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15th out of 23 books
—
11 voters
Beyond: A Ghost Story
Janeis not your typical teen. She and her best friend Lexi call themselves the Creep Sisters. Only Lexi knows why Jane is different from anyone else: Her own shadow seems to pull her into near-fatal accidents. Jane is determined to find out why these terrifying things happen, and to overcome her shadow enemy. Her sleuthing with Lexi connects her own horrors to the secret h...more
Hardcover, 226 pages
Published
September 11th 2012
by Wendy Lamb Books
(first published September 1st 2012)
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Jan 05, 2013
Maja
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
arc-2012,
hachette,
horror,
i-see-dead-people,
own-a-dtb,
reviewed-in-2012,
review-copy,
ya
Beyond is the second young adult book by a Canadian male author I’ve read in the last year (first was The Repossession by Sam Hawksmoor), they were both published by Hodder, and they’re both original and refreshing. I’m even more picky and difficult with horror than I am with steampunk, which is why I’m especially happy to report that the horror parts of this story met my extremely high standards. But I’m getting ahead of myself here…
Jane is afraid of her own shadow… literally. Every time she fa...more
Jane is afraid of her own shadow… literally. Every time she fa...more
Jane has suffered from a horrible accident causing her death. Within those brief moments of death she felt like she wasn’t alone and that something was lurking in the darkness waiting for her. When the doctors brought her back to life she escaped the dark Something that was after her. She felt and knew that this Something tried to take her soul away while she was dead. Now she is starting to think that Something followed her back from death and is connected to her. But why?
At first I thought thi...more
At first I thought thi...more
Beyond: A Ghost Story has in interesting premise and just enough creep factor to keep you on the edge of your seat.
Sara (she's called Jane in the blurb on the back of the book but Sara in the ARC) is recovering from a near-death experience. She still has the nail from the nail gun in her head. She was dead and brought back to life. Unfortunately, this seems to be a trend in Sara's life. She drank drain cleaner, grabbed a downed electric wire that was live, and almost got hit by a train before th...more
Sara (she's called Jane in the blurb on the back of the book but Sara in the ARC) is recovering from a near-death experience. She still has the nail from the nail gun in her head. She was dead and brought back to life. Unfortunately, this seems to be a trend in Sara's life. She drank drain cleaner, grabbed a downed electric wire that was live, and almost got hit by a train before th...more
I am a rabid Stephen King fan. It’s just a fact of life in my house (kinda like breathing, or my inability to change out the garbage bag in the kitchen.) If there is a new book. I will buy it. Do not try to stop me or I will bite of your pinky toe. So when I got a catalog from Hachette in December with a book in it that said “If Stephen King wrote YA…” I knew I had to read it.
I will admit, my expectations weren’t all that high. It is Stephen King after all, and if you are going to throw around t...more
I will admit, my expectations weren’t all that high. It is Stephen King after all, and if you are going to throw around t...more
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Beyond can only be described as Steven King for YA. Graham McNamee drives the nail straight into the coffin on this YA thriller. A wonderful fast paced read. Just in time for Halloween!
Jane is a strong girl character who finds herself plagued by her life threatening tragedies. Starting from birth Jane has found herself at deaths door on a repeated basis making her teenage life miserable as well as the talk of the town. Not to mention making life as a typical teenage girl torture especially at hi...more
Jane is a strong girl character who finds herself plagued by her life threatening tragedies. Starting from birth Jane has found herself at deaths door on a repeated basis making her teenage life miserable as well as the talk of the town. Not to mention making life as a typical teenage girl torture especially at hi...more
This book is just what I'm starting to expect from Graham McNamee...Creepy, fast-paced and fun.
