Marly’s Ghost by David Levithan is a short and sweet YA contemporary that is perfect for your Valentine’s Day TBR.
Review Marly’s Ghost by David Levithan
Title: Marly's Ghost
Author: David Levithan
Also by this author: Another Day (Every Day #2)
Publisher: Dial Books
Genres: Fantasy, Paranormal, Young Adult Fiction
Publication Date: December 1, 2005
Rating: 
When Ben's girlfriend, Marly, dies, he feels his life is over. What could possibly matter now when Marly is gone? So when Valentine's Day approaches, it makes sense that this day that was once so meaningful to Ben leaves him feeling bitter and hollow. But then Marly shows up--or at least her ghost does--along with three others spirits. Now Ben must take a painful journey through Valentine's Days past, present, and future, and what he discovers will change him forever.
Marly’s Ghost is an interesting remix of A Christmas Carol in which the events take place over Valentine’s Day. In the story, the main character, Ben, gives up on love after his girlfriend dies and the classic three spirits visit him in an attempt to change his heart. Ben isn’t really meant to be a likeable character, but it is interesting to follow along during his transformation. I appreciated how the author made an effort to capture Dickens’s “old fashioned” tone, however it didn’t always work for me. Something about the mix of a modern day setting with some modern dialogue and the old-timey narration doesn’t fit. Also, the author didn’t stray too much from the original story, and the change in holiday was essentially the only difference. I did enjoy the concept and the effort to capture the essence of the original story, but I believe the execution could have been better.
About David Levithan
David Levithan (born 1972) is an American children's book editor and award-winning author. He published his first YA book, Boy Meets Boy, in 2003. Levithan is also the founding editor of PUSH, a Young Adult imprint of Scholastic Press.
About The Candid Cover
Olivia ❀ YA book blogger, Starbucks lover, novice New Yorker, & professional bibliophile.
Glad you enjoyed these. Probably not something I’d pick up but you never know:) Prompose made me chuckle!
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It is such a fun idea, isn’t it?! 😉
I love short books like these. I think Prom Kings sounds like fun!
It is nice to read books that are short sometimes. 😉
Haven’t read anything by either author!
David Levithan is one that I typically enjoy. Correia is new to to me as well and I look forward to reading more of his books. 🙂
These sounded like fun. I would love to read Marley’s Ghost.
I hope that you enjoy it if you give it a try! 🙂
Great mini reviews! Prom kings sounds like a fun read! I’m glad you enjoyed it! I might give it a shot! 🙂
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It is a super fun read! I hope that you enjoy it as well. 🙂
I don’y think that either of these are for me, but as always, I enjoy reading your reviews
Thanks, Jaime! 🙂
They both sound good. I have never read an LGBT prom book either. Sounds like it would be fun.
Mary
Sounds ok, I usually don’t read these.