Letitia | Bookshelfbyla's Reviews > Anyone's Ghost

Many stories rely on the ending, which remains unknown to the reader at the start, to hold their attention throughout. However, this story tells us the ending from the very first line. And yet, knowing the ending spoils nothing. It allows the freedom to be taken on a different journey—one that is captivating, heartrending, sincere, and wistful about self-discovery, love, sexuality, friendship, boyhood, masculinity, complicated family relationships, and life’s fulfilling and unfulfilling moments.

In August Thomspon’s debut ‘Anyone’s Ghost,’ we meet Theron, nearly thirty, about to attend the celebration of life for his friend Jake. However, he reveals they’ve barely spoken in the past decade, and his death does not come as a surprise. We are then taken to the summer where it all started, where David, 15, and Jake, 17, meet and follow nearly 15 years from New Hampshire to New York, where we see the moments in life that have bonded and broken them.

These are the coming-of-age stories I love the most. I honestly don’t think I’ve read a story that so perfectly captures the range of emotions, from insecurity, pining, and angst to the power dynamics and nuance of a complicated relationship with a parent and the limitations and misperception of our understanding of others. There is also confusion, sadness, loneliness, rejection and the unexpected nature and excitement of meeting your favorite person.

The summer they meet in Part One embodies youth. That is the time in your life when you are still forming your identity, from how you carry yourself to how you speak. This is when you tend to shape and morph yourself around the friendships you admire, and that is what we see in Theron with Jake. He’s insecure ("𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐮𝐦 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐲 𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟-𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞”) and has a shaky sense of masculinity and we see how Jake exudes self-assurance and confidence that helps center Theron and gives him pillars to build on.

“𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙨𝙚𝙚𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙅𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙚𝙣𝙟𝙤𝙮 𝙗𝙚𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙨𝙤 𝙥𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙩𝙞𝙘 𝙚𝙢𝙥𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙢𝙚”

“𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙢𝙚𝙚𝙩 𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙞𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙮. 𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙛 𝙄 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙𝙣’𝙩 𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙖𝙜𝙚 𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙮, 𝙄 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙖𝙩 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙩 𝙗𝙚 𝙦𝙪𝙞𝙚𝙩”

I loved being a part of their adventures. They were far from my own as a teenager, lol, but I remember the days of nothing when you just filled your time with your friends and were excited to do so.

“𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙚𝙚𝙠𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙛𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙙 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚. 𝙄𝙛 𝙬𝙚 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙤𝙛 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙤𝙜𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙗𝙚𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚, 𝙬𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙 𝙣𝙚𝙬 𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙖𝙡”.

“𝙒𝙚 𝙩𝙖𝙡𝙠𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙘𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙩 𝙎𝙚𝙞𝙣𝙛𝙚𝙡𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜”

I would be remiss not to mention his relationship with his father. I haven’t seen it mentioned much in other reviews, but this storyline tugged at my heartstrings just as much as his relationship with Jake.
That summer with Jake was also instrumental in setting the tone of his relationship with his Dad. It is a unique type of distress when you have a parent whose mood dictates your day.

“𝘿𝙖𝙙 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙖 𝙜𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙢𝙤𝙤𝙙, 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙘𝙝 𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙙 𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙖 𝙜𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙢𝙤𝙤𝙙”

And then you realize the only way you can rebel is by limiting the friction between them.

“𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙢𝙤𝙫𝙖𝙡 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙢𝙮 𝙤𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝙥𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧. 𝙄 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙𝙣’𝙩 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙢𝙮 𝙛𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧. 𝙄 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙤𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙞𝙩 𝙘𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙧 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙨𝙞𝙡𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙬𝙖𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜. 𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙨𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙥𝙖𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙡𝙚𝙙 𝙢𝙚 𝙘𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙤 𝙢𝙮 𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚”

This can be tricky because it's hard to put your guard down when they have endearing moments, but you do it anyway because you gain nothing otherwise.

“𝙄 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙄 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙖𝙫𝙤𝙞𝙙 𝙞𝙩, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙨𝙣’𝙩 𝙗𝙪𝙞𝙡𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨”

I commend August for balancing both [Theron’s relationship with his father and Jake] throughout the story. How it ended for both made me very emotional.

