Review: I Heart You, You Haunt Me by Lisa Schroeder

Ready or not, here we go into another week.  Somehow, although I change my email passwords and account passwords once a year, my email was hacked.  Nice, I know.  I quickly changed all of my passwords, but I send my apologies if those lovely spam mailers went out!  Now I just need to continue through all the mail I've missed over the last week and a half.  At least it has all been settled with next to no damage, right?

As for what I'm reading, I wanted to share a book of "poetry" that was recommended to me on Goodreads, I Heart You, You Haunt Me by Lisa Schroeder.  I was looking for a book of poetry that would help me fulfill a reading challenge we're doing at school, so this fit the bill perfectly!

Synopsis:  This one is hard to explain without giving it all away, so I really need to allow Goodreads to share here:

"Ava can't see him or touch him,
unless she's dreaming.
She can't hear his voice,
except for the faint whispers in her mind.
Most would think she's crazy, but she knows he's here.

Jackson.
The boy Ava thought she'd spend the rest of her life with.
He's back from the dead,
as proof that love truly knows no bounds."

Review:  In an easy to read and follow free-verse style, the poetry behind the story of Ava and Jackson adds nicely to the tone of what's going on.  Considering that Ava is haunted, both literally and emotionally, by her boyfriend Jackson, the poetry adds to the haunting affect that is already established by her deep sense of grief.  What Schroeder captures in the story and poetry is sweet, tender, and deep.

Having experienced bone-jarring grief in my life, I readily related to the thoughts and feelings that Ava expressed.  Her confusion over what she should and shouldn't be feeling, at what point, and with whom was very real and poignant.  Adolescence is tough enough without adding the loss of someone you love to that volatile mix.  In short, Schroeder's story did it brilliantly.  Outside of exploring grief though, this is a nicely paced story that has a beginning and an end, with plenty in between to keep the reader going.  I have readily recommended it to all of my students and will continue to recommend this short little book.  If you're at all hesitant about poetry, let this little story ease you and fool you with its narrative style.
  
*FTC Disclosure:  This review was based on a library copy of the novel.