The Ghosts of Ashbury High

The Ghosts of Ashbury High is a YA contemporary novel that mashes a lot of different genres by Jaclyn Moriarty.

This is also the fourth book in the Ashbury/Brookfield series, which I wasn’t aware of. I’d recommend starting from the beginning, as always. Yet I wasn’t even aware of the other books and was not lost.

But I really, really, REALLY want to read them now!

That’s right: The Ghosts of Ashbury High is AWESOME!!!

A little synopsis first, shall we?

Each senior is handling their final year of school differently. Lydia is having non-stop parties at her house. Toby is obsessing over the life of a local that lived in their area of Australia over 100 years ago. Emily is convinced there is a ghost haunting the Art Rooms.

That’s right. A ghost.

But the most prevalent thing on everyone’s mind is Amelia and Riley.

Mysterious, enigmatic, gorgeous and uber-talented, the two first-ever scholarship students have transferred to Ashbury High and thrown the senior class into a mania.

Who are they? Where’d they come from? Have they really been together since they were fourteen? Why do they have an otherworldly stare?

There are secrets being hidden that will come to light before the senior class must swallow their nerves and enter adult society…

Wow. From the title, I was expecting a paranormal ghost story set at a high school.

How wrong I was. And you are, if you’re expecting the same thing!

No, The Ghosts of Ashbury High is SO much more than that!!!

First of all, it’s eccentric. Truly zany, enjoyable humor! It’s imaginative, fun, witty, yet introspective and surprisingly intuitive at times. Jaclyn Moriarty writes great, strongly built characters, excellent friendships, adds a dash of mystery and allure and a LOT of flavorful writing.

The novel is written in the form of essays and school assignments that are autobiographical, switching viewpoints among numerous characters. As I got deeper into the book, the bittersweet coming-of-age tone slipped in. It became more and more fascinating, thought-provoking, and at times utterly heartbreaking.

The Ghosts of Ashbury High ended up being startlingly profound – far deeper than it initially seemed.

I mean, I loved it. Laugh-out-loud funny, subtle seriousness, plot twists, and an overall unable-to- pigeonhole-to-one-genre book, The Ghosts of Ashbury High was amazing!

And as I said, I want more! So, I will now be trying to read the previous books!!!