Reads Like A Good TV Show

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Jake Livingston struggles to keep his head down as one of the only black kids in his private school. But, as a closeted gay kid who can also see ghosts, he is isolated in more ways than one. When Sawyer, a teenage school shooter starts haunting him, Jake is forced to dive into Sawyer's past to save his own soul. But, as the parallels between the boys begin to add up, Jake must first learn to accept himself before he can help Sawyer.

This was a thrilling read with Ghostbuster-like science fiction intertwining with Get Out's horror complexity. With alternating POVs, Sawyer becomes a main character that can sometimes overshadow Jake's story. The pacing was also choppy, with Jake's history being revealed at random points in the book with little insight on the character himself. I think the story reads really well as a TV series concept, where the storyline is awesome but the characters could have been more developed. Jake's romance is fairly rushed and suspiciously random. The variety in ghosts that Jake encounters also had the potential to play a larger role but was abandoned too early. The plot was unique and the book was well done for a debut author, but the pacing and lack of character development can make it difficult to finish.