A Boy Worth Knowing

This book was…eh. It kind of came across like someone who was learning how to write for the first time? I mean no disrespect, this person-Jennifer Cosgrove-is a published author and I am…not. That being said, I’ve seen better work being put out on Wattpad (okay, so maybe it’s slightly better than Wattpad) but not by much. And that’s a problem. 

    This story revolves around this teenage boy (don’t they all) named Nate who can talk to ghosts and has boy problems. Story of my life, man. So this boy Nate has this really awesome gift of talking to the dead (A.k.a mainly his grandmother that admonishes him about his language and the upkeep of his room) and is afraid that the new cute boy in town, James Powell, will think he’s a freak if he finds out.

Which, to his credit, is fairly understandable since his own mother abandoned him to live with his aunt because of his powers and the rest of his small-town classmates call him a freak and ignore like a bad bout of the plague. So I suppose I can’t blame him too harshly. 

    This book, while it sounds promising, lacks on the delivery and the substance. The whole backstory of his mother absconding him because of his abilities although it runs in her family is a ridiculous way to build sympathy and world building. The story lacks dynamic characters, reasoning, and realistic conversations and expectations. 

    All the conversations were stilted and awkward, I could find no discernible reason why handsome and smart James Powell would like Nate, who’s shifty and odd, and while that may seem harsh, the author never gave me a reason as a reader to like him either.

Being able to talk to ghosts, especially James’ dead brother (another poor way to build depth and substance on Cosgrove’s part) does not automatically mean that Nate is a winner of any kind in any romantic sense. 

    Overall, this book was disappointing and I wish I hadn’t read it. While it was not the worst thing to ever grace bookshelves it is a waste of space and time. It put me off YA for a good chunk of time since it was such a chore reading it. Would not recommend. 

Recommendation: Just. No. Not even if you like ghost stories and confounding teenage love stories. This is not a Book Worth Knowing (get it??). 

Score: 3/10