August also captured another emotions so well:

being fragile and not wanting to rock the boat in your friendship with someone.

“𝙄 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙤𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝙖𝙘𝙦𝙪𝙞𝙚𝙨𝙘𝙚. 𝙄 𝙙𝙞𝙙𝙣’𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙤𝙣 𝙬𝙚 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙙𝙧𝙖𝙜𝙜𝙚𝙙 𝙗𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙩𝙤 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙩.”

“𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙄’𝙫𝙚 𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙗𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙣 𝙗𝙚𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙥𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙛𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙨”

The idea of playing it cool when you finally get what you have been pining for but don't want to appear like a loser.

“-𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙄 𝙝𝙖𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙤𝙣 𝙞𝙩. 𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙨𝙩 𝙚𝙭𝙘𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙙 𝙢𝙖𝙮𝙗𝙚 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙢𝙚. 𝙄 𝙝𝙖𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙙 𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙚𝙡𝙨𝙚 𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙧𝙚𝙡𝙮”.

Knowing Jake’s death from the first line makes it clear this is not a happily ever after love story. August credits Luca Guadagnino as one of his inspirations in his acknowledgments. I shockingly hadn’t watched Call Me By Your Name before, but the comparisons to the movie in other reviews with the acknowledgment inspired me to watch. And I immediately understood. It pulls on similar heartstrings, and I agree that if you loved that story/movie, this should be on your reading list.

Where we end, Theron is more mature and weathered by life but still discovering, learning, unpacking, and navigating his way in the world. He is still flawed and figuring things out, like we all are. This story has an honest ending that I really appreciated. Goodbyes are never fulfilling or come at the right time, and we continue to move forward and focus on the relationships that give us light in the dark.

Lastly, a round of applause for the writing and the structure. I loved August’s writing and I highlighted so many lines (as you can see). The rest you can discover on your reading journey, but I have to share this… As someone who always felt awkward when saying sorry to someone when something bad happens, I now no longer will feel that way.

“𝙃𝙚 𝙩𝙤𝙡𝙙 𝙢𝙚 𝙄 𝙙𝙞𝙙𝙣’𝙩 𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙖𝙮 𝙨𝙤𝙧𝙧𝙮 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙞𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨𝙣’𝙩 𝙢𝙮 𝙛𝙖𝙪𝙡𝙩. 𝙄 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙝𝙮 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙙𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙘𝙡𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙛𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩. 𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙄’𝙢 𝙨𝙤𝙧𝙧𝙮 𝙞𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙖𝙣 𝙖𝙥𝙤𝙡𝙤𝙜𝙮 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙖𝙣 𝙖𝙥𝙤𝙡𝙤𝙜𝙮 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙗𝙚𝙞𝙣𝙜. 𝙄’𝙢 𝙨𝙤𝙧𝙧𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙙𝙞𝙛𝙛𝙞𝙘𝙪𝙡𝙩. 𝙄’𝙢 𝙨𝙤𝙧𝙧𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚’𝙨 𝙨𝙤 𝙢𝙪𝙘𝙝 𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙢 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙. 𝙄 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙜𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙, 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙞𝙛 𝙄 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚 𝙞𝙩 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪”

To end... [if you made it this far, i hope you get the next winning lottery numbers] I loved the dry humor, and the pacing was *chef's kiss* I now realize the perfect length for a chapter. Pacing is crucial to creating minimal friction for a positive reading experience, and August excels at it. I often feel like I'm preparing for war when I notice books have 40+ page chapters, but fortunately, here, each chapter flew well to the next. I finished within two days, which is rare for me, but I had no reason to stop!!! as my attention was tightly kept until I reached the end of each of the three Parts.

I can talk about this book forever…. I finished weeks ago and it still hasn’t left my mind. I’ve been yapping about it in person as much as online. I don't think I've ever been so verbose in a review before. Actually, I KNOW I haven't. I still don’t think my words can do August’s book justice. All the early praise is truly well-deserved. I feel so lucky to have received a galley/gifted copy.

Publishing July 9. Thank you, Penguin Press, and Congratulations, August. You have a fan in me for life. I already miss it, and to pull wisdom from the story…“all I know is I’ve never missed anything I didn’t love.”