This is a beautifully-written, incredibly intense novel about sapphic emotional abuse in a teen relationship. Yes, it's also a murder narrative, but the focus remains much less on the mystery of the murder and firmly on the emotional manipulation and horrific control that, in this supernatural context, extends far beyond death. It's hard to read, but it's so great to have this as a queer YA book in the world.

This story will haunt you. Break ups are hard enough without the ghost of your ex haunting you. This emotional roller coaster is worth picking up.

Thank you to Random House Children's, Delacorte Press, and NetGalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for a review!
First off, I truly appreciated the depiction of the toxic relationship in here; just as guilt does not pause after death, just as trauma does not stop, the ghost of a toxic, manipulative ex won't cease after death. Except here, it's not metaphorical.

Maya can see ghosts-- but she can't see her mother. Alana died after an argument between the two of them, and she'll hold that over Maya's head, frame her for her death, and threaten her, unless Maya enables her to possess someone. And then they'll be together. Forever.

Though Maya's timelines, we see the pre-Alana, the peri-Alana, and the post-Alana death, showing the impacts Alana had on isolating Maya from everyone, family and friends alike. Alana is not treated wholly unsympathetically; like Maya, she's a teenage girl herself, with a life of her own. Still, her choices are her own, and the narrative can allow others to see how all were impacted. by the choices of others.
Too, something I loved, was how much Maya's family supported her, and continued to support her.

This was an intense, but important read. Following her ex-girlfriend's death, Maya (who recently graduated high school, more or less by the skin of her teeth) is suddenly haunted by her ex-girlfriend's ghost. Maya has always been able to see ghosts, and then send them on their way. But her ex, Alana, doesn't want to move on. In fact, she wants to stay. For good. And she wants Maya's help.

Debut author Kennedy's writing is beautiful with descriptive writing and fully fleshed out characters. I thoroughly enjoyed the setting of southern California and its poppies (featured on the gorgeous cover, too!), as well as the lake community. Maya's first person perspective may be an eye opener for teens who may be struggling in their own relationships.

Though a hard one, I think this sapphic debut is an important one. But, majorrrr trigger warnings for the throat-choking emotional abuse Maya receives and internalizes.

RUN OUT AND BUY THIS BOOK. A tale of toxic love between two teens the past and the present flash between each other as the search for one takes place. Does trauma haunt you? How do you make yourself let someone go that is intent on haunting you? This book is perfect and there is nothing I would change about it.

I really enjoyed this! The pacing was a little off at times, mostly with the actual resolution to the murder, but that didn't bother me because the murder wasn't really the main point of the book - abusive relationships and how they affect people's lives were the main focus, and that aspect of the book was really well done. I also think it is really important to have books like this about queer characters to validate the experiences of queer teens experiencing similar relationships, since I think often media presents only stories of women being abused by men. I also appreciated that Maya was often not a particularly likable character, because it is important to show imperfect victims and validate that nobody deserves this treatment.

Emotional, genius, and absolutely unfortgettable. I will NEVER recover from this beautiful gut-punch of a book.

Okay, so when I read the description and saw reviews that mentioned that Maya was haunted by her ex-girlfriend, I didn't know they meant a literal GHOST! I'll admit: I'm not a huge paranormal/sci-fi/fantasy reader and was tempted to just walk away...but I'm glad I stuck it out! I didn't expect it to be as heavy and emotional as it was; this one did an excellent job at capturing loss and relationships, and certainly left me broken at the end. It's a little heavy for some of my younger middle school readers, but I know many will truly appreciate this book for what it provides to them. Thanks so much for this ARC!