"Chasing Brooklyn" by Lisa Schroeder

Both Brooklyn and Nico are trying to recover from the death of Lucca. Lucca was Brooklyn's boyfriend and Nico's brother. Almost a year to the day after Lucca's death, his best friend Gabe dies too. Brooklyn and Nico are both being haunted, Brooklyn by Gabe and Nico by Lucca. The two begin a friendship that will help them battle their demons and reclaim their place among the living.

I liked this book just fine, but felt like it didn't need to be written in verse. The poems weren't very memorable in terms of their structure and it almost seemed like a device to have shorter "chapters." Each poem alternates between the point of view of the two characters, so each character only gets a few pages at a time. Despite this, I did enjoy the plot of this novel. It is a very touching and poignant novel and Lisa Schroeder does an excellent job at capturing the lives of those affected by a great loss. I also liked that the ghost element of the story doesn't completely overwhelm the plot so it's still a story about two teenagers dealing with the changes in their lives and not two teenagers dealing with their haunted bedrooms. I have now read several books by Schroeder and have found that I prefer her books for younger readers, but either way, Chasing Brooklyn is still worth a read.

Happy Reading!
-Melly

2013 Novel in Verse Reading Challenge

2013 Novel in Verse Reading Challenge

Hosted by: The Busy Bibliophile

The goal is simple: read books in verse.

Brief Instructions:
1. Create a post announcing your intention to join the challenge (include the challenge graphic and a link to this post).
2. Sign up for the challenge using the linky below, and link to your intention post (or Goodreads post).
2. a. Optional: Put a challenge button on your blog’s sidebar.
3. Read and review at least 6 verse novels during the year.
4. Add each review to the review linky at any time.
That’s it! For extra fun, there will be giveaways, mini-challenges, interviews and guest posts throughout the year, so keep an eye out for those. More specific instructions can be found on the FAQ page.
If you love verse novels like I do and want to help out in any way, check out the main Challenge page. Some options include hosting giveaways, guest posts, hosting mini-challenges, or anything else you can think of!
I’m excited to start this challenge and hope you’ll join me for the fun!

Sign up here to participate in the challenge. Remember to link to your intention post (or GR account), not your main blog.