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The Ghosts Of Ashbury High Jaclyn Moriarty 9780545069724 Books

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The Ghosts Of Ashbury High Jaclyn Moriarty 9780545069724 Books

I have loved everything I've read by this author. She's quickly becoming one of my very top authors of all time. (Her sister also writes great books).
Damn, what a fantastic book. I am keen on mysteries, and I love a mystery that keeps you guessing but is completely logical.

I love the characters, her skill at writing from multiple points of view, and the way the author adds layers to a story that make it leap from the page.
Read this book. You will love it.


Tags : The Ghosts Of Ashbury High [Jaclyn Moriarty] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. <DIV>This is the story of Amelia and Riley, bad kids from bad Brookfield High who have transferred to Ashbury High for their final year. They've been in love since they were fourteen,Jaclyn Moriarty,The Ghosts Of Ashbury High,Arthur A. Levine Books,0545069726,GOOD-EARTH-12685,Horror,School & Education - General,Australia,Australia - History - 1788-1851,High schools,High schools;Fiction.,Interpersonal relations,Interpersonal relations;Fiction.,New South Wales,Schools,Schools;Fiction.,Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9),Fiction,Horror & ghost stories, chillers (Children's Teenage),Horror Ghost Stories (Young Adult),JUVENILE FICTION Horror,JUVENILE FICTION Social Themes Adolescence,JUVENILE FICTION Social Themes Dating & Relationships,JUVENILE FICTION Social Themes Friendship,Juvenile FictionSchool & Education,Juvenile FictionSocial Themes - Adolescence,School & Education,Social Themes - Adolescence,YOUNG ADULT FICTION,YOUNG ADULT FICTION Horror,YOUNG ADULT FICTION School & Education General

The Ghosts Of Ashbury High Jaclyn Moriarty 9780545069724 Books Reviews

This is The Book That Has Everything.

As an epistolary novel from an author who loves to lull you into amusement before shocking the crap out of you, this book features a convoluted, sometimes overlapping/sometimes contradictory/sometimes confusing/sometimes enigmatic/sometimes curiously misdirected narrative compiled in the various communications of many characters. Much of the story is told in assignments given to the students--tell the story of your term in a ghost story! tell the story of your journey home on a blog! tell the story of your first impressions, but be gothic about it!--and some of the other details are revealed through agenda documents, personal diaries, and poetry. Overall, it's a bunch of students and staff discussing some events revolving around the mysterious Riley and Amelia, two kids who spent their last year of high school at a private school because they won a scholarship (despite being from the "bad" school everybody's afraid of).

Riley and Amelia should be annoying. Everyone's transfixed by them, and they keep turning out to have another hidden talent (which they reveal at strategic times throughout the book, nonchalantly, without fanfare)--swimming, acting, art, music, writing. They're incredibly different from everyone else, make students and staff weirdly insecure and desirous of their approval and attention, and they don't communicate with anyone properly (so that when they DO say something, the rarity of the event makes their choices of words seem profound). A mystique hovers around them, which is magnified by their curious connection with each other. And what's interesting about this whole thing is that we weren't just repeatedly TOLD how fascinating they were (though yes, everyone keeps saying so). It's shown, and it infects you, the reader. *I* was legitimately excited when they were on the paper or, better yet, talking to me in an essay or poem. I wanted to know more about them too. It wasn't just a Sue vibe. They were legitimately captivating characters, for the same reason that they seemed captivating to everyone else it took a while to know why, and they revealed everything slowly. What they really wanted. What they were really about. Who they really were.

I admit the one thing that I struggled with was keeping everybody straight in the beginning, since there were so many characters and it had been a while since I'd read a book in this series. (Well, they're interconnected standalones, really.) Emily always stands out with her dramatic writing style and exclamation marks and word confusion, but it took me longer to latch onto and recognize Lydia and especially Cassie, and then the boys sometimes really made me think hard to remember who was talking (but it got easier about halfway through). Their writing styles are pretty distinct, though--I just got brain clutter from all the voices. (That happened for me too in The Year of Secret Assignments). In any case, Emily's vacillation between believing and not believing her own evidence while trying to prove there's a ghost in the Art Rooms was hilarious and contagious, and her blog was always amazing. Lydia typing to a ghost was really interesting--I wondered what was actually going on there--and Riley's essays were haunting (uh, nice pun?). I thought Toby and his black hole philosophies and obsession with an Irish convict were also riveting.

Now let's talk about probably my favorite thing Yes, this is a weird exaggerated plotted mystery of sorts, but it captured a uniquely high school vibe. The kids getting locked in a closet for three hours at a party and having this forced shared moment was mesmerizing; I'm sure that's the kind of thing everyone involved would remember for the rest of their life (if they weren't too drunk) and tell their kids about. The way Cassie, Lydia, and Emily supported and mocked each other, got invested in each other's relationships, and kept secrets from each other was essence of distilled high school girl, in a bottle. And the various projects they did, reactions they had to school and after-school events, pimple emergencies and boy tragedies, and thoughts of the future were so spot on. Every page I turned had something on it that was intensely relatable.

