Review
This is the first book I have read by Kim Harrington. I have seen several of the bloggers I follow review her books, but The Dead and Buried caught my eye for some reason. For one I love the cover and for two after reading the synopsis I was in. I'm always up for a good ghost story and this is most definitly a good ghost story.
Jade has always wanted to live in one of the nice Boston suberbs, in a nice house and going to a nice and bigger school. She gets her wish and her father and step-mother Marie move Jade and her little brother Colby to one of those towns. Jade loves the house and is excited about school. Sort of... it is her senior year, so she figures the reason for the move was more Marie and her love for Colby, but hey that's fine. There's just one thing... Colby says he sees a glimmering girl in his room. Then the kids at school begin to treat Jade differently after they find out what house she moved into. All but the awkward and nerdy Alexa. She gets a clue on where to look and finds out what the heck the problem is. The teenager that previously lived in the house died... by unnatural causes, Jade's perfect house may just be a murder house. We see Jade do what she can to protect her brother after a failed attempt at telling Marie and things escalate and begin to get out of control. This is thanks to not only the dead girls ghost... Colby's glimmering girl... but a few of the other students at Jade's new school and we soon find out that this dead girl wants the truth and vengeance. With help from Donovan... who has ties to this dead girl... Jade tries to piece together the mystery behind the death and get her house back.
This book is full of suspense and twists and turns. It keeps you sucked in as you follow Jade. I really enjoyed reading it and it is not what you'd expect, for once I didn't get it right. After reading so much you start to be able to piece things together quickly and this one I thought I had and i was a little bummed. I was sooo wrong. I loved it! It was not what I expected or I should say who. it didn't end how I thought at all and I was very happy with that. I liked the character's voices and Harrington's writing. I liked the story. It was a great book.
Jade was spunky and fun. She didn't really care about her reputation as far as what people thought of her. She was more worried about being herself and being happy. She had her quirks and she was okay with that. She didn't believe it treating people differently because of the amount of money their family made, the clothes they wore, how smart they were or weren't, didn't judge on what their hobbies were. She really believed in getting to know a person. She did that with Alexa who was treated horribly because she was a brainiac. I will get to her... Jade took after her mother, whom she had lost at 9, and collected gemstones and studied them. I thought that was really cool and I will probably keep looking up their meanings because of this book. Jade had a great relationship with her Dad, even with the amount of traveling he did, but the relationship with her step-mom was rocky. I really liked watching how that relationship progressed and to see both Jade and Marie progress. Jade's brother Colby is adorable and I loved him and how much he was in the book. I loved the relationship Jade had with him. Donovan has a rocky start in the book, but like all love interests go there was that spark. We obviously got Jade's reaction, but I loved how Harrington showed Donovan's. It was subtle, but she did show it. He had his reasons for being the way he was at the beginning and I absolutely loved seeing Donovan come out of his shell and grief. He was a great person who treated people like Jade did. At first I was a bit confused as to what the heck he was thinking when his story unfolded, but I understood everything when it all came together and could relate. Alexa is the first person Jade really talks to and befriends at her new school and I really felt for her. She was almost mechanical and emotionless, but she honestly didn't know how to show her emotions. She had them and she had been through a lot just because of how smart she is and what was expected of her. She was a good person, you just had to break through. We also meet Kane. He is the All-American boy. He's atheletic and popular and hot, but he isn't at all what you'd expect being those things. He was a genuinely great guy as well, but he hung on to his past like crazy. Then there's Faye... mean girl, but again not in the way you'd expect at all. All I'm saying on her. All those characters we meet in Jade's new school and trust me there soo many more lead into... our ghost. they tie into her. Our ghost was the ultimate mean girl and we get glimpses of that throughout the book, I'm not saying how. As a ghost, she is just as mean and the ruckus she causes is insane. You get a great build up and see the mystery behind her death get solved and as I said before... it is not what is seems or who and it's crazy. You do not expect it, at least I didn't.
Overall, it was just an absolute great book. The story was great. The characters were great. The writing was great. The cover is gorgeous. It deserves to be read many times over and is going on my top books of the year and my favorites.
Quotes I loved:
"I just felt like, if I was walking around with her blood, her DNA, looking like her... maybe she wasn't completely gone. My existence kept her a little bit alive.
A silly thought, I know." pg. 9
"I was about to pipe up that we were doing no such thing, but Kane was immediately overcome with an attack of the stupid and announced, "I hope it's not Saturday because thats when I'm taking you out."
Faye looked sharply at me. I shook my head. "No, not like a date, he's just, um, showing me around town a little," I bumbled.
I looked back at Kane, hoping he wasn't insulted by my half retraction, but he had an amused grin on his face." pg. 95
"He hesitated for the longest second of my life, then settled back into his seat. "What are you wearing today?"
The corner of my mouth rose. "No pendant today." I lifted my hair up to show my earrings. "Opal studs. It was believed that opals could render you invisible."
He smirked and whispered, "They're not working."
"Not in school hallways. More like invisible in battle."
"Like a ninja stone." He chuckled." pg. 99
"He looked down at kane and nodded. "Woodward."
Kane pointed his stick toward Donovan in acknowledgment. "O'Mara."
They were only saying each other's last names, but for some reason it came out sounding like the filthiest insults.
What's that smell? Oh yeah, testosterone." pg. 158
"'At first I was running on pure flattery." He smiled sheepishly. "When the most popular girl in school asks you out, you say yes. But then, you know, reality set in."
"The reality that you were dating a soulless evil demon girl?"
The side of his mouth twitched. "Not that, no." pg. 190
"She gave me a long look. "I know I've made mistakes since we became a family, but you didn't exactly come with a manual."
