If I Have To Be Haunted by Miranda Sun -- Book Review

 

 Book Review: 

If I Have To Be Haunted

by Miranda Sun

Release Date: Sep. 14, 2023   

 

Genre: Fantasy

Age Range: Young Adult

Goodreads Avg. Rating: 3.63 stars

Cara Tang spends most days pretending not to notice the ghosts wandering around town. It’s her senior year of high school and she has just been stuck with her nemesis Zach for a school project. They aren’t rivals in the academic sense for sure, it’s just since childhood they have always found a way to aggravate each other. When Zach appears as a ghost however Cara’s carefully hidden gifts are put to the test. In a race against time will they be able to work together long enough to resurrect Zach?

The story starts in Autumn Falls. I don't think it ever states which state this is in but I get the feel it is a northern one. Throughout the story the scenery changes quite a bit. Each location is described in enough detail to help you visualize it. I don't think I would go so far as to say it was in vivid detail but still well done. It felt like each location they went to was also varied from the others, from lush meadows to a desert town to a bayou. It does seem that all the differing locations were to give it the sense of travel without having to devote as much to the traveling needing to be on the page.

Magically speaking the book didn't have much. While our main character has the ability to see ghosts and there is a reference to other magical families with different skills it isn't shown much. The magic would be more in the world itself. Yes, this is an urban fantasy of sorts. However, it is also showing that the magical is part of the natural world just most people can't see it. As there were portals through to different parts of the real world that were just sort of pockets called liminal spaces. Then there were the magical creatures, mostly of an animal type other than ghosts. The ghosts themselves are seen as different due to the silvery sheen outlining them. Otherwise, we aren't given much in the way of learning the magic in the world. That's not great but believable as we are only knowing as much as our character here.

Our main character is Cara Tang. Cara is a high school senior at Autumn Falls and trying to get through her life as normally as possible. This is complicated by the fact that she can see ghosts. Even though this is a trait inherited from her mother's side it puts a large strain on their relationship. Luckily Cara has her grandmother to help her figure some of this out, even if she is also a ghost. Cara seems to not mind her ghost-speaking abilities as much as finds them an irritation that she has to hide from everyone. This does not mean she has learned to use them much either though. Cara has been walking the line between both women in her life to appease them.

The book opens up with a scene in the cafeteria, with Cara and her friends discussing the upcoming Halloween festivities. Quickly we are introduced to Zach as an argument breaks out between him and Cara, which is a normal occurrence for apparently their whole lives. After being paired together for an assignment they are forced to work together. When Zach doesn't show up to start the project Cara leaves frustrated only to stumble across his ghost. With help from her grandmother Cara and Zach begin a search for how to bring him back to life. 

There was a hint of romance in the book. I do mean a hint too. This felt like an actual high school enemy to allies to more thing. It was not overdone in the way that too many YA novels are. From the way that they argued and still knew each other so well you could see the possibility of it happening. The biggest hurdle was each thinking the other couldn't possibly feel that way and they were imagining it. Which felt so real, let's be honest we were probably all there at some point.

Apparently, this is not a stand-alone novel. For most of the book, it read and felt like one. There could end up being a second one focusing on a side character they met for sure. It's a YA so telling you that the main issue of the story getting wrapped up doesn't feel like too much of a spoiler. However, the epilogue makes it clear that this is going to turn into another book.

Overall I enjoyed the story. There are areas for improvement to be sure. This book felt like a great autumn read if you're looking for a quick light book. Not sure how to feel about the story continuing. It will be worth trying but probably not going to be something I'm highly looking forward to. One thing I can hope from the sequel will be to give us more information about the magic in this world. 

You can find this book from the below retailers or many others:

Amazon     Harper Collins