Cara is an aspiring ghost hunter, determined to show she’s more than a high school outcast by finding proof of the supernatural. Then she stumbles upon the spirit of Aiden, a popular boy who died a year ago. Yet Aiden has his own plan to help his reclusive sister Meredith recover from his death. And he’s decided Cara’s the girl for the job.

Cara agrees to ask Meredith out in exchange for Aiden helping her prove there’s life beyond death. No dates, no ghost. Wooing the standoffish Meredith isn’t going to be easy, however. With Aiden’s coaching, Cara slowly wins Meredith over – and finds herself really falling for her in the process. But as Meredith gets happier and Aiden’s mission nears completion, his ghost begins to fade. Can Cara carry on dating and deceiving Meredith – or will she have to give up the ghost?

The Ghost of Us follows Eighteen-year-old ghost hunter Cara who wants to prove to the world that ghosts really exist. Together with her best friend Holly, they head to an abandoned old papermill to make a film for their YouTube channel ‘Caranormal Activity’ while searching for the ghost of teenager Aiden who died there the previous year.

With nothing being picked up at the mill the pair head home. However, Cara is contacted by Aiden and he wants something from her. He wants her to help his sister Meredith who is grieving for him. Cara agrees that as long as he helps her prove to the world that ghosts are real.

Given the context of the plot, you would think that The Ghosts of Us would be a sad book, but it certainly isn’t. Grief and death are not at the forefront of the story. There is a lot of humour and sarcasm within the book and the usual YA antics.

While trying to help Meredith overcome her grief, Cara can’t help falling for her. The two are good together but Cara is hiding a deep secret from Meredith.

Overall, the book is a fairly typical YA novel with young love and teenage scenarios, plus a ghost tagging along. It is a solid read with a steady pace and kept my interest from beginning to end.

James L. Sutter is a co-creator of the best-selling Pathfinder and Starfinder roleplaying games. He’s the author of the young adult romance novels DARKHEARTS and THE GHOST OF US, as well as the fantasy novels DEATH’S HERETIC and THE REDEMPTION ENGINE.

His short stories have appeared in Nightmare, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, the #1 Amazon best-seller Machine of Death, and more. James lives in Seattle, where he’s performed with musical acts ranging from metalcore to musical theater.