Jane has always been a little clumsy...okay a LOT clumsy. She's cheated death more times than she cares to count. Only her best friend, Lexi, knows the truth though, that Jane is being stalked by a spirit who wants her dead. After a particularly bad accident Jane and Lexi (known to the school as the Creep Sisters) start trying to figure out who exactly this spirit is. The more they uncover the more th...more
Jane has always been a little clumsy...okay a LOT clumsy. She's cheated death more times than she cares to count. Only her best friend, Lexi, knows the truth though, that Jane is being stalked by a spirit who wants her dead. After a particularly bad accident Jane and Lexi (known to the school as the Creep Sisters) start trying to figure out who exactly this spirit is. The more they uncover the more th...more
‘Ghost Story’ is an understatement for this fantastically creepy tale ‘gifted’ to readers by an Edgar award-winning author. In fact, this is one ghost story you will never forget! In fact, it gives a whole new meaning to ‘being scared of your own shadow.’
Instead of the brilliant lights and the voices of the angels singing, a young girl named Jane finds only a fate worse than death when she’s brought back to life by some well-meaning doctors. She was saved! However…she brought back something with...more
Instead of the brilliant lights and the voices of the angels singing, a young girl named Jane finds only a fate worse than death when she’s brought back to life by some well-meaning doctors. She was saved! However…she brought back something with...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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Pros: great characters, fast paced, honest chills, no romance
Cons: too short!
For Parents: no content
The real reason behind Jane's numerous brushes with death is too crazy for anyone but her fellow 'creep sister' to believe. So when she starts hearing voices and seeing things - in addition to her already extreme sleepwalking and migranes - she only tells her friend Lexi what's really going on. Somehow, she's picked up a ghost. One who wants her dead, and is able to use her own shadow - and body -...more
Cons: too short!
For Parents: no content
The real reason behind Jane's numerous brushes with death is too crazy for anyone but her fellow 'creep sister' to believe. So when she starts hearing voices and seeing things - in addition to her already extreme sleepwalking and migranes - she only tells her friend Lexi what's really going on. Somehow, she's picked up a ghost. One who wants her dead, and is able to use her own shadow - and body -...more
Beyond is a YA ghost story. I have mixed feeling about it on the whole as it really wasn't what I expected it to be.
What I liked
I really liked the main character Jane and I loved her relationship with her best friend Lexi. I liked the dynamic between the two of them and loved the scenes where they were together. I also loved getting to know Jane's family and pretty much thought she was a really solid character especially when you consider all the rubbish she's been through over the years.
What...more
The best words to describe this book would be 'deliciously creepy'. While the title may make give you the impression that this is a typical ghost story, there is so much more to this book than that.
Our protagonist Jane has a secret. One that she's carried with her for as long as she can remember. Somebody or something wants her dead. Unfortunately, the only way it can 'kill' her is by her own hand. Jane knows that telling anyone this secret will land her in a psychiatric facility, so no one kno...more
Our protagonist Jane has a secret. One that she's carried with her for as long as she can remember. Somebody or something wants her dead. Unfortunately, the only way it can 'kill' her is by her own hand. Jane knows that telling anyone this secret will land her in a psychiatric facility, so no one kno...more
I really liked the premise of the book. A girl whose shadow is trying to kill her? I thought that was pretty original and unheard of. I was drawn in by the mystery of the book and how much Jane struggled with keeping herself alive. Overall I thought the book was okay, but the ending felt a little rushed, like why her shadow was murderous was revealed immediately, the bad guy who kidnapped boys was also revealed really fast, and the confrontation between Jane and her shadow was a bit anti-climati...more
Seventeen-year-old Jane, who had almost died at birth, seems to have cheated death several times throughout her life: She swallowed drain cleaner, almost got run over by a train, and, most recently, shot herself with a nail gun (with the nail still precariously lodged in her brain). Lately, she's also been caught sleepwalking--because of that she has a special GPS ring! While Jane's parents and doctors seem confounded by what appear to be suicide attempts, only her best friend Lexi knows the tru...more
3.5 coffee cups
Beyond offers up a perfectly creepy ghost story with a twist that should delight young readers. McNamee delivered a tale filled with creepy goodness involving a ghost and a killer. This was a fast paced, easy read and I was thoroughly entertained.
