This book falls into the Young Adult/Paranormal category. YA fiction is a category I have personally always avoided, but Haunted is a pleasant surprise. Both Wren and Jeremiah are likable characters and their relationship is sincere and touching. Jeremiah was a soldier fighting for the South in the Civil War, he was killed at age eighteen, and has had the last hundred years as a ghost to reflect on how his life was unfairly taken from him. Wren is a traumatized girl, who can't stop blaming herself for the death of her best friend a few months earlier. Together, they form a beautiful and intimate friendship and learn to forgive themselves for their pasts.

This could have been an incredibly touching coming of age story. Wren must choose between the love she feels for the ghost Jeremiah, and the life she is missing by being with him instead of the world of the living. Unfortunately, this story suffers from genre confusion. It's half young adult and half romance, and therefore not a complete example of either.

Although the relationship between Wren and Jeremiah is wonderful there are certain aspects of this story that go against it being a traditional "romance novel." I can't go into more detail for fear of spoiling some of the book's surprises. And this isn't a true young adult novel, because it is lacking certain "after school special" qualities that are inherent in the genre. For example, Jeremiah died fighting for the South at age eighteen. He has had more than a hundred years to watch the world develop without him, and to reconsider the decisions he made when he was alive. However, we never hear Jeremiah's thoughts about the politics of that war, or what his feelings of those issues are now.

Additionally, Wren's relationship with a ghost is glamorized to the point of irresponsibility. There is a fanatical belief that life after death is a bliss-filled place, where all problems are solved. The subject of life and the mystery of death might have been handled with more caution, since this story is geared towards an underage audience. (Not something I'd want my moody teenager reading.)

Overall rating:
Sensuality rating: Sweet

Reviewer: Liz M.
June 22, 2011