A Certain Slant of Light

I know what you're all thinking: Two posts in one day? Whuuu?! Has she lost her rocker?!
Well, I cannot say that I haven't (lost my rocker), but I promised this review awhile ago, didn't I?

First of all: This post may contain slight spoilers for the book A Certain Slant of Light (by Laura Whitcomb).

What is this book about, you ask?
Helen is dead, but her spirit still connected to the living world. She has been haunting a series of different people for 130 years, each and every one unaware of her. She exists among the living, watching time pass her by, generations grow up and die... Unable to do a thing. Unable to cross over to heaven. Just an observer of the lives people lived. Until one day, in her host's English class, she notices a boy looking right at her...

(Enjoy that synopsis. I wrote it myself.)

I'll do my best to keep the spoilers to a minimum, so some parts may be slightly confusing, until you read the book. Which I highly, highly recommend.

So what did I like about this book?
First of all, the narration. The narrator is from a time of courtesy and formality, and you can sense that in her words. There is no slang (from her, at least), no foul language (again, just in the narration. The living humans certainly have foul mouths). I would give some examples of her speech, but unfortunately, I just returned the book to the library today. :(
Second of all, of course, the romance. I love romance, I'm sorry! The only problem I had with this whole book was the sex, though. Yes, there is sex. They don't go into detail, but they say enough to slightly disturb me... But these parts are very brief, pretty much it's, "we started doing it," then it goes straight to "we're done." 'Kay? So it's really not all that bad.

When I first started this book, I was very wary. I did not think the writer was Christian or anything, and when she talked about her hell, I did get a little nervous, not sure if I should keep on reading. Then there was Jenny's family, her parents are what I would call... Actually, I'm not gonna say it, 'cuz I know it will be taken the wrong way. How about, they're really religious, won't let Jenny do anything... Her father actually measured the the hem of her skirt to her knee! Measured! Right then, when I was reading that, I couldn't tell you how grateful I was that my parents let me wear halter tops! (My point is, I was worried that they were stereotyping Christians.)

However, I continued to read, and I am so glad I did! Our narrator was dragged to a prayer meeting by Cathy, Jenny's mother (you have to read it to understand). One of the women said that they needed to pray for a man's family... He had just died, after being in a coma, and according to the woman, he was not going to heaven. The women in the meeting were all making comments like, "It's so sad." "What a pity." "Too bad." This just made Helen (the narrator) angry. "Why do you say he is not going to heaven?". (Mind you, I am just paraphrasing.) One of the women replied, condescendingly, "Well, he was in a coma." This just made Helen angrier. "Can God not speak to those who are unconscious?!" she cried out.
I was practically cheering in my seat! Oh, you go! The best part of the book, I would say! That scene just made me so excited! Those women were aggravating me, too. I hate it when people like that act like they know all. They could not talk to the man, she they just assumed that God could not either!
I must say, after that scene, all my previous worries of the book were gone. And I just fell in love with this book all the more.

There is so much more I love about this book (like the ending that was so beautiful, it actually brought tears to my eyes, as cheesy as that sounds). But I'll bring this review to a close:

Pros: The narrator's beliefs, the style of writing, and how it made me long to go back in time, 130 years ago. Actually, I'm not sure if that last one is a pro or a con. xD
Cons: The sexual scenes. That's pretty much it. :/

I would rate this book: 9.75 stars out of 10. 1) I don't like to give out tens so easily, and 2) yeah, the sexual parts made me bring it down a little. But just a bit!

I would love to go on, but now you must read it! And I hope I didn't ruin anything, if you haven't read it yet. ;_; That scene probably would be much more epic if you don't see it coming, but I warned you about spoilers!