The tale begins when we meet Jane. She has had several near death accidents and the most recent has her walking around with a nail in her head. Her parents think she is accident prone, others think she is suicidal but Jane knows the truth...more
Beyond offers up a perfectly creepy ghost story with a twist that should delight young readers. McNamee delivered a tale filled with creepy goodness involving a ghost and a killer. This was a fast paced, easy read and I was thoroughly entertained.
The tale begins when we meet Jane. She has had several near death accidents and the most recent has her walking around with a nail in her head. Her parents think she is accident prone, others think she is suicidal but Jane knows the truth...more
Jane has a preoccupation with death. Or maybe death has a preoccupation with Jane. When Jane was born she had no pulse and the doctors had to shock her into breathing.
Now at seventeen, Jane has many near death experiences. She drank a household cleaner when she was much younger; had an encounter with a train; electrocution; and her most recent brush with death ;involved a nail staple gun that left a nail too near her brain to be surgically removed. Only her best friend, Lexie, knows these incide...more
Now at seventeen, Jane has many near death experiences. She drank a household cleaner when she was much younger; had an encounter with a train; electrocution; and her most recent brush with death ;involved a nail staple gun that left a nail too near her brain to be surgically removed. Only her best friend, Lexie, knows these incide...more
Beyond is not your typical ghost story. Instead of a ghost haunting a thing or location, this time the ghost is haunting a girl. And trying to end her life in the process.
It took me a little while to get into the story. The beginning felt like a lot of explanation and not much of the creepiness a ghost story usually has. However, once the ball got rolling and the book started to deal with the ghost, why Jane was being haunted, and what caused the boy haunting her to die, I was hooked. The storie...more
It took me a little while to get into the story. The beginning felt like a lot of explanation and not much of the creepiness a ghost story usually has. However, once the ball got rolling and the book started to deal with the ghost, why Jane was being haunted, and what caused the boy haunting her to die, I was hooked. The storie...more
To review this book I would have to use a thesaurus and even then I may run out of adjectives!
I sat down to read 'Beyond' and realised that 2 hours later I was in the same position but I had finished the book! 'Beyond' has a mature plot, yet is chilling, startling and mysterious.
Jane has suffered another injury at the beginning of the story - this time with a nail gun. The reader is to discover that this is one of several of such 'accidents' and this time she has to visit a counsellor. However J...more
I sat down to read 'Beyond' and realised that 2 hours later I was in the same position but I had finished the book! 'Beyond' has a mature plot, yet is chilling, startling and mysterious.
Jane has suffered another injury at the beginning of the story - this time with a nail gun. The reader is to discover that this is one of several of such 'accidents' and this time she has to visit a counsellor. However J...more
This is the 2nd book by him I have read. The first being Acceleration. I wanted to like this book. Graham can come up with very interesting ideas. Calling this a ghost story is not accurate. It is not your typical ghost story. The characters are great and well developed. The ending of the book is where he demonstrates his strengths. Shh spoilers. Normally I dont dont get scared when reading books but the way he writes is ghostly and spooky. Its not a bad book but I would give it 2 stars except t...more
4 stars
Have you ever heard about lucid dreaming? It's the kind of dream state when you're aware of dreaming, and might even be able to control the dreams. Imagine it's a nightmare, a really scary, horrifyingly realistic one. You know it's a dream, but it's so vivid, it scares you more than anything. And it's not letting you go. In Beyond Jane is battling with lucid nightmares, and it looks like she's losing. She wants it to stop, to wake up, but it's getting harder and harder to come back, to st...more
Have you ever heard about lucid dreaming? It's the kind of dream state when you're aware of dreaming, and might even be able to control the dreams. Imagine it's a nightmare, a really scary, horrifyingly realistic one. You know it's a dream, but it's so vivid, it scares you more than anything. And it's not letting you go. In Beyond Jane is battling with lucid nightmares, and it looks like she's losing. She wants it to stop, to wake up, but it's getting harder and harder to come back, to st...more
I had never read Graham McNamee's work before and this was a good book to begin with. Short, fast-paced and spooky, it's the perfect late-night read. Jane is being haunted by a force that wants her dead. She and her best friend, Lexi, try to find out the source. I loved the "Creep Sisters" idea and thought Lexi was a great character. Jane was good, too-- although descriptions of her constant fatigue were, well, exhausting (even though that was the point). Although there was a scene at the very e...more
This is a creepy, fast-paced, modern ghost story. Jane is a 17 yearl old teenager who seems prone to harming herself, drinking poison - almost getting run over by a train - shooting herself in the head with a nail gun. But the truth is, these events were all out of Jane's control. She is being manipulated by a force beyond the grave and it all started when she died and was then brought back to life. But she can't share this information with anyone but her best friend - anyone else would think sh...more
My son was given an advance copy of this book from his school.
