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Helene Dunbar

Forfatter af We Are Lost and Found

6+ Works 330 Members 18 Reviews

Værker af Helene Dunbar

We Are Lost and Found (2019) 142 eksemplarer
Prelude for Lost Souls (#1) (2020) 72 eksemplarer
These Gentle Wounds (2014) — Forfatter — 40 eksemplarer
What Remains (2015) 30 eksemplarer
Boomerang (2018) 23 eksemplarer
The Promise of Lost Things (2022) 23 eksemplarer

Associated Works

Welcome Home: An Anthology on Love and Adoption (2017) — Bidragyder — 25 eksemplarer

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I think I would have enjoyed this novel more if I had known that it was a follow on from "Prelude to Lost Souls" which I have not read. As it was, it took me ages to get my head around a) the concept of a school village where people come and pay to talk to ghosts and the students all learn to be mediums (St Hilaire's), b) the fact that Russ' boyfriend Ian has died in mysterious circumstances and has now come back as the most powerful and substantial ghost ever c) that there is some power struggle going on to bring down the leadership of the Guild of St Hilaires ( for some reason that I never figured out) and finally d) that there is a boy Ash who is trying to trick his way into St Hilaire's via befriending Russ so that his parents can film a TV show to prove that ghosts don't exist! Confused yet? You will be....but if you pursue, eventually all the pieces slot together and the mysteries are solved, people fall in and out of love and power struggles abound. I liked the ending as everything wrapped up nicely. For fans of the supernatural tropes.… (mere)
 
Markeret
nicsreads | 1 anden anmeldelse | Nov 27, 2023 |
Three stars I guess. When I first read this, I had mixed feelings the whole time. I didn't know enough about the issues the book dealt with, to comment intelligently. Now, I might be able to. This is a coming of age tragedy about a teen grieving and learning to live life alongside it. I have mixed feelings on whether that was a cheesy sentence or not. Lizzie's death was telegraphed super fucking hard, I was aware on second read. She dies in a car accident that the protagonist, Cal, blames himself for. He was driving, and their best friend, Spencer, was in the passenger seat.

Lizzie was originally in the back, but had pretty much climbed up front so she could change the radio dials. She was comfortable not wearing a seat belt. She was written as reckless and moody. She was stated to have a difficult home life (with a stepdad, because the vast majority of YA novels are terrified to portray biological fathers in any negative way, so stepdads are always assholes. Bio-dads can be too, authors). She had a foreshortened sense of the future, too. The narrative mentioned this a lot. It was annoying, and almost like--if the audience didn't get to know Lizzie beyond that, before she died, they wouldn't miss her as much and it'd be easier to focus on Cal. I feel weird about this.

Lizzie's heart is transplanted into Cal since his failed in the accident. The book does a good job of emphasizing how rare IRL this would be, and the steps taken. I went back and forth a few times about whether Lizzie could possibly be what TVTropes calls a Lost Lenore. Cal has her heart, and due to this, inherits her visual artistic abilities, fixation on Spencer (I did NOT see it as love, at all), and a personality trait or two. Oh, and almost immediately from her death, Cal starts hearing her voice in his head. Uh. Well, um. I remembered a lot less of this book from the first time I read it, I realized. That's...quite a statement that the book is making, amidst the rest of it which seems fairly realistic.

Lizzie and Spencer had sex before she died, and rather than acknowledging that sexuality is complex and moving on, the book makes a massive issue out of it. Spencer is gay, and Lizzie and Cal are straight. Having Lizzie's heart in his chest and her voice in his head causes Cal to kiss Spencer, and Lizzie's voice narrates it. Her narration goes on for three pages. What had been a book I couldn't put down, at that point became a book I physically needed to step away from momentarily. It seems like an enormous consent issue. Gross.

Ally was such a breath of fresh air. I was glad every time she was on the page. The ending chapter was wonderful..
… (mere)
 
Markeret
iszevthere | 2 andre anmeldelser | Jul 3, 2022 |
I really enjoyed Prelude for Lost Souls. It has an intriguing plot that unfolds quietly and steadily. It is, at times, tense and emotional, and while there are no massive twists or shocking reveals, there are a few curious coincidences that tie together two of the storylines (and I am still left with a question or two there.) This is a story about friendships, grief, and expectations.

There are multiple storylines going on here, and while Dec's and Annie's intersected more neatly, Russ's ran mostly separate. While one storyline is tied up and another has OH SO MANY questions! That's fine though, because I'm HERE for Russ's story. There's also great LGBTQ representation.

The worldbuilding feels a little incomplete for a paranormal novel set in a town whose entire industry revolves around mediums and talking to the dead, but honestly, I feel like the book reads more like a contemporary novel with a spooky paranormal setting. Since this is the first in a series, I'm hoping we learn a lot more about The Guild and the town of St. Hilaire in the next book - which I'm looking forward to.
… (mere)
 
Markeret
jenncaffeinated | 2 andre anmeldelser | Jul 4, 2021 |
Every character in this book is some sort of prisoner, but there are no cells or walls. Annie may be an interloper, but her prison is as integral to the town of St. Hilaire as are the rest-Dec, Russ, Ian and Tristan. As you read the book, you may be confused at first by the differing plot elements, but by the end, most everything has fallen into place and you'll feel satisfied. It looks like a sequel will come and that should be equally interesting.
 
Markeret
sennebec | 2 andre anmeldelser | Aug 15, 2020 |

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Nicole Hower Cover designer
Adams Carvalho Cover artist
Christa Desir Copy editor

Statistikker

Værker
6
Also by
1
Medlemmer
330
Popularitet
#71,937
Vurdering
3.9
Anmeldelser
18
ISBN
37
Sprog
1

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