Second Glance by Jodi Picoult
GOODREADS SYNOPSIS: A developer has slated an ancient Abenaki Indian burial ground for a strip mall, and now strange happenings have the inhabitants of tiny Comtosook, Vermont, talking of supernatural forces at work. Ross Wakeman is a ghost hunter who's never seen a ghost -- all he's searching for is something to end the pain of losing his fiancee, Aimee, in a car accident. He tried suicide -- any number of times. Now Ross lives only for a way to connect with Aimee from beyond. Searching the site for signs of the paranormal, Ross meets the mysterious Lia, who sparks him to life for the first time in years. But the discoveries that await Ross are beyond anything he could dream of in this world -- or the next.
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Second Glance by Jodi Picoult[/caption]Loved it!
Usually it takes me at least a few chapters to get into a book, but within the first paragraph I didn't want to put it down. The author provides just enough information on each character to give a decent background, but not so much that it becomes unnecessary or spoils the plot.
Even though the book is centered around the idea of ghosts, it was impressively toned-down and, for lack of a better word, believable. I felt like the experiences from the characters just made sense and didn't ever sit there and think, "That's so unrealistic!" (She acknowledges Jay and Grant from The Atlantic Paranormal Society for teaching her about ghosts at the end of the book. They have a pretty healthy idea of what a ghost is and what a ghost is not).
The plot weaves in several interesting stories that (other authors take note) TIE TOGETHER. Once I figured out what was happening, something new and exciting was thrown into the mix.
The end... it wasn't what I expected, but in a good way. It wasn't necessarily a neat and tidy "ride off into the sunset" finish, but it wasn't a depressing or abrupt ending either. It was almost like another little story. It didn't close the entire story, but left just enough to the readers' imagination.
The only down side (and it wasn't even a big deal or something I'd dock the book points on) was that the main character, Ross, was kind of...a loser. I hate to say it because he seemed like a nice guy and I understand he'd been through a traumatic event, but he was one of those people who would rather walk around and play the victim and use it as an excuse to do nothing with his life. If he was a real person, I'd probably not like to be around him. In the book, though, it worked.
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