Daffodil has a plan. She desperately needs to get out of Nebraska (because it’s Nebraska) and because of “the thing she can’t think about,” so she leaves early for college to find a summer job that will help her pay for her room and board. When she stumbles across a professor who will pay her to watch over his house and the construction at his home while he is gone, she can’t turn the opportunity down. At first, she doesn’t even question the large amount of money she was offered. Then unexplained things start happening. Daffodil must figure out what is going on because she can’t afford to leave. 

I have always loved books that feature a character in isolation and I loved this even more in a haunted house setting. While Daffodil could be a little intense at times, I think this added to the overall tone of the story as she is trying to convince herself that nothing is really happening at the house and she is just paranoid. I love that the title of the book even matches this idea of Daffodil convincing herself there aren’t any ghosts. As the story progresses, Daffodil starts to have more and more flashbacks to her life in Nebraska despite trying to push them away. At first, I didn’t really like these because I much preferred the plotline of her in the house. As they became more entwined in the plot though, I got on board. This is an extremely quick read, and it gets faster by the end of the book. I kind of wish more time had been spent on the events at the end of the book, but perhaps this would have slowed the book down too much. Overall, I highly recommend this book for its strong development of a spooky setting mixed with a character’s past.

So this is the story of Daffodil, who gets off of the train on her way to college and decides to take a summer job house-sitting for a rich couple. This house is currently under construction and the owners can't be there but they need someone to manage the workers. As Daffodil is there and watching the house, she gets this weird feeling about the place and things might not be as they seem. 

This story is told from Daffodil's perspective. It is as if she's talking to you and in some cases this lets you get to know Daffodil and some of the things that are going on with her internally. You start to realize that she has gone through something very traumatic and she's trying to process that. But at the same time there are moments this perspective takes you out of the story because.She's got this perky sassy personality that pulls you out of this moody, creepy, atmosphere that I'm assuming was trying to be created in this house. There are some very creepy and mind-bending moments but because of how Daffodil is telling the story and the perspective she's coming from, it ends up diminishesing the horror aspect of this book. She was almost too upbeat and sarcastic about the whole event. 

She was dealing with a lot of darker mental issues but it was just mentioned casually in passing, in a way that would be a red flag if it came out of anybody's mouth. But here it's played so down that it doesn't feel like it's of any consequence and that is a little bit concerning. Especially given some of the things she starts to talk about. I will put out a warning that if you are triggered by suicidal thoughts, this probably isn't the book for you. 

There is a point in this book where things got so weird and you ended up getting no explanation for that. The ending was just there. And it made sense and things fell into place, but then it also opened up a whole bunch of other questions. It was just like - this is kind of what's happening, moving on. You never really got a clear understanding of why things happened. You got the why it was for her, but not the why of everything else.That is what left me kind of just meh about the story. 

I relate lot to Daffodil's anxiety but I struggled with a lot of other aspects of her. You can definitely tell she was a teenager and she had a lot of selfish tendencies. 

If you are looking for a read that is a little bit more on the trippy side of horror and has a lot of teenager influence, you will probably like this book. Overall it was okay for me. I'm not the most excited about it and it's probably not something I will pick up again. So take that for whatever you want it to mean.

This Is Not a Ghost Story is a well written book with a likeable main character.  I didn't know much about the book going into it and really liked it in the beginning.  It got weird for me around the middle of the book and then just never came back together for me.  I could definitely see many people really enjoying this book, so I do recommend giving it a try. I just wasn't for me.

I had so many mixed feelings about this book. I thoroughly enjoyed the casual conversation the narrator has with the reader. That’s what connected me. The something happened that I don’t want to discuss trope was well done, and the ending reminded me of an episode of Are You Afraid of the Dark. It was creepy but light at the same time. If you don’t love Daffy, we can’t be friends.

This book was absolutely fantastic. I've already added it to our library wishlist and recommended it to students.

SPOILERS

What a shame. I liked the world style here. I liked the character (although the girl who's "such a freak" and "totally unpopular" but also a beautiful white girl is pretty tiresome). But... 

