A beautiful book about death, grief, sadness, and trauma — with a twist: ghosts.

The writing style was quite conversational, almost as if the character were speaking directly to the reader instead of simply narrating events. Normally, I’m not a fan of that style, but it really worked for this story. It made the emotions feel more intimate and immediate.

I especially enjoyed watching Drew stumble her way through the ghost world, trying to make sense of it all without her more experienced sibling. The relationships, the quiet pain, and the small moments of connection were written so tenderly.

And that plot twist — and the ending — had me in tears. It captured the unpredictability of life and the inevitability of death in such a hauntingly beautiful way.

~4 stars

This was my second Tori Bovalino book and I've so far found that I really enjoy the way she writes characters. Drew, Liam, and Hannah all felt very well fleshed-out and they each had their own flaws which at times even made them a bit unlikeable, but it also made them seem more like real teenagers so I think that was probably the intention. I also think the book handled the topic of grief with great care and struck a good balance between lightness and heaviness; and although grief was the main theme of the book I appreciated how the topic of pretending to be someone you're not was explored through the main character Drew. I really loved the dynamics Drew had with Liam, her stepmom, and to some extent her sibling, Reece (although I felt quite annoyed at them for much of the middle of the book even though they weren't even on page). However, I thought the romance between Drew and Hannah was a little odd to start with, although I now understand the author's intention, but in the moment it was kind of weird to read. Overall though, I really recommend the book if you're looking for a good YA contemporary with some horror elements and good queer representation.

Thank you to Page Street YA for providing me with an eARC via NetGalley.

Books like this remind me of why I love YA books. There is so much grief and sadness in this book, but also so much hope and that is always easier to grasp witching the realm of youth. In this case, one of the main characters in this book is a ghost - a teenage boy. The juxtaposition of young life - and death is poignant.

Drew moves into a new house and finds herself sharing a bedroom with the ghost of the boy who lived there before. Liam has been dead for ten month and he is struggling with everything afterlife. This is all made so much worse by a terrifying entity he keeps seeing. Having been gifted with seeing abilities, Drew can see and speak to Liam. Drew can hopefully help him move on, but first, she must help Liam survive the demon who wants his soul.

Coincidentally, the girl at school that Drew is hopelessly crushing on is Hannah, Liam’s best friend (and unrequited love in life). In exchange for helping him with his soul-eating-beast problem, Liam agrees to help Drew get to know Hannah.

All together, this is a fabulous cast of characters. They all bring something so unique to the story. I was very into Drew’s backstory because I find the ability to see ghosts terrifying and incredible at the same time. We get a lot of drama in this book, and rightly so. Imagine being dead and just wanting to know if people think about you… if people miss you… if you matter at all.

I absolutely loved this book. It pulled at my heartstrings and made me cheesy smile. I recommend this for lovers of all things ghost and paranormal if you’re looking for some heart with your scaries!

This is YA at its best for me, it’s realistic and doesn’t shy away from having messy characters. I mean like, you can see ghosts, you’re trying to help said ghost move on but also the ghost was best friends with the girl you like and now you’re kinda using him to get close to her, there’s no way that doesn’t end poorly.

I really loved that Bovalino wasn’t afraid to make her characters be problematic, it really endeared me to them and had me rooting for them to figure it out. Eventually they do and despite the huge amounts of grief and terrible happenings there is still joy and hope.

Thank you Page Street and NetGalley for the ARC.

This story is a really good retelling of Cyrano de Bergerac. Drew Tarpin is a little different than her new classmates. For one thing, she can talk to ghosts. It’s a skill she hates and has always relied on her sibling to deal with. But when her sibling is hours away in college, she’s forced to figure out how to get the ghost named Liam haunting her room to pass over. If he doesn’t, he risks becoming a “husk,” or a dangerous ghost that has no memory of themselves. Her first challenge is figuring out why he’s sticking around. He promises to help her talk to her crush Hannah, if she helps him figure out how he died. So with Liam telling her how to flirt, she’s able to get closer to Hannah. But as she gets what she wishes for, she’s not able to help Liam …


