While I have read Northanger Abbey¸ I’ve only read it once and don’t remember it super well.

Once again, Quain modernizes the story and sets it in a New England private school. This time, it’s known as the most haunted school in America. But Hattie hates the whole ghost-hunting thing with a passion (and there’s a reason for that, but I won’t tell you, since it would spoil some things).

You can just imagine her dismay when Dr. Tilney—yes, Hattie calls her headmistress mother that when they’re at school—asks her to mentor Kit, the new student who’s at Northanger on a scholarship from a paranormal investigative group.

Hattie has spent her whole high school career curating her image, choosing friends that would help her fit in, being a perfect credit to her mother’s reputation. But when she doesn’t get into her university of choice, things start to crumble. When she and Kit are assigned as partners on a project about the haunting of Northanger for their journalism class, they are forced to spend time together. Kit’s gentle, sympathetic demeanor and embrace of the unusual start to help Hattie to find parts of her personality that she had hidden away.

Like her previous book, Quain gives us a broken family, missing a deceased father and with a mother who seems cold and aloof, an older sister who is constantly in trouble, and a younger brother who rarely comes out of his room. Although the story is Hattie’s, watching all of her family begin to heal from their loss is really lovely. Although we never see a ghost of the paranormal variety, this family comes to terms with its own variety of ghosts.

Possible Objectionable Material:
Swearing, including the F-word. Underage drinking. Kissing. References to sex. Ostracism. Parental death and distance. Dysfunctional families. Same-gender couples.
Who Might Like This Book:
Those who, like me, enjoy a good Austen retelling. Anyone who likes to see characters grow and develop and find their voice.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an eARC in exchange for my unbiased review.

This book is also reviewed at https://biblioquacious.blogspot.com/2024/07/modern-jane-austen.html

I jumped into this one without reading the description closely enough, so I was a good ways into the story before I realized this is a Northanger Abbey retelling. (Genuinely don't know how I managed to miss that, especially since Quain's debut, which I loved, is also an Austen retelling.) I almost wish I hadn't realized because when I'm reading a retelling there's a part of my brain that really wants to compare it to the original, and I haven't yet read Northnager Abbey. That being said, I think this one stands on it's own pretty well. I was still able to follow and enjoy the story despite being unfamiliar with the source material.

not speaking about this book until st. Martin press speaks up about the demands we are asking for. thank you for the arc but you need to speak uop

I loved this book, and how well the retelling of jane austens original story was handled. I am very excited for her next novel, dashed.

I spent the past.... year and a half trying to come up with the right way to review this book. I would like to thank Rivka for sharing this early after I loved ACCOMPLISHED. Unfortunately, I don't think GHOSTED hit quite as successfully. I did read Ghosted in all of a day or two back in December 2022 when I first received the book. So excited for it, I literally put everything down to read it during the holidays. And while I do think that Quain has a lovely voice that is really engaging and fun to read--this book felt like an identity crisis.

I wanted about 100 more pages and a deeper exploration of the themes Quain was trying to explore.

In Amanda Quain's "Ghosted," a teenager grapples with choosing between conformity and embracing her true identity.

Hattie Tilney finds herself at odds with her desire for a normal senior year when her family relocates to Northanger Abbey boarding school, renowned for its supposed paranormal activity. As her mother takes on the role of headmistress, Hattie just wants to blend in with her friends and focus on college aspirations. However, her plans are derailed when she's paired with Kit Morland, a ghost hunter from the National Paranormal Society of Investigators, for a journalism project investigating the school's ghostly rumors. Reluctantly diving into the world her late father cherished, Hattie agrees to the project with one condition: Kit aims to prove the paranormal claims while she aims to debunk them. But as they delve deeper, Hattie finds herself drawn to Kit, grappling with her feelings amidst her grief and reluctance to embrace her father's passions.