I knew the whole book that a "twist" was coming.  That was telegraphed from the start. And because it's the most infamous and obvious horror "twist" I wondered pretty early on if she was dead. 

MOST disappointingly, her afterlife, her "heaven" is spending eternity with a boyfriend that drunkenly threw a tantrum and killed them both because he was upset she was planning for her future? GROSS.

She was just trying to find a summer job to help pay for college. Now Daffodil finds herself trapped in a house that might never let her leave.

This Is Not a Ghost Story is a standalone novel by Andrea Portes. This thrilling tale is perfect to get you in the spooky mood. Daffodil Franklin takes a job housesitting in an old mansion for a professor and his wife. She’s just trying to earn some extra money the summer before her freshman year of college. But nothing in this house it quite as it seems. As time passes things start getting stranger and stranger, the eerie occurrences are getting harder to explain away. She is starting to go insane trying to get a grasp on reality and then everything happens at once. She realizes maybe nothing was ever the way she remembers it at all. 

This book was a slow start for me but in the end I really did enjoy it. It took me a little while to get into the flow of it, as it has a very strong stream of consciousness feel. Daffodil for the most part is telling you about everything that’s happening, as it happens, with small intervals of backstory mixed in. It bounces back and forth like that for a while, until both stories meet in the middle so to speak. Once I settled into the rhythm it got harder for me to put down. I read the second half in about a day. The change between the everyday type scenes to the chilling supernatural themes meshed very well and it had me looking over my shoulder every now and then. It left me with goosebumps multiple times. It’s very subtly scary and I think that’s what really makes it stand out and work well. And that ending…I wasn’t prepared for that. It was the ending I was hoping for, but I didn’t think it would happen that way. So well done. 

If you need a good spooky story for a fall read, I would recommend this. It would be very good for someone who enjoys a mild thriller or scary stories. It would definitely be great for someone who is wanting to delve into that genre for the first time. It has a little bit of everything you might expect to find. 

Rating: 4/5

Thank you to HarperCollins Children’s Books and NetGalley for providing a copy of this book for review.

One thing that makes or breaks a YA novel, in my opinion, is the voice of the narrator. Because I am a huge fan of Gilmore Girls, I LOVED this book. Daffodil, the main character, speaks like Rory Gilmore, if you put Rory Gilmore in a haunted house and added a mysterious and tragic backstory. This was one book I finished, and then immediately told everybody I know to go read it because I loved it so much. 

For some reason, the narrative voice in this novel just works so well. Daffodil, looking to escape from something, and looking for a quiet summer before her freshman year at Bryn Mawr, takes the house sitting job of a professor, which will allow her to pay for her first year of college. (Where can I get a job like that? Sign me up!) As Daffodil stays in the house, and lets us into the inner workings of her mind, we begin to realize there is more to this house--and to Daffodil--than maybe even she realizes at first. I was spooked, I was enchanted, and I wanted to give Daffy a big ol' hug and tell her it was going to be okay. I loved this book so much, and was the perfect spooky read for this Halloween season. I can't wait to give it to the teens in my area, because I know they'll love it so much too.

This book unfortunately did not work for me. I could not get into the writing style. 

Thank you Netgalley for an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review. I wish it was better.

What a fantastic ride! Daffodil finds the perfect summer job that will allow her to pay for her first year of college. She's been wanting to leave Nebraska since the "thing that we do not mention" occurred. This too perfect job starts playing with her mental health but she knows that she has to stay in order to be free of her past. The writing is fresh and spunky to reflect the inner workings of Daffodil. I enjoyed the plot just as much as the dialog and writing of Daffodil's internal thinking.

There's nothing good here, just the same story like many books of YA mystery. Predictable. It's sad for me to say that, but this one is bad.

I tried very hard to get into this book but it just didn’t work for me. I ended up DNF-ing it at 13%. And honestly that 13% was a struggle to get to. 

It was hard for me to understand the vibe of the book. While I assume it was trying to be spooky, the main characters witty banter distracted from that.