Then there were the everyday observations spun into poetic phrases. Riley noticing the backs of Amelia's knees. Amelia not wanting to be in photographs for a very good reason. The descriptions of people's faces before and after they saw a baby. The symbolism of a red door. A tree covered with lovers' initials and abandoned to preserve the sanctity of one couple. The image of the same girl showing up in two boys' art projects. Shadows meaning different things depending on where they are. A big letter M carved out of wood and what it means. There's just no end to these little blobs of significance throughout the book. It's phenomenal.

And then, plot-wise, it reminded me a lot of the vibe in Bindy's book. Throughout, there is ghost imagery thrown around--Riley calls Amelia a ghost at the beginning for his own reasons, and then there are rumors of an ex-student ghost who might have her own reasons for haunting the Art Rooms, and then Toby's weird connection with Tom from the 1800s, and Amelia's weird connection with a "crazy friend," and finally a "ghost" whose presence explained some of the ghostly happenings but not others (and some of what they thought was not explained by this ghost actually WAS her doing). You don't really expect the book to get as serious as it does--to contain such shocking acts in the present and past (and there are a LOT of them!)--and most of what you think is someone's overactive imagination or a character's paranoia/insanity/confusion/hyperbole IS ACTUALLY HAPPENING. (But it's not clear what until the end, and even then, you're not really sure sometimes.)

There is just so much character, so many powerful words, so MUCH going on that you get invested in, that I can't recommend this highly enough, even if it is sort of weird and confusing at times and I guess therefore not for everyone (especially those who like their books straightforward with completely reliable narrators).
WHAT IS IT ABOUT?

Although Jaclyn Moriarty’s young adult novel “The Ghosts of Ashbury High” is the fourth installment in the Ashbury/Brookfield series, it also works great as a stand-alone. In the final year of high school, Amelia and Riley, a mysterious couple, transfer to Ashbury High and soon become an obsession of their curious classmates Who are they? Where are they from? What do they want? But Amelia and Riley is not the only mystery at Ashbury High this year. Emily, a girl from the popular best friend trio, is convinced that the Art Rooms are haunted, while another student, Toby, is fascinated by a ghost from the past the letters of an Irish convict who was banished to Australia in 1800s. Gossip, romance, mystery, history, Higher School Certificate (HSC) exams… The final year at Ashbury High is everything but boring.

THUMBS UP

1) Exceptionally executed multiple viewpoint approach.
The whole book is written in the format of essays, exams, emails, blogs, letters, meeting minutes and interview transcripts. Such a format is not only unusual and very engaging but also well-thought-out and skillfully presented. In addition, everything is written by multiple people, each of whom has a very distinctive voice and provides a unique angle to the same story. Well done!

2) Mysterious, unexpected and neatly wrapped up.
Since a majority of the story is told through students’ memoirs with gothic fiction elements (HSC English exam question), the vibe is ghostly and mysterious. To be honest, at first I felt perplexed the book just seemed so… weird. Soon enough, however, things started looking more earthly and also quite interesting. Yet the best part was a completely unexpected, well-thought-out and fulfilling (but still slightly strange) ending. One can argue that the end was a little bit “too neat” as EVERY single mystery was revealed and explained and EVERYTHING turned out to be related, but in this case I did not see it as a flaw. I actually liked it.

3) Light and witty with a hint of seriousness.
Some characters in “The Ghosts of Ashbury High” are lovable and amusing, some are mysterious and intimidating, some are silly and even annoying, but they also are realistic, complex, memorable and, above all, relatable. The narrative is lively and hilarious so that all 500 pages fly by unnoticed (or most of them do); however, by the end of the book you realize that the author not only entertains but also probes quite a few serious issues that reach way beyond high school life.

COULD BE BETTER

1) Lengthy.
In addition to quite a weird and slow beginning, some later parts feel a little bit prolonged too. Even though in retrospective everything seems relevant and important, certain passages can be quite discouraging. For example, I was’t very fond of Irish convict’s letters but I LOVED the rest of Toby’s narrative, especially his retelling of Australian and Irish history - hilarious yet so educational! Plus, the ending makes it all worth it (though again, it might be a few correspondences too long).

2) Format credibility.
Although the idea of a story told in a form of gothic memoirs written during HSC English exam sounds unique and appealing, it is very unlikely that 4-hour exam essays would be THAT long or that students would write in such an informal style. But, honestly, it’s just nit-picking.

VERDICT 4 out of 5

“The Ghosts of Ashbury High” is an all-in-one multiple viewpoint young adult novel light and funny, mysterious and serious, well-thought-out and equally well-written… It’s the first Moriarty’s book I’ve ever read but definitely not the last.
Another book for my granddaughter.
Book arrived in expected condition and in the agreed upon time frame. It was a birthday gift for my sister, the only book in the series that she didn't have. She loved it.
I always enjoy the authentic voices of Jaclyn Moriarty's characters, but found this particular book a little more difficult to navigate than some of her others. Perhaps this was due simply to the fact that there are a plethora of persons populating the pages. Moriarty is well and wittily versed in the ironies of adolescent academia. For those alone, I recommend THE GHOSTS OF ASHBURY HIGH.
I have loved everything I've read by this author. She's quickly becoming one of my very top authors of all time. (Her sister also writes great books).
Damn, what a fantastic book. I am keen on mysteries, and I love a mystery that keeps you guessing but is completely logical.

I love the characters, her skill at writing from multiple points of view, and the way the author adds layers to a story that make it leap from the page.
Read this book. You will love it.