My Last Kiss

Gr 8 Up—Cassidy Haines is blissfully reliving her first kiss with boyfriend Ethan when she is jolted back into the present by snow falling on her face. She looks up to see the silhouette of a boy, and follows his gaze down to the broken remains of her body strewn across the rocks on the riverbank. She has no memory of how she got there, but it doesn't take her long to realize she's dead. The authorities rule her death a suicide due to a note found clutched in her hand and the large amount of alcohol in her system. Cassidy is sure she had no reason to end her life, and she cannot move on until she discovers how she really died. The story unfolds as her spirit is pulled uncontrollably from one grief-stricken friend or family member to another, and to reliving the events that led up to her death. The only person who becomes aware of her presence and who might be able to help her figure out what happened is Ethan, and he is afraid that once she knows, he'll have to go through losing her all over again. Slow pacing and character development may frustrate some readers. So much of the story focuses on a moral message about lying and deceit that a promising whodunit is sacrificed in the process.—Cary Frostick, formerly at Mary Riley Styles Public Library, Falls Church, VA