In a small New Jersey town, a lonely teen walking along a highway one autumn evening meets the boy of his dreams, a boy who died decades ago and haunts the road. Awkward crushes, both bitter and sweet, lead him to face youthful dreams and childish fears. With a cast of offbeat friends, antiques, and Ouija boards, Vintage offers readers a memorable blend of dark humor, chills and love.A finalist … finalist for the Andre Norton Award! A recommended title on the GLBT Round Table of the American Library Association’s Rainbow List for gay teens!
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This book did not go in the direction I expected, but I ended up enjoying it anyways. I’m not a huge fan overall of horror or thriller or ghost stories, but this book was well done. It was a spooky with a twist. The story takes place in 1997 and I very much enjoyed flashing back to my own childhood. Some of the side charters felt a little forced and I didn’t care for them or feel like they added to the story. While the story did end on a happy note, it was a little sad and depressing in places. Overall, I enjoyed the book, though I don’t know that I want to read it again.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
I have received a digital review copy via BookSirens and voluntarily provide my honest opinion. Thank you!
4 stars – A teenage ghost story with a vintage feel
Content warning: suicide, child abuse and murder, not-quite consensual sexual interaction between a mortal and a ghost
On the surface this is a classical ghost story: a teenager starts seeing ghosts all of a sudden, in particular the most famous ghost in town of a boy who was killed in the fifties by a car. But also other restless spirits seek him and he does what he can to try and set them free with the help of his best friend and amateur ghost expert Trace.
Underneath the ghost story however, things are not quite stereotypical because our narrator (whose name we never find out) has recently been kicked out by his parents for being gay and has moved in with his aunt in a different town. He feels just about as lost as the ghosts that keep seeking him. He has to deal with being rejected by his closest family, wondering how to go about life now and how to deal with his budding feelings for other boys.
I thought that using the loneliness of ghosts, who do not belong with the rest of the living, was a very clever analogy for the profound loneliness of our narrator, “the goth boy”. In general, I thought that the narrator and his friends, a colourful cast of misfits were very well written – they are typical teenagers with that mix of defiance, smartassery and insecurity but they also have quite disctinct personalities. Not always sympathetic, but very realistic.
The story is set in the late nineties, which was also the time of my teenage years and this brought back memories – ah, what a different time it was, when being outed was still a significantly bigger deal than it is today (things seem to be looking up lately) and the goth kids shopped at Hot Topic.
This one is spooky and pretty dark as we do find out about the grim details of the demise of several ghosts that haunt the narrator. The author doesn’t go into the gory details, but there’s enough to feed the imagination. I thought this was a well balanced and finely crafted ghost story and can recommend it to any fan of the genre!
Book review: Vintage by Steve Berman
This is the 13th anniversary edition of Steve Berman’s paranormal queer young adult novel about a teenage boy in 1997 New Jersey.
Vesely (no first name given) is a high school dropout living with his aunt after running away from home, works at a local vintage clothing store and can apparently see ghosts.
When Vesely encounters a teenage ghost forever walking a highway after being hit by a car in the 1950’s his life is turned upside down. Suddenly he’s in the middle of a romance for the first time in his life and his potential lover is dead. He’s also navigating a tenuous relationship with his aunt, his own sexuality and a confusing connection to his best friend’s younger brother. Vesely is seeing more and more ghosts and finds himself responsible for solving mysteries that affect both living and dead.
Steve Berman does an excellent job portraying both the humorous and painful parts of being a teenager. There are some genuine thrills and ghostly scares along with a solid mystery or two. I loved the addition of the vintage clothing store with its quirky owner and low-key hero Aunt Jan who really steps up when Vesely has nowhere else to go. He also has a group of friends that are made up of authentic personalities including his best friend Trace and her brother Mike.
I highly recommend Vintage to someone looking for a spooky paranormal tale with a bit of teenage angst and drama. Vesely is not your typical teenage hero but is relatable to anyone that struggled finding their way.