I read it thinking it was going to be a run of the mill ghost story.
At first I had trouble getting into it. This book is definitely written for young adults and I found it wasn't keeping me interested despite the interesting nature of the protagonist's life.
But once the mystery began to actually unfold, well past the middle of the book, I found it quickly turned into a deeper plot which delved into a more intense (though subtle) inqu...more
I read it thinking it was going to be a run of the mill ghost story.
At first I had trouble getting into it. This book is definitely written for young adults and I found it wasn't keeping me interested despite the interesting nature of the protagonist's life.
But once the mystery began to actually unfold, well past the middle of the book, I found it quickly turned into a deeper plot which delved into a more intense (though subtle) inqu...more
I got this book in the mail. It was pretty good. It took a long time to get going I do have to say that. It gives you bits and pieces of the story and drags it out a bit too long. The main conflict is introduced early on, but it doesn't get going until about halfway through the book.
There was an appropriate amount of angst from the ghost but I felt an inappropriate amount of fear in the main character. The main plot moving device was incredibly interesting. It wasn't a waste of my time, but it w...more
There was an appropriate amount of angst from the ghost but I felt an inappropriate amount of fear in the main character. The main plot moving device was incredibly interesting. It wasn't a waste of my time, but it w...more
Wow!
I will run, not walk, to get the other books by Graham McNamee.
An intriguing concept: a young girl who has a near-death experience but survives to be haunted by... A compelling story: the concept is developed slowly and carefully, nuance and depth added piece by piece leading ultimately to an exciting and rewarding conclusion. Realistic, complex characters with depth: Jane and her best friend Lexi are interesting without verging on the annoyingly precocious adolescents of an adult's fantasy...more
I will run, not walk, to get the other books by Graham McNamee.
An intriguing concept: a young girl who has a near-death experience but survives to be haunted by... A compelling story: the concept is developed slowly and carefully, nuance and depth added piece by piece leading ultimately to an exciting and rewarding conclusion. Realistic, complex characters with depth: Jane and her best friend Lexi are interesting without verging on the annoyingly precocious adolescents of an adult's fantasy...more
Something is wrong with Jane. As a young child, she found herself drinking poison without knowing why she was doing it. A few years later she was almost run over by a train because her body refused to leave the tracks and, soon after that, was electrocuted when her hand reached out to touch a live wire without her consent. At 17, something made her shoot herself in the head with her father’s nail gun.
Read the rest of my review at: http://shouldireaditornot.wordpress.c...
Read the rest of my review at: http://shouldireaditornot.wordpress.c...
This review can also be found here
I was not a fan of this book at all. I heard that if Stephen King wrote YA that it would be this book, and honestly it really wouldn't be. I love ghost stories and I was prepared to be creeped out since the description sounded really interesting and creepy but it left me bored.