This is an inventive retelling of the Jane Austen classic and Quain deftly portrays the struggles of adolescence, including loss, societal expectations, and familial pressures. While drawing inspiration from the original work, Quain crafts a narrative that stands on its own, offering a fresh perspective with a supernatural twist. Though anchored by the main character's journey, the supporting cast adds diversity to the story, enhancing its richness and depth.

"Fresh and compelling," Quain's novel resonates with readers regardless of their familiarity with the source material, offering a poignant exploration of identity and acceptance.

Ghosted by Amanda Quain is a cute YA romance and retelling of Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey. It’s got some gothic feels (a haunted high school) but is an overall sweet read with great characters who are very relatable for the teen generation. Having never read Northanger Abbey I can’t say how close it is to the classics but if it’s anything like this book I’d be glad to read it! Without a doubt, I recommend this to young adults and even adults if you don’t mind younger characters.

A really nice YA novel filled with boarding school and ghost shenanigans, but also family and growing up challenges. Amanda Quain is doing a great job paying homage to the classics while making them fresh for a new young audience.

I loved that this was a spin on Northanger abbey! I love haunted stuff so really loved the idea of a haunted high school. Love the school vibes- mom as head mistress, etc. really fun read with little gothic touches. I will definitely read more from this author. This is a really touching, sweet YA that you can read very quickly.

This book wasn’t quite what I expected, but it turned out to be quite the journey. Initially thinking it was just another quirky high school rom-com, I was surprised to find deeper themes of grief and self-discovery woven throughout. Hattie, the main character, felt surprisingly relatable despite my own high school days being long behind me. Her struggles with her mother’s expectations hit close to home.

I’ll admit, I put the book down for a few months when the storyline took a heavier turn. Looking back, I realize I was probably processing more than just the plot twists; maybe I was also reflecting on my own past ambitions and where life has taken me since then.

Hattie’s story as a senior in high school, grappling with family loss and strained relationships, struck a chord. Despite her mother’s emotional distance, Hattie finds solace and unexpected connection in a new friendship. But it’s her internal journey—her growth and self-discovery—that really resonated with me.

While some may see this as just another teenage rom-com, there’s depth here for those willing to look deeper. It’s a story about resilience, identity, and the twists and turns of growing up. Ultimately, it’s a reminder that life is full of surprises, and sometimes the unexpected paths lead to the most meaningful destinations.

Ghosted was a fun take on Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey.

I loved the "haunted" school setting and watching Hattie grow throughout the story. I really liked that there is more than one way to be haunted, and the story played on that with ghosts and the feelings of grief and change. Kit and Hattie's relationship was a great way to showcase the juxtaposition of beliefs.

Overall, I really enjoyed the cast of characters and the world the author created!

Unfortunately I can be picky about Austen retellings and this one, sadly, did not live up to my expectations.

I tried to read this for months, and it just never worked for me. The romance was sweet enough, but I needed way more plot to connect with this. I ended up DNFing at 80%

What a unique story. I’ve read lots of twists and adaptations of Jane Austen books and I don’t think I’ve ever read one based on Northanger Abbey. And thats not surprising, despite my love of Austen Northanger Abbey is definitely my least favorite.
I got Ghosted from NetGalley awhile back and wanted to read it now because I was considering purchasing the author’s upcoming book Dashed. I already own two books by this author and hadn’t read either yet! It was definitely past time. And when I started this book, my first thought was, oh shoot. I hope I’ll be a fair judge of this book since I don’t enjoy creepy things and Northanger Abby is low on my list of Austen books. But good news! My only regret was letting this book linger on my tbr stack.

There’s nothing creepy about this book. It’s quite emotional actually!

Hattie goes to Northanger Abbey which is a school that’s famous for being haunted.
Hattie’s mother is the no-nonsense dean of the school. And she treats Hattie just like a student rather than a daughter.

One day Hattie’s mom sets her up on a school project with the new boy in school Kit. He is actually in school on a kind of ghost hunting scholarship. And he gets paired to do a project on ghosts with Hattie who is very anti-ghost.

