henry, the young sailor who came to her rescue. Then she learns that Henry has been dead for over one hundred years, bound by a curse which can only be undone when he atones for wrongs he committed in his life. Henry warns her that their love is forbidden by rules that govern his curse. But to break the curse, Alice risks losing Henry.
This story reminded me a lot of Ophelia Adrift. Grief-stricken girl meets the ghost of a sailor and falls in love. Lots in common there, though there are some significant differences in the plotlines, too. I loved the setting of this novel—Monterey, CA. It definitely added to the story and felt real. I liked Henry and some of the other characters.
As the action ramped up, sometimes it got a little hard to believe. Things happened quickly, and sometimes just didn’t seem logical or like there was enough motivation set up for the characters to make the choices they did. Because of the prologue and the Ghost Maven abilities and artifacts, I kind of thought this might be a series. The end of the novel doesn’t really indicate that the story continues, though.
If you enjoyed Ophelia Adrift or have an interest in ghost stories, you’ll want to check out this book.
Recommended Age 13 up.
Cultural Elements
Characters are white middle class Americans.
Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity used infrequently.
Romance/Sexual Content
Brief kissing. Rumors spread about one girl’s behavior with boys at school. Later, a boy reveals he completed her homework in exchange for some intimate behavior.
Spiritual Content
Since Alice’s mom died, she no longer believes in God. It seems the whole town believes in ghosts, though, even members of a local church. Alice learns of a curse which causes anyone who drowns in the bay to continue to walk among mortals, though their heart no longer beats. She also learns of a group of warriors who can destroy these undead creatures. Symbols and artifacts help defeat them.
Alice and her friend hold a séance to try to reach a girl believed to be dead. Alice’s mom communicates with the girls. Alice’s friend has psychic visions of events to come and senses things about people near her.
It probably sounds weird, but the psychic elements on their own bothered me less than the fact the in some places they were sort of mixed in with Christian ideas. In one scene, characters take refuge in a church and then rely on other symbols to protect them.
Violent Content
A battle takes place between the people of the town and those cursed.
Drug Content
None.
Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