I wasn't surprised with this book at all. None of the twists were surprising at all and it ended up turning into a book that I went through as quick as I could just to get it over with. I...more
I was not a fan of this book at all. I heard that if Stephen King wrote YA that it would be this book, and honestly it really wouldn't be. I love ghost stories and I was prepared to be creeped out since the description sounded really interesting and creepy but it left me bored.
I wasn't surprised with this book at all. None of the twists were surprising at all and it ended up turning into a book that I went through as quick as I could just to get it over with. I...more
3.5 stars!
From the "Final Thoughts" portion of my review:
This was a perfect addition to my Halloween reading! It was a quick and creepy read that gave me something more unusual to read about! I mean, your own shadow tries to kill you on multiple occasions? I loved the path to figuring out the how’s and why’s of Jane’s shadow and was thoroughly engaged the whole time. If you are looking for a quick ghost-y/paranormal book that’s creepy, but not scary, and is NOT a series, I’d say pick this one up...more
From the "Final Thoughts" portion of my review:
This was a perfect addition to my Halloween reading! It was a quick and creepy read that gave me something more unusual to read about! I mean, your own shadow tries to kill you on multiple occasions? I loved the path to figuring out the how’s and why’s of Jane’s shadow and was thoroughly engaged the whole time. If you are looking for a quick ghost-y/paranormal book that’s creepy, but not scary, and is NOT a series, I’d say pick this one up...more
Really creepy. Picture being haunted by your own shadow. I don't mean scared by your own shadow, I mean it is out to get you! (Creepy, right?) I was internally yelling at Jane the whole time: "Tell your parents! Tell someone besides Lexi! Please! Don't let him get you!" The intensity builds as we learn more about Jane and her shadow, and wonder how far things will go before one or the other ceases to exist. Graham McNamee's thoroughly creepy ghost story should appeal to teens who like a good thr...more
I picked this one up at work, and I'm not quite sure why. If I'm reading a ghost story, it's more than likely to be gothic or Victorian/Edwardian horror, à la M.R. James or Wilkie Collins. The subtle stuff. However, I felt a little sad for this one, as no one had checked it out yet, and it seemed like a quick read.
Well, it was indeed a pretty fast read. I finished it in about an hour--McNamee has some page-or-two-page chapters (echos of James Patterson???). It's not ... bad in any way, just not...more
Well, it was indeed a pretty fast read. I finished it in about an hour--McNamee has some page-or-two-page chapters (echos of James Patterson???). It's not ... bad in any way, just not...more
Beyond really is a brilliant chill-fest of a book, it flows at a real break-neck pace and pulls the reader along for the roller coaster ride from the off! I loved the storyline, it is so unique and I fully enjoyed the full on creepy feeling the author had achieved here. Graham McNamee writes compellingly, I was entranced from start to finish and I even had goosebumps on occasion! I think the characters are awesome, best-friends Jane & Lexi 'THE CREEP SISTERS' have a great bond and are very q...more
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Graham McNamee. Male. Caucasian. 5'10". Brown hair. Brown eyes. Do not approach. Extremely shy.
Author of: HATE YOU, NOTHING WRONG WITH A THREE-LEGGED DOG, SPARKS, and ACCELERATION. HATE YOU was an ALA Best Book for young Adults and an ALA Quick Pick, won the Austrian Children's Book Award, and was nominated for the Governor General's Award. SPARKS won the PEN/Phyllis Naylor Working Writer Fellows...more
More about Graham McNamee...
Author of: HATE YOU, NOTHING WRONG WITH A THREE-LEGGED DOG, SPARKS, and ACCELERATION. HATE YOU was an ALA Best Book for young Adults and an ALA Quick Pick, won the Austrian Children's Book Award, and was nominated for the Governor General's Award. SPARKS won the PEN/Phyllis Naylor Working Writer Fellows...more
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