Hattie’s reasons are very personal. Her dad believed very strongly in ghosts and him and Hattie shared that love and interest. But Hattie’s dad died three years ago and Hattie lost her love of ghost hunting because of it. There’s a big, very fair reason why she felt she needed to let it go.

She tried to reinvent herself as her mom’s perfect little overachiever. She has a few friends that seem like transactional friendships (one way more than the other. I’ll never believe Izzy was a true friend.)

But she stays closed off from everyone until she gets to know Kit. She feels like he’s the only one who sees her as she is.

She’s definitely got some sad family dynamics. I think her relationships improved overall by the end of this story.

There was something I wanted to happen in this story that didn’t happen. Maybe it was never realistic but I was kind of rooting for it anyway.

I’m between 3-4 stars on this book so I rounded up.

I look forward to reading more books by this author.

Ghosted was a fun and different read for me! It definitely has amateur vibes but not in a bad way! They are in high school which is fun but not my personal favorite to read anymore so I think that swayed my rating a bit. The writing was good, I found the MFC to be a little annoying. I felt she was so self centered and did not think about anyone else's feelings except for hers. I feel like we really didn't see her growth until the very end of the book I wish it was spread throughout a bit more. I still gave this book a strong three stars because I think that for some people it will be right up their alley. I wish there was a bit more actual paranormal investigation as well, but I thought the way it added to the story was fun and added to the depth of the characters!

I really really enjoyed this one. It was cute and fun and campy in the best way. I'd love to see this as a series about Northanger Abbey. I already bought a copy of this book because I knew I had to own it. I'd keep reading other stories by this author.

In solidarity with the SMP Boycott I will be withholding my review for this title (which I was given prior to the boycott) until SMP acts on the following:

1. Address and denounce the Islamophobic and racist remarks from their employee.
2. Offer tangible steps for how they are going to mitigate the harm this employee caused.
3. Address how, moving forward, they will support and protect their Muslim, Arab, and Palestinian influencers, authors and readers, in addition to supporting their BIPOC influencers, authors, and readers.

This is not a reflection of the author personally, nor is it a call to boycott buying this particular book. And this star rating is a reflection of how much I enjoyed the book.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book, as this book has already been published, I will not share my review on Netgalley at this time.

“𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐰𝐨 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐞. 𝐀𝐧𝐝, 𝐊𝐢𝐭, 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨, 𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬.”

Title: Ghosted
Author: Amanda Quain
Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟💫

I haven’t read a YA book in what feels like years, and I’m so sad I didn’t get to this one sooner! Ghosted takes us through Hattie Tilney’s senior year while she copes with the loss of her Dad, tries to be the responsible child among three broken siblings, and deals with a seemingly neglectful mother who also happens to be the headmistress of her high school. Did I mention the high school is haunted?

While Hattie‘s sole focus is to blend in and stick to the path she has carved for herself, she’s appointed an ambassador to the newest addition to the school, Kit Morland - a ghost-loving, free-spirited junior who sees Hattie for who she is behind her perfect facade.

The result is a sweet, chaotic, heartwarming, and (at times) slightly frustrating coming of age story, and I loved every minute of it! I loved @quainiac’s writing style and storytelling, and it makes so much sense why that is also Hattie’s passion. I was hoping the title meant there would be more paranormal activity, but this wasn’t quite the case (fair warning).

NetGalley approved me for this ARC last year and I’m so happy I finally read it. I’ll be eagerly waiting for the next instalment in the Northanger Abbey series!

I have been provided with a review copy of Ghosted from NetGalley for an impartial review. I was just drawn into this wonderful story and I just couldn’t get enough of it. It was just so easy to get lost in this great story. I just didn’t want it to end. I just lost myself in and I just couldn’t get enough of these interesting characters. I can’t wait to see what’s next from this author.