I liked this story! I thought the characters were fantastic representatives of true teenagers. They were messy and difficult and frustrating and so very real. Drew is trying her best to deal with a weird situation while also flirt with a girl she barely knows. She’s struggling without her sibling’s help and stubbornly trying to do everything on her own. Liam struggles a lot - he wants to help her but is conflicted because he liked Hannah too. Hannah is struggling with the loss of her best friend and the betrayal she feels in this situation. The portrayals of grief are so realistic. I appreciated that the topic was handled so well. As usual, Bovalino handles representation so well too - Drew’s sibling is nonbinary, Drew herself is a lesbian, and Hannah is bisexual. These traits are important parts of each of them, but they’re not handled in a forced or token way. Overall, I thought the book was incredibly well written and paced well

There are certain books that remind you exactly why you fell in love with young adult fiction in the first place—stories that balance genuine darkness with the kind of hope that feels both hard-won and absolutely necessary. I, in the Shadows by Tori Bovalino is exactly that kind of book, managing to be heartbreaking and uplifting often within the same chapter.

The premise immediately grabbed my attention: Drew moves into a new house and discovers she’s sharing her bedroom with Liam, the ghost of the teenage boy who died there ten months earlier. What could have been a quirky supernatural comedy instead becomes something much more emotionally complex, exploring grief, identity, and the desperate human need to know that we mattered.

Drew’s ability to see and communicate with ghosts is portrayed as both gift and burden in ways that felt genuinely thoughtful. Bovalino doesn’t romanticize this power—she shows how terrifying and isolating it would be to constantly perceive a layer of reality that most people can’t access. Drew’s backstory reveals the toll this ability has taken on her life, the way it’s shaped her relationships and sense of normalcy.

Liam exists in this heartbreaking liminal space between life and death, unable to move forward but painfully aware of everything he’s missing. The way Bovalino captures his desperation to know if people remember him, if his life mattered, if his absence has left any mark at all—it’s absolutely gutting. His struggle feels achingly real despite the supernatural premise.

The addition of a soul-devouring entity stalking Liam raises the stakes beyond simple ghost story territory. This isn’t just about helping a spirit move on peacefully—there’s genuine danger here, a threat that makes Drew’s assistance crucial rather than simply kind. The horror elements never overwhelm the emotional core but add urgency that keeps the plot moving.

What makes this book particularly interesting is how morally complicated it allows its characters to be. Drew agrees to help Liam with his demon problem, but she’s also motivated by the fact that he was best friends with Hannah, the girl Drew has been hopelessly crushing on. Using a dead boy to get closer to his former best friend is objectively terrible, and Bovalino doesn’t shy away from that reality.

This is where the book really won me over—Bovalino creates characters who make genuinely questionable choices without becoming unsympathetic. Drew isn’t a bad person, but she’s a teenager dealing with complicated feelings and making decisions that serve her own interests alongside her desire to help. It’s messy and realistic in ways that young adult fiction sometimes avoids.

Liam’s own complications add layers to what could have been a simple “help the ghost move on” narrative. His unrequited love for Hannah during his life creates this painful dynamic where death hasn’t resolved his feelings, only made them more complicated. He’s simultaneously trying to let go and desperate to maintain connection, wanting Hannah to move forward while also needing to know she hasn’t forgotten him.

Hannah herself emerges as more than just the object of various people’s affection. Bovalino gives her genuine interiority, showing her grief and confusion as she navigates life after losing her best friend. The way she’s processing Liam’s death while trying to move forward with her own life feels authentic rather than convenient to the plot.

The supporting cast enriches the story without cluttering it. Each character brings distinct energy and perspective, creating a world that feels populated by actual people rather than plot devices. Their interactions reveal character through dialogue and behavior rather than exposition.

What impressed me most was Bovalino’s handling of grief in all its complicated forms. Liam grieves his own life and all the experiences he’ll never have. Drew grieves the normal teenage existence her abilities have made impossible. Hannah grieves her best friend while feeling guilty about continuing to live and find happiness. Bovalino shows how grief isn’t linear or simple, how it coexists with joy and hope and everyday concerns.

The romantic elements develop naturally alongside the supernatural plot rather than overwhelming it. Drew’s feelings for Hannah create complications and motivations, but the story never loses sight of Liam’s urgent situation or the larger themes about mortality and meaning.

Bovalino’s prose style serves the emotional weight of the story beautifully. She writes with enough restraint that the sad moments hit hard without feeling manipulative, and enough warmth that the hopeful moments feel earned rather than artificially imposed. The balance between darkness and light feels carefully calibrated throughout.

