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Amber's Reviews > Anyone's Ghost
Anyone's Ghost
by
by
ARC gifted by a publisher. Everyone please go read it ❤️🔥
"It's all here, it's now if we want it to be. Time, distance, they're no longer the problem. The problem is courage. The courage I need and the courage you want. We can find it in each other, I swear. I swear, if you'll just let me show you."
When I asked for "ways to describe the courage to show your heart, even when there could be heartbreak," ChatGPT gave me answers like intrepid openness, gallant sincerity, courageous empathy, fearless honesty, and bravery in vulnerability. These phrases perfectly sum up ANYONE'S GHOST, a coming-of-age story following 15-year-old Theron "Davey" Alde and his friendship with Jake over a decade. With breathtaking prose, Thompson takes the readers through two boys' teenage years: their silly jokes, pranks, loneliness, and their search for belonging through a friendship that evolves into something more as they age.
"It took three car crashes to kill Jake."
There's something so powerful in knowing how a story ends in the first line of a novel. I was so captivated by Thompson's storytelling and Davey's vivid character that knowing the ending didn't spoil the book at all. Instead, it gave me the freedom to be fully immersed in Davey's journey from teenager to young adulthood—even though I know his story ends in heartbreak, there's so much love and joy throughout. While we often read about how tragedies define a person, I love this reverse chronology in allowing the readers to see a character's multiple dimensions, not just how death marks them.
"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."
I love how Thompson infuses profound dialogues and monologues into such a "masculine" story. From father-son relationships, friendships forged in boyhood, and romantic relationships, ANYONE'S GHOST vividly portrays different facets of men's relationships throughout their lives. It's rare to read about men having heart-to-heart conversations with each other, let alone with those with whom they have a complex relationship. Still, Thompson excels in building a profoundly empathetic yet realistic character through Davey as he has difficult discussions about happiness, family, love, mental illness, etc., that aren't always represented in media.
"I said loneliness was the emotion I knew best."
I adore how queerness is portrayed in ANYONE'S GHOST and how it's intertwined with survival following Davey's loneliness in the beginning, his forming a friendship with Jake, his trepidation of a budding friendship that forces him to act cool, and his later development of finding his voice in asking for what he wants and offering his heart. Davey's queerness is never defined verbally in ANYONE'S GHOST. Instead, the readers witness his relationships morph and evolve to find solace. Similarly, those around Davey make room for him to explore and grow.
"I never know if storytelling is reanimation or exorcism, but I hope this time it will be both. I'll tell her how there are too many lives that exist now, only in me. Too many men who have made me in their image and then left."
We live our lives carrying all those who have passed. Davey's conversations with his dad about generational trauma and the fear of carrying/passing mental illness are illuminating. And yet, Thompson refuses to give in to melodramatic descriptions of teenage tantrums. Instead, we see Davey redefine inheritance as the reanimation of those who have perished and made an imprint on his life, as well as his commitment to keeping their memories alive by living the fullest of his own life.
There's so much more I love about ANYONE'S GHOST that I could talk about this book forever. It's a masterful exploration of love, loss, and the courage to form bonds, even when there could be heartbreak.
"It's all here, it's now if we want it to be. Time, distance, they're no longer the problem. The problem is courage. The courage I need and the courage you want. We can find it in each other, I swear. I swear, if you'll just let me show you."
When I asked for "ways to describe the courage to show your heart, even when there could be heartbreak," ChatGPT gave me answers like intrepid openness, gallant sincerity, courageous empathy, fearless honesty, and bravery in vulnerability. These phrases perfectly sum up ANYONE'S GHOST, a coming-of-age story following 15-year-old Theron "Davey" Alde and his friendship with Jake over a decade. With breathtaking prose, Thompson takes the readers through two boys' teenage years: their silly jokes, pranks, loneliness, and their search for belonging through a friendship that evolves into something more as they age.
"It took three car crashes to kill Jake."
There's something so powerful in knowing how a story ends in the first line of a novel. I was so captivated by Thompson's storytelling and Davey's vivid character that knowing the ending didn't spoil the book at all. Instead, it gave me the freedom to be fully immersed in Davey's journey from teenager to young adulthood—even though I know his story ends in heartbreak, there's so much love and joy throughout. While we often read about how tragedies define a person, I love this reverse chronology in allowing the readers to see a character's multiple dimensions, not just how death marks them.
"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."
I love how Thompson infuses profound dialogues and monologues into such a "masculine" story. From father-son relationships, friendships forged in boyhood, and romantic relationships, ANYONE'S GHOST vividly portrays different facets of men's relationships throughout their lives. It's rare to read about men having heart-to-heart conversations with each other, let alone with those with whom they have a complex relationship. Still, Thompson excels in building a profoundly empathetic yet realistic character through Davey as he has difficult discussions about happiness, family, love, mental illness, etc., that aren't always represented in media.
"I said loneliness was the emotion I knew best."
I adore how queerness is portrayed in ANYONE'S GHOST and how it's intertwined with survival following Davey's loneliness in the beginning, his forming a friendship with Jake, his trepidation of a budding friendship that forces him to act cool, and his later development of finding his voice in asking for what he wants and offering his heart. Davey's queerness is never defined verbally in ANYONE'S GHOST. Instead, the readers witness his relationships morph and evolve to find solace. Similarly, those around Davey make room for him to explore and grow.
"I never know if storytelling is reanimation or exorcism, but I hope this time it will be both. I'll tell her how there are too many lives that exist now, only in me. Too many men who have made me in their image and then left."
We live our lives carrying all those who have passed. Davey's conversations with his dad about generational trauma and the fear of carrying/passing mental illness are illuminating. And yet, Thompson refuses to give in to melodramatic descriptions of teenage tantrums. Instead, we see Davey redefine inheritance as the reanimation of those who have perished and made an imprint on his life, as well as his commitment to keeping their memories alive by living the fullest of his own life.
There's so much more I love about ANYONE'S GHOST that I could talk about this book forever. It's a masterful exploration of love, loss, and the courage to form bonds, even when there could be heartbreak.
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Tuba
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Jun 09, 2024 12:13PM
wow this sounds so interesting! definitely on my tbr list, thanks for the review
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