The Ghost in the Glass House- Carey Wallace

In a 1920s seaside town, Clare discovers a mysterious glass house in the backyard of her new summer home. There she falls in love with Jack, the ghost of a boy who can’t remember who he was before he died. Their romance is a haven for her from the cruel pranks of her society friends, especially her best friend, Bridget, who can’t wait to grow up and embark on romances of her own. As Clare begins to suspect an affair between her mother and Bridget's father, she retreats to the glass house. But that haven begins to crack when she realizes that Jack has lied to her about his name . . . From a dazzling and fearless new voice comes a shimmering story full of wonder and mystery, in a world where every character is haunted by lingering ghosts of love.

I love my local library…just saying.

I got Ghost in the Glass House because I love ghosts. I was pretty disappointed. First off Barnes and Noble is selling this in YA and my library had it in YA as well. This is NOT a YA book, it is at best middle grade fiction. The main character is 12 and while she talks and acts more grown up than the 12 year olds I know…she isn’t even a teenager.

There is some mention of booze and sex, which is probably why this is being marketed at YA, but honestly it is so delicately handled it didn’t need to be, my 9 year old knows more about booze and sex than what was mentioned in this novel.

The characters were good, the writing wasn’t bad and the background for the plot was colorful, well written and interesting. That’s where my compliments end.

I have no idea what the actual plot of this novel was aside from girl and mom go to seaside town, spend the summer, girl meets boring ghost, helps ghost cross over very randomly and then girl and mom go home. There are a few side story lines about  what Clare and her friends get up to, but most of it felt forced and ridiculous, like the author was trying for something deeper, trying to make me feel for characters I didn’t really care about and trying to give this group of 12-15 year olds some semblance of love lives.

I read this very fast and mainly finished it because by the time I realized the plot was pointless I was almost done. Maybe my daughter would like it better.

Ending on a positive note the cover was pretty.