Author: Shirley Marr
Release Date: 1st April 2012
My Rating: 4/5
Blurb:
If you had a second chance at love, would you do it all over again?
Amy has enough to deal with for one lifetime. A superstitious Chinese mother. A best friend whose mood changes as dramatically as her hair colour. A reputation for being strange. The last thing she needs is to be haunted by someone only she can see.
Logan is a ghost from the Eighties. He could be dangerous. He's certainly annoying.
He might also be Amy's dream boy.
In A Nutshell:
Preloved is a story filled with Chinese superstitions, ghost tales, 80’s fashion, an obsession with The Princess Bride and quotes from Labyrinth. It is a story about letting go, reincarnation, letting love in all its forms in, and accepting yourself. A story for the younger YA market although will be adored by those of us who wish we had grown up in the 80’s.
My Review:
Amy doesn’t want to get caught up in stereotypes. She shuns most people, trying to avoid being associated with the other Asian students in the ‘Minority Group’. Ironically, her best and only friend Rebecca also attempts to shun stereotypes but is possibly the biggest one of all. Amy believes she would have fitted in much better had she grown up in the 80’s and while she loves being friends with Rebecca, she pretends that she doesn’t have a problem with always being in her shadow. She shuts everyone out in an attempt not to end up hurt like her mum did after her parents divorced.
When the ghost of Logan, a teenage boy from the 80’s appears out of an old locket, Amy is at first frustrated by the belief that Rebecca was supposed to find the locket, but later grows attached to Logan and his endless 80’s infused commentary and fascination with new technology. As usual, Amy is too preoccupied dealing with Rebecca and her admirers, and this new found ghost only she can see, to realise she may just have an admirer of her own.
I loved the references to 80’s movies (The Breakfast Club, Never Ending Story, Labyrinth, The Princess Bride) and music (Boy George, Michael Jackson, Kylie Minogue and Icehouse) as well as mix tapes, which, as someone who used to make these before CD’s took over, I miss the effort it took to create such a collection and the meaning behind them!
I was also excited to find a reference to Etsy that was slipped in, as well as my favourite David Levithan book. There were also some character similarities to Lane from TV’s Gilmore Girls, another of my favourites!
Preloved is a story filled with Chinese superstitions, ghost tales, 80’s fashion, an obsession with The Princess Bride and quotes from Labyrinth. It is a story about letting go, reincarnation, letting love in all its forms in, and accepting yourself. A story for the younger YA market although will be adored by those of us who wish we had grown up in the 80’s.
And as a side note, this cover is stunning! I think it has to be one of my favourite YA covers of the year!
If you had a second chance at love, would you do it all over again?
Amy has enough to deal with for one lifetime. A superstitious Chinese mother. A best friend whose mood changes as dramatically as her hair colour. A reputation for being strange. The last thing she needs is to be haunted by someone only she can see.
Logan is a ghost from the Eighties. He could be dangerous. He's certainly annoying.
He might also be Amy's dream boy.
In A Nutshell:
Preloved is a story filled with Chinese superstitions, ghost tales, 80’s fashion, an obsession with The Princess Bride and quotes from Labyrinth. It is a story about letting go, reincarnation, letting love in all its forms in, and accepting yourself. A story for the younger YA market although will be adored by those of us who wish we had grown up in the 80’s.
My Review:
Amy doesn’t want to get caught up in stereotypes. She shuns most people, trying to avoid being associated with the other Asian students in the ‘Minority Group’. Ironically, her best and only friend Rebecca also attempts to shun stereotypes but is possibly the biggest one of all. Amy believes she would have fitted in much better had she grown up in the 80’s and while she loves being friends with Rebecca, she pretends that she doesn’t have a problem with always being in her shadow. She shuts everyone out in an attempt not to end up hurt like her mum did after her parents divorced.
When the ghost of Logan, a teenage boy from the 80’s appears out of an old locket, Amy is at first frustrated by the belief that Rebecca was supposed to find the locket, but later grows attached to Logan and his endless 80’s infused commentary and fascination with new technology. As usual, Amy is too preoccupied dealing with Rebecca and her admirers, and this new found ghost only she can see, to realise she may just have an admirer of her own.
I loved the references to 80’s movies (The Breakfast Club, Never Ending Story, Labyrinth, The Princess Bride) and music (Boy George, Michael Jackson, Kylie Minogue and Icehouse) as well as mix tapes, which, as someone who used to make these before CD’s took over, I miss the effort it took to create such a collection and the meaning behind them!
I was also excited to find a reference to Etsy that was slipped in, as well as my favourite David Levithan book. There were also some character similarities to Lane from TV’s Gilmore Girls, another of my favourites!
Preloved is a story filled with Chinese superstitions, ghost tales, 80’s fashion, an obsession with The Princess Bride and quotes from Labyrinth. It is a story about letting go, reincarnation, letting love in all its forms in, and accepting yourself. A story for the younger YA market although will be adored by those of us who wish we had grown up in the 80’s.
And as a side note, this cover is stunning! I think it has to be one of my favourite YA covers of the year!
Thankyou to Walker Books for this review copy.
oh, i LOVE the princess bride!
ReplyDeletethe book sounds great.
This one's so much fun, and all the pop-culture references (not to mention the Chinese ones--I'm married to a Chinese guy and can totally vouch for that!) are spot on :)
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