The juxtaposition of teenage life and death creates constant poignancy. Liam is frozen at the age where you’re just beginning to understand who you might become, robbed of the opportunity to actually become that person. Drew is trying to have normal teenage experiences while dealing with decidedly abnormal circumstances. The contrast between youth’s possibilities and death’s finality generates much of the story’s emotional power.

I, in the Shadows succeeds most impressively in refusing easy answers or simple resolutions. Characters don’t magically overcome their flaws, grief doesn’t disappear when spirits move on, and doing the right thing doesn’t always feel good. It’s the kind of realistic messiness that makes young adult fiction at its best so powerful.

For readers who like:
Fans of Cemetery Boys or The Lovely Bones, anyone who appreciated They Both Die at the End for its emotional depth, readers seeking ghost stories with genuine heart, and those who enjoy YA that doesn’t shy away from moral complexity.

Final Verdict
Tori Bovalino has crafted a ghost story that’s as much about living as it is about dying, a romance that acknowledges its own ethical complications, and a meditation on grief that still manages to find hope. I, in the Shadows demonstrates exactly what young adult fiction can achieve when it trusts its readers to handle emotional complexity and moral ambiguity. This is a book that will make you cry and smile, often within the same chapter, and leave you thinking about what it means to matter, to be remembered, and to find connection across impossible divides. Essential reading for anyone who believes YA can be both deeply sad and ultimately hopeful.

Grateful to NetGalley, Page Street YA, and Tori Bovalino for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this story in exchange for an honest review.

This book is one hell of a balancing act, and Bovalino executed it perfectly. I didn't know if this book would read as a horror, a mystery, or a romance, but I found it was a beautiful blend of the 3! And those are a hard 3 to blend without overshadowing or undermining. The main character is extremely realistic and relatable, I love how much detail we get to experience her world and feelings in. I was pleasantly surprised by the gender-diverse cast as well as the ability to make each supporting character fleshed-out without overdoing their arcs!! The other reviews all do a great job of pointing to how the heart of the book lies in the messiness of the characters. I completely agree. The bad decisions that push the story forward are decisions that a teenager in those circumstances would be completely expected to make. These kids are all put through the ringer, and the way it comes out in the end is worth the turmoil it puts you through.

It is a consistently well-done, empathetic story with a cast that all comes together to bring you through a journey of complex feelings of yearning, grief, identity, and compassion. Bovalino is clearly a seasoned and talented author, and I'll be interested to read more of her works!

Wow, what an emotional book! This one was an emotional rollercoaster that dealt with some hard topics. It was beautifully written and I loved the mix of genres as well. It was a young adult story with some horror, drama, humor, and even some romance as well.

The characters are what really make the story. I loved Drew and Liam. They were raw and genuine. It felt like they could walk off the page! I really enjoyed their personal growth over the story as well.

If you love young adult stories with messy people, trauma, spooky ghosts, friendships, mystery, queer rep, sweet romance, grief, hurt/comfort, moving on, and so much more then be sure to give this one a try and don’t forget the tissues!! This one made me cry!

My thanks to Netgalley, Page Street YA and Tori Bovalino for the eARC of this book in exchange for a review.

I'll start by saying I own ALL of Tori Bovalino's books, including the anthology she edited. I absolutely ADORE The Second Death of Locke and I'm currently reading My Throat an Open Grave. Bovalino's books all seem to have an undercurrent of true feeling between the characters. I believe their connections to each other, I want only the best for them, I love so many of them in the stories I've read. This is what brings me back to Bovalino's writing and why I have all of her books even though I haven't finished reading them yet. I KNOW they will be great and I'm taking my time with them. I'm also looking forward to upcoming releases and I'm on the newsletter mailing list so I can keep up to date with all announcements and news.

I will also say, I do NOT know the play Cyrano de Bergerac although I do know the premise of it. I don't think you need to know a lot about that source in order to enjoy this book. This story stands well on its own as story about grief and love and acceptance. I can't wait for my copy to go on the shelf with the rest of Bovalino's books.

