Famous Last Words

My students get a bit spoiled by their fabulous reading teachers (and me) as they are so enthusiastic to recommend great books to kids.  Their goal?  To hook those students who haven't found the "just right book" yet...or to coax the reluctant reader to try something a little longer than 100 pages...or to encourage the avid reader to try something new.  It's a constant swap of literary energy at our school.  And I love it.  Especially when students find out you are in between books and would have time to read something they recommend.  Such is this...

The 3rd library aide recommendation was so fun to read!  Famous Last Words is a ghost story/mystery that, once I read beyond halfway, kept me glued and I finished the book in less than 24 hours.  A quick read.  And like I said, "fun". However, I did pick up on a few key themes I think the author embedded for the reader.  Fear, anger, forgiveness...these are internal conflicts the main character, Willa, battles throughout the story.  

Willa, a high school student who has just been transplanted into the Hollywood, California lifestyle, has external conflicts as well.  Her father has died, she's been taken out of school and moved across the United States, and she doesn't know her stepfather well and feels completely out of place in his home, despite his and her mother's attempts to settle her into the lap of luxury.  She faces a sea of strangers at school and seems to have rubbed her chemistry partner the wrong way right off the bat.  She is approached by a girl who seems friendly, but may not be the best influence for her.  And finally, she's attracted to her stepfather's 19 year old assistant who just so happens to work in her home practically 24/7.  On top of all this, Willa must deal with the supernatural.  She's apparently opened up a portal and has attracted the attention of a ghost.  Not only does Willa not feel safe at home, she's terrified to venture out too far from home because of the latest kill by the area's serial killer.  Yes, it's quite the complex plot!  

I would recommend this book to middle school and high school girls who enjoy fast-paced realistic fiction with a fantasy twist.  It's refreshingly appropriate and free of mature content.  If I had this in our school library, it would be at home on the fiction shelves...if it ever stayed checked in.  

What a reward it is to read books recommended by students...I look forward to discussing this book with my library aide tomorrow!  

Happy Reading!
RC