"You didn't come with a stepmom instruction booklet, either." I waited a beat and admitted, "I suppose we both could've been easier on each other.'" pg. 272-273
Jade has always wanted to live in one of the nice Boston suberbs, in a nice house and going to a nice and bigger school. She gets her wish and her father and step-mother Marie move Jade and her little brother Colby to one of those towns. Jade loves the house and is excited about school. Sort of... it is her senior year, so she figures the reason for the move was more Marie and her love for Colby, but hey that's fine. There's just one thing... Colby says he sees a glimmering girl in his room. Then the kids at school begin to treat Jade differently after they find out what house she moved into. All but the awkward and nerdy Alexa. She gets a clue on where to look and finds out what the heck the problem is. The teenager that previously lived in the house died... by unnatural causes, Jade's perfect house may just be a murder house. We see Jade do what she can to protect her brother after a failed attempt at telling Marie and things escalate and begin to get out of control. This is thanks to not only the dead girls ghost... Colby's glimmering girl... but a few of the other students at Jade's new school and we soon find out that this dead girl wants the truth and vengeance. With help from Donovan... who has ties to this dead girl... Jade tries to piece together the mystery behind the death and get her house back.
This book is full of suspense and twists and turns. It keeps you sucked in as you follow Jade. I really enjoyed reading it and it is not what you'd expect, for once I didn't get it right. After reading so much you start to be able to piece things together quickly and this one I thought I had and i was a little bummed. I was sooo wrong. I loved it! It was not what I expected or I should say who. it didn't end how I thought at all and I was very happy with that. I liked the character's voices and Harrington's writing. I liked the story. It was a great book.
Jade was spunky and fun. She didn't really care about her reputation as far as what people thought of her. She was more worried about being herself and being happy. She had her quirks and she was okay with that. She didn't believe it treating people differently because of the amount of money their family made, the clothes they wore, how smart they were or weren't, didn't judge on what their hobbies were. She really believed in getting to know a person. She did that with Alexa who was treated horribly because she was a brainiac. I will get to her... Jade took after her mother, whom she had lost at 9, and collected gemstones and studied them. I thought that was really cool and I will probably keep looking up their meanings because of this book. Jade had a great relationship with her Dad, even with the amount of traveling he did, but the relationship with her step-mom was rocky. I really liked watching how that relationship progressed and to see both Jade and Marie progress. Jade's brother Colby is adorable and I loved him and how much he was in the book. I loved the relationship Jade had with him. Donovan has a rocky start in the book, but like all love interests go there was that spark. We obviously got Jade's reaction, but I loved how Harrington showed Donovan's. It was subtle, but she did show it. He had his reasons for being the way he was at the beginning and I absolutely loved seeing Donovan come out of his shell and grief. He was a great person who treated people like Jade did. At first I was a bit confused as to what the heck he was thinking when his story unfolded, but I understood everything when it all came together and could relate. Alexa is the first person Jade really talks to and befriends at her new school and I really felt for her. She was almost mechanical and emotionless, but she honestly didn't know how to show her emotions. She had them and she had been through a lot just because of how smart she is and what was expected of her. She was a good person, you just had to break through. We also meet Kane. He is the All-American boy. He's atheletic and popular and hot, but he isn't at all what you'd expect being those things. He was a genuinely great guy as well, but he hung on to his past like crazy. Then there's Faye... mean girl, but again not in the way you'd expect at all. All I'm saying on her. All those characters we meet in Jade's new school and trust me there soo many more lead into... our ghost. they tie into her. Our ghost was the ultimate mean girl and we get glimpses of that throughout the book, I'm not saying how. As a ghost, she is just as mean and the ruckus she causes is insane. You get a great build up and see the mystery behind her death get solved and as I said before... it is not what is seems or who and it's crazy. You do not expect it, at least I didn't.
Overall, it was just an absolute great book. The story was great. The characters were great. The writing was great. The cover is gorgeous. It deserves to be read many times over and is going on my top books of the year and my favorites.
Quotes I loved:
"I just felt like, if I was walking around with her blood, her DNA, looking like her... maybe she wasn't completely gone. My existence kept her a little bit alive.
A silly thought, I know." pg. 9
"I was about to pipe up that we were doing no such thing, but Kane was immediately overcome with an attack of the stupid and announced, "I hope it's not Saturday because thats when I'm taking you out."
Faye looked sharply at me. I shook my head. "No, not like a date, he's just, um, showing me around town a little," I bumbled.
I looked back at Kane, hoping he wasn't insulted by my half retraction, but he had an amused grin on his face." pg. 95
"He hesitated for the longest second of my life, then settled back into his seat. "What are you wearing today?"
The corner of my mouth rose. "No pendant today." I lifted my hair up to show my earrings. "Opal studs. It was believed that opals could render you invisible."
He smirked and whispered, "They're not working."
"Not in school hallways. More like invisible in battle."
"Like a ninja stone." He chuckled." pg. 99
"He looked down at kane and nodded. "Woodward."
Kane pointed his stick toward Donovan in acknowledgment. "O'Mara."
They were only saying each other's last names, but for some reason it came out sounding like the filthiest insults.
What's that smell? Oh yeah, testosterone." pg. 158
"'At first I was running on pure flattery." He smiled sheepishly. "When the most popular girl in school asks you out, you say yes. But then, you know, reality set in."
"The reality that you were dating a soulless evil demon girl?"
The side of his mouth twitched. "Not that, no." pg. 190
"She gave me a long look. "I know I've made mistakes since we became a family, but you didn't exactly come with a manual."
"You didn't come with a stepmom instruction booklet, either." I waited a beat and admitted, "I suppose we both could've been easier on each other.'" pg. 272-273
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