I, in the Shadows is about Drew Tarpin, who has recently moved into a new house with her Dad and stepmom, Bee. Her sibling Reece is away at school so Drew is left on their own to navigate the new life in a new town and a new school, complete with a ghost haunting her bedroom. Liam died almost a year ago and now Drew has to work to find out what is keeping Liam from moving on to whatever comes next. Drew and Reece have always been able to see ghosts but Reece was usually the one to work with them to help them move on while Drew did anything else. Now Drew is on her own, trying to remember anything that Reece has said that would help. When Liam realizes that Drew has a crush on the same girl that Liam loved, Liam's best friend Hannah, Liam agrees to help Drew with talking to Hannah in exchange for working on how to help him move on. As the pair get to know each other, something starts to come out of the woods, determined to devour Liam's soul. Now Drew has to work fast to figure out what is keeping Liam from moving on before he ends up taken by the thing in the woods.

This book made me tear up, I had to take a moment to breathe and then I could continue on with reading. Always the sign of a five star read when a book makes me cry. I loved these characters, even though they were kind of jerks, and messy, and made horrible decisions but it was those realistic traits that made me believe in them and want more for them. I knew the point was to get Liam to move on but it still hurt when he was gone. I thought Drew was interesting and endearing. I mourned for the loss of Reece as a constant for Drew, I cheered when Drew started to reach out and make friends, I hissed when Drew ignored her old friends from home because it was better to cut them out of her life now when they were all going to be graduating in a year and it was going to happen anyways. Seriously, rolled my eyes at that one but I had faith in Bovalino's writing so I kept reading. I thought Hannah was so sweet and genuine with her grief over losing her best friend. I thought Rin was a great supporting character, trying to bring Drew into the group and looping Drew in on things to help them understand everyone. I LOVED Bee, the fact that she was the stepmom and the one truly steady force in Drew's life, giving support and love at every available moment. The only character I really didn't enjoy was Drew's dad, who was practically non-existent for the most part but with so many characters to focus on, it didn't matter that we barely saw him.

I thought the plot was interesting, using a ghost to help you win the girl of your dreams, or at least the girl who could end up being the girl of your dreams. I know it was supposed to come off as a bad decision to use a ghost to trick a girl but I really didn't see it as a horrible decision. Misguided? DEFINITELY. But I felt like it fit with teenagers making stupid decisions. In today's day and age, it didn't feel too far off from what could happen to get a pair of kids to like each other. It started off as just prompting Drew to talk because she got tongue-tied around her crush and it just went from there. But I will say that my impression of this plot probably has a lot to do with the fact that I think this was more of a side story to the main plot of figuring out what was keeping Liam stuck as a ghost. I really liked this kid and I hated that this horrible thing had happened to him and now he was stuck watching his friends and family move on without him. The tragedy of it was heartbreaking and I wanted him to find peace and I wanted Drew to focus on how to get him the help he needed. That journey kept me flipping pages and the outcome was worth everything that came before.

The world of this book was so intriguing. I wish there was more in terms of the background and I still have a few questions about certain things with characters and the ghost world in general. When the book started, I honestly wondered if there had been another book because of how readers are just dropped into the story. I searched through what I could find but there wasn't a previous story with these characters. I think that is a point for Bovalino in the sense that this felt like a world that was fully developed even though this was our first time stepping foot in it. As a result, I want MORE but who knows if that is in the cards.

This book was a beautiful, thoughtful exploration of grief and loss and what it does to the people left behind in more ways than one. It goes through how it changes intentions, how it makes people make decisions they never would have before, and how it can bring people together and make them stronger. I loved this book and I love this author. I'm a fan for life, as previously stated. I'm so happy I have more books of Bovalino's to read instead of waiting for more books to be released.

Rating on my Scale: 9.5 Stars because this is a short, heartbreaking kind of story and I wish there was more to come from this world in general and answers to some of the questions I still have. Still, very VERY respectable and exactly what I would expect as a book written by Tori Bovalino. Read this book if you love ghost stories and the people who can deal with them.

I absolutely loved this book, it has further cemented why Tori Bovalino is an auto-buy author for me. The characters feel deeply real and relatable, even at their messiest, as they navigate an incredibly complex relationship dynamic. The story is emotionally rich and thoughtfully explored.. Overall, it’s a compassionate, well-crafted narrative with a cast that comes together to guide the reader through a journey of yearning, grief, identity, and empathy.