I think that many readers may like the writing style and the strong personality of the main character but it was a miss for me.

This was one of the most poorly written books I've ever read. I understand what the author was trying to do with her writing style and the main character's voice, but it ended up being so cringy and extremely hard to read. She also used the phrase "you see" five times in the first chapter alone. It made me wonder how well this book was edited. 
The story here was okay. I love a good haunted house story, and I appreciated how this wasted no time in getting started with the creepy moments. 
However, this book had my absolute least favorite plot twist ever. I know that's a completely subjective opinion, but I just cannot stand this type of twist.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

Daffodil has taken a job keeping an eye on a professor’s beautiful old home for the summer. But as soon as she settles into the house, something doesn’t feel right. Is Daffodil losing it? Or are there paranormal forces at play? This young adult horror/thriller had a smart and witty narrator, which I really enjoyed. When the book ended, I was left with a few unanswered questions, and I wasn’t completely satisfied. I also thought that the big twist was quite predictable. But overall, it was a fun and fast read. 3.5 stars.

This book was just okay for me. I finished it but was really struggling to get through it.  

I received this ARC from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

I want to state, first and foremost, that I am not the target audience for this title.  I love a good thriller, whatever age group it is sent out to, so I was rather excited by the description.  I enjoy that the book is written as though Daffodil is talking with you as though you are her long lost friend.  It pulls you in, not being the character or reading the actions of the character as much as settling in for a quick catch up.  I did not feel that any of the characters were really fleshed out.  They all seem like ghosts of themselves (heehee).  
The story line does keep you guessing, but sometimes never explains the reality of the situation.  Is there a reality of the situation?  Was any of it real?

3.5* This book was really good! I loved the writing style and thought the buildup of the plot twists were incredible. I think my only problem with this book is the lead character. I wished Daffodil would have been more entertaining as a narrator. The last 100 pages of the book kept me hooked! Definitely recommend for anyone who loves slow burn creepy stories.

It's a rare book that pulls the reader forward through the plot and the narrator. "This is Not a Ghost Story" does just that through the lovable, relatable humor of narrator Daffodil Franklin. Once you couple that with the secrets, twists and general creepiness of the story, you've got a YA book to recommend. Honestly, between the book jacket and the plot summary, you think you know what you're getting. Spooky house, check. Late teens narrator, check. Secrets, check. But Portes takes what could be a generic YA thriller, and adds such life, humanity and insight through the narration that you're compelled to keep going. Everywhere there are secrets. Ones kept by Daffodil herself; ones held by the house and, by the other characters. The book would be an easy recommend to a wide range of readers; from reluctant teen readers to adults that adore YA to fans of thrillers. Loved it.

This was one of my most anticipated reads. I love a good ghost story, though I should have paid attention to the title more. I thought the title was meant to be ironic, and the blurb for the novel, imo, reinforces this. Pay attention to the title and not the blurb. 

As for the novel itself, I wasn’t the biggest fan of Daffy, who in no way sounded like a teenager (which is typical for YA these days). However, I also didn’t like the voice generally. Povs who “talk” to the reader can work, but in this case, it felt forced and like it tried too hard. Still, the story was good for most of the novel, appropriately creepy, and I was intrigued enough to wonder what was happening to read quickly. 

The biggest issue for me was the twist at the end. I don’t mind twists, but they can make or break a book. In this case, it broke the book. I don’t like twists that make me feel I wasted my time and the story was pointless. I don’t mind books that go in a different direction than I expected, but I have to feel the shift enhances rather than negates a story. 

Pay attention to the title, really. I’m not sure if the publishers should re-write the blurb, because I understand the twist needs to be a surprise. Plus, the blurb as it is entices readers. But I feel there are going to be a number of reactions like mine, which may hurt the book in the long run. I hope not. I’d like to give this a higher rating, but I can't as my two issues for the book were pretty massive.

One of the funniest and creepiest books around! A must read for the creepy season no one will be disappointed. I found myself highlighting more funny sayings from the book than anything else. Grab your tissues though because you won’t realize what hit you until it’s too late.