Reread: The Ghost and the Goth by Stacey Kade

I have been meaning to mention this but I enjoy rereading books I've already reviewed previously and thought that maybe it'd be fun to revisit these books and re-post about them. I don't know if this will turn into a feature or anything--I'm only doing this for fun and because I'd still like to share my thoughts after a reread. So here I go. Side note: I may or may not accidentally write spoilers. YOU'VE BEEN WARNED >:O

Synopsis: After a close encounter with the front end of a school bus, Alona Dare goes from Homecoming Queen to Queen of the Dead. Now she’s stuck here in spirit form with no sign of the big, bright light coming to take her away. To make matters worse, the only person who might be able to help her is Will Killian, a total loser/outcast type who hates the social elite. He alone can see and hear her, but he wants nothing to do with the former mean girl of Groundsboro High. 

Can they get over their mutual distrust—and this weird attraction between them—to work together before Alona vanishes for good and Will is locked up for seeing things that don’t exist?

Thoughts after the second time around: 

• I mentioned this the first time I reviewed Kade's debut but I love the dual narration between these two! You know whenever it's Alona or Will telling the story; their voices are so distinctive. This is how dual POV should be! 
• Alona. She's kind of bitchy, but she's not MEAN. Or at least not intentionally. She's just a hard nut to crack. I like how the author managed to craft Alona's personality like this--Alona could have easily slided into mean girl territory (she has a sharp tongue and when she's mad, she's MAD) but she realizes that sometimes her words carried more weight than she intended. 
• Will. I freaking loved him as a character. I liked that his relationship with Alona changed his perspective on how he viewed his gift. Also thanks to Alona, he realizes that he doesn't have to run away every time he sees a ghost in his midst--he can still have a life, he just needs to learn how to adjust in a way that's more positive for himself and the ghosts that he may encounter. P.S. Yay for Alona being his spirit guide! 
• The story. I read this before but I enjoyed falling back into Will and Alona's world. I knew how this first book was going to end so I could focus more on other things like seeing Alona and Will's character development, the great banter these two had, the humorous moments the author managed to weave into this tale and how the secondary characters helped move the plot along. This is why rereading is fun--the details you may have missed the first time float up to the surface and become more apparent.  
• The topic of ghosts and the afterlife. Ghosts in a story always attract me and I enjoyed how the author dealt with it and didn't bring religion into it. I'd be okay if she had brought some sort of element of religion into it but the story would've completed changed in tone. I think if she had gone that route, it would've actually taken away from the story. I still need to read the next two books to see where she goes however. 
• The feel of the story. Despite the story being about spirits and someone who can see them, it didn't feel dark and gloomy. I mean, look at that cover.
• Also that cover? I get why these two are on a bench now! Why didn't I realize this the first time I read the book? *facepalm* I was probably still in my OMG THIS BOOK WAS AWESOME stage. ;)

Overall, this was a solid good read that has me ready to get to the next two books left in the series. I'm appalled that I let FOUR YEARS go by and I never finished the series? Granted, the second and third book needed to be released but STILL. It's 2014. I read this book for the first time in 2010. I WAS A COLLEGE FRESHMAN O_O I know, I know. Judge away. I'm judging me too xD 

My original review can be found here.