Teen Spirit by Francesca Lia Block

Series: Standalone

Genera(s): Paranormal Romance

Subjects: supernatural, ghosts, psychic ability, possession

Setting: Beverly Hills, California and Los Angeles area

POV/Tense: 1^st person POV, Julie

Age/Grade Level: Teen

Length: 234 pgs.

HC/PB: Hardcover

List Price: $17.99

Publisher: HarperTeen

Summary/ product description: “Francesca Lia Block, critically acclaimed author of Weetzie Bat, brings this eerie and redemptive ghost story to life with her signature, poetic prose. It's perfect for fans of supernatural stories with a touch of romance like the Beautiful Creatures series by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl.

After Julie's grandmother passes away, she is forced to move across town to the not-so-fancy end of Beverly Hills and start over at a new school. The only silver lining to the perpetual dark cloud that seems to be following her? Clark—a die-hard fan of Buffy and all things Joss Whedon, who is just as awkward and damaged as she is. Her kindred spirit.

When the two try to contact Julie's grandmother with a Ouija board, they make contact with a different spirit altogether. The real kind. And this ghost will do whatever it takes to come back to the world of the living.

Francesca Lia Block's latest young adult novel is a haunting work about family, loss, love, and redemption.”

My Review:  Teen Spirit is a short, fast, and fun read. It’s a standalone, and it’s a complete story. It contains interesting and unique characters and paranormal twists. It’s set in Beverly Hills and the Los Angeles area of California. Julie, the main character, had a grandmother who recently died. Her mother, a TV writer, loses her job about a year later, and Julie has to move from Hollywood to Beverly Hills, from a house to an apartment.

Julie is half Cherokee and Jewish. Her father was just a sperm donor, so she never met him. Julie also has a gift. She can see auras and have prophetic dreams. Julie meets Clark, a quirky vegan guy who shares Julie’s love for Buffy. Clark is very atypical of love interest characters. He first becomes her best friend and they don’t really become boyfriend and girlfriend.  

Clark has had a recent loss too, but he doesn’t tell Julie till later on in the story. Julie’s psychic abilities make spirits come to her, so after using a Ouija Board to contact her dead grandma on Halloween, a spirit begins to haunt Julie and Clark and they search for a way to rid themselves of the spirit, even though they may wish to keep this spirit around for personal reason.

Teen Spirit is full of humor and pop-culture references. There’s romance and a little mystery. It’s mostly filled with fun paranormal, but it’s also a light-hearted, poetic story about dealing with grief and growing up. As this author has done before, she managed to fit an exciting story into a short book. You could read it easily in one sitting. I recommend this book to fan of the Ghost Huntress series and other ghost stories. Also for fans of books by this author, or Cyn Balog. This book would be okay for younger teens too because the easy reading level, but there are some profanities.

Cover Art Review: The cover is cute and fits the book. It’s wood with engraving-like text and images. It looks like a Ouija Board.  I love the rose quartz hear pointer.