We Are The Ghosts by Vicky Skinner
Published by: Swoon Reads
Publication date: August 13th 2019
Genres: Contemporary, Young Adult
After her estranged brother suddenly dies, a girl embarks on a road trip to rediscover who her brother really was in Vicky Skinner’s contemporary YA novel, We Are the Ghosts.
When Ellie’s estranged brother, Luke, dies in a car accident, she’s not sure whether to be devastated that she lost the person who was once her best friend or enraged, still, that he left without a word a year ago. Now, the only people who seem to understand what she’s going through are Luke’s best friend and his ex-girlfriend, who she bonds with over their desire to figure out where Luke went when he walked out of their lives.
As she gets closer to them, and closer to Cade, a boy who seems determined to get to know her better, she realizes that she’s not the only one with reasons to be angry at Luke. And when Ellie makes a discovery that changes everything, she and her new friends hit the road, hoping that following Luke’s trail will bring them answers about the life Luke was living away from them.
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Excerpt:
At
this, Wes almost drops the map. “You’re going to Michigan?”
“Yes.”
Doubt starts to creep into my chest when Wes doesn’t say anything.
His eyebrows are so high, they almost reach the line of his
almost-black hair.
“Do
you think this is the route he took when he left?” He folds the map
and hands it back to me, but I already know I can’t take it back.
It’s ours now, not just mine.
“Maybe.
I don’t know.”
When
I don’t take the map, Wes smacks it against his open palm. “I
want to come with you.”
Doubt
is replaced by something else. Dread maybe. Regret. I never meant for
anyone to go with me. This is my trip. I have to go alone. “I don’t
think that’s a great idea.”
He’s
already shaking his head. “You shouldn’t go alone. We’ll go,
all three of us. A trip around America.”
Whoa.
Things are getting way out of hand here. “America? No. I’m just
going to Michigan. And who is the three of us? You, me, and—”
“Gwen.”
I
snatch the map from him. “Absolutely not. Luke’s ex? No way.”
Wes snatches the map back, and I grit my teeth. I never should have
said anything. I want to go alone, to just be away from everyone’s
eyes and grief and sympathy for a few days. This is not how this is
supposed to go.
“Look,”
Wes says, holding the map out of my reach as I get up from my chair
to get it back. “I came here to apologize that you found out about
us that way. I should have told you. It’s just, we haven’t talked
in a while, and I didn’t know how to . . . you know . . .”
I
stop grabbing for the map. I’m definitely not going to tell him
that it bothered me to find out. I don’t want him to know that the
first thought I had was a selfish one: that they left me behind, too.
How could I demand they be unhappy just for my sake? “Why would I
care if you’re dating Gwen?”
He
shrugs. “She’s Luke’s ex.” His arm sags, and I rip the map
out of his hand while he’s distracted. “I wasn’t sure if you’d
care, but I mean, it’s not like they were together or anything.
When he died, I mean.”
I
have to block out what he’s saying. I can’t hear him say words
like died.
I hold the map to my chest, wishing this conversation could just be
over. “Wes, you and Gwen can date whoever you want. I don’t care.
But she’s not coming on the trip.”
Wes
crosses his arms over his chest. “I’m not going without her, and
you’re not going without me. Come on, Ellie. This was our trip.
Let’s take it. It’ll be like honoring him.”
I
get a strange twisting sensation in my stomach. Honor Luke? What does
that even mean? I picture the enlarged photo at the front of the
church at his funeral. How can anyone really honor Luke? Did anyone
even really know him? How many people know he ran away? How many
people know how much we fell apart afterward?
Author Bio
Born and raised in Texas, I don’t act like much of a Texan. I like cold weather and hate country music. I have a gorgeous husband, two dogs, and a Literature degree from the University of Texas at Dallas. If I’m not at home reading a book or doing laundry, I’m probably at the bookstore, nannying three rambunctious boys, or stuck on the side of the road with car trouble. I’m a reader, a writer, and a bit of a crazy person.
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