Author(s): Lauren James

Teen Fiction

What if death is only the beginning? When Harriet Stoker dies falling from a balcony in a long-abandoned building, she discovers a world of ghosts with magical powers – shape-shifting, hypnosis, or even the ability to possess the living. As she learns more about their community, Harriet is willing to do anything to unleash her own power, even if it means destroying everyone around her. But when all of eternity is at stake, the afterlife can be a dangerous place to make an enemy. Because who knows what grudges people have been holding onto for millennia, just waiting for a reckless girl to give them the chance to get vengeance.   

Kathleen's review - Harriet takes pretty quickly to the afterlife, but her one aim is to get past the boundary which you'd have to be suicidal to go near (hmm... how can a ghost die? . . . read the book!) and to her grandmother's place. Her grandmother needs her. And her parents' ghosts could well be there, which would really help her get a true perspective on her situation.

So there's Harriet, single-minded, and there are all the other ghosts - we're talking back to the Roman Empire in Britain. There are lots of ghostly powers, lots of action, and a look at family relationships and at friendship. What a great read.