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Preloved

by Shirley Marr (Goodreads Author)

3.71 of 5 stars 3.71 · rating details · 193 ratings · 66 reviews

If you had a second chance at love, would you do it all over again?

Amy has enough to deal with for one lifetime. A superstitious Chinese mother. A best friend whose mood changes as dramatically as her hair colour. A reputation for being strange. The last thing she needs is to be haunted by someone only she can see.

Logan is a ghost from the Eighties. He could be dangerous....more

Paperback, 272 pages

Published April 1st 2012 by Black Dog Books/Walker Books

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2012 Aussie YA Releases

2nd out of 41 books — 119 voters

Authors Who Have Unfairly Been Attacked by Reviewers

165th out of 301 books — 83 voters

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Jul 16, 2012 Wendy Darling rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: aussies, young-adult, pn-ghosts, asian, read-2012, poc, supportive-author

Join us on the blog today for a Poolside Birthday Party Vlog with the adorable Shirley Marr! We have three copies of PRELOVED to give away, along with a beautiful sterling silver locket necklace just like the one in the book.

********************************************************************

I had a horrible sensation in my stomach only because, like, a billion things could go wrong when you try to tell a girl that her Eighties-flavoured boyfriend from a past life was trying to hook back up wit...more

99 likes · like · see review

Jul 02, 2012 Shirley Marr marked it as written-by-me · (Review from the author)

Shelves: aussie-ya

What did you think? asks Goodreads. I'm the author! I wrote this book! It's as awesome as this book...

I lie.

Nothing can be more awesome than that book.

My book has an 80's flavour, but it's never going to be as rad as that blond dude's haircut and his grey+grey colour scheme.

In my own words...

Preloved is a ghost story. It involves past lives. It's about a modern teen girl and a dead teen boy from the 80s. It's more a bad romance, less of a love story. And it's more abnormal than paranormal! Sinc...more

79 likes · like · see review

Jul 19, 2012 karen rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: why-yes-i-ya, distant-lands

i am sneaking this one in in the middle of my readventurer challenge - shhhh...

wow, i seem to be on a roll with reading sweet sweet books lately. and i don't mean this to be disparaging, but this book is truly a sweetie-pie almost-love-story.

and at first, i wasn't into it, i must confess. blame my need for the darkness and the edginess, but this one was so fast-paced, and was reading like the younger-range of YA, and i kept peering at it, trying to make out some of the bitchiness from fury. my...more

49 likes · like · see review

May 22, 2012 Mimi Valentine rated it 4 of 5 stars

Recommended to Mimi by: Wendy Darling

Shelves: gorgeous-covers, authors-i-want-to-meet, finished-copy-for-review, best-of-2012, boys-i-wish-were-real, pure-awesomeness, reviewed

This book defines the word adorable, brings a new definition to the word contemporary, and manages to mix hilarious and heartwarming scenes with the perfect degree of effectiveness! In other words, Preloved stole my heart and I'm not demanding it back anytime soon.

Preloved revolves around Amy, your classic sidekick girl. She's in love with The Princess Bride, has an amusingly superstitious Chinese mother, and has best friend that she believes will be the heroine of a story someday. Except instea...more This book defines the word adorable, brings a new definition to the word contemporary, and manages to mix hilarious and heartwarming scenes with the perfect degree of effectiveness! In other words, Preloved stole my heart and I'm not demanding it back anytime soon.

Preloved revolves around Amy, your classic sidekick girl. She's in love with The Princess Bride, has an amusingly superstitious Chinese mother, and has best friend that she believes will be the heroine of a story someday. Except instead — by some fluke chance — Amy is the one who ends up with the ghost-inhabited locket. Thus beginning her hilarious journey!

I couldn't have loved Amy more than I already did if you paid me to! She was quirky, and funny, and strange, and absolutely the kind of girl I'd admire in school. When she meets Logan (the swoon-worthy ghost from the 80s from the locket ♥) her world is turned upside down. Yet she deals with it exactly how any girl would! First she questions her sanity. Then she tries to help him out, because who wouldn't try to aid the sweet albeit slightly infuriating ghost?

Shirley said, "It's more a bad romance, less of a love story." And that's so true! When the boy is a ghost and the girl isn't, you can't expect a happily ever after — although I was craving one anyways because of how attached I became to the characters. But HEA or not, the ending is bittersweet and perfect in its own way. I turned the last page with a smile with my tears.

Adorably sweet, funny, and heartwarming all the same, Preloved is a book I loved with all my heart! I loved all the characters, from Amy to her best friend to Logan and more; I loved the way it dealt with family as well as the difficulty of being friends with a diva.

This book is a contemporary read with a touch of ghostly romance. Would I recommend it? Absolutely and completely and totally, I would! :)

BUY or BORROW?: Do yourself a favour and buy this book ASAP! It will definitely bring a smile to your face, and it will give all sidekick girls hope that they'll be the main character of their own story soon as well! :)

(Original review at Mimi Valentine's YA Review Blog) (less)

17 likes · like · see review

Apr 06, 2012 Mandee rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: aussie, ya-lit, aussieya2012, aww2012, review-on-the-blog, april2012release

Preloved by Shirley Marr is set in the fictional town of Middlemore (loosely based on Perth, Australia). Amy Lee is 16 and lives with her mother above their vintage store, Buy Gones. Amy attends Middlemore High school with her best and only friend Rebecca.

Rebecca drops by one morning, dressed as Kylie Minogue, because their school has been raising money for the end-of-year ball by holding fancy dress days once a week in exchange for a donation and this week the theme is the Eighties. Amy is dres...more Preloved by Shirley Marr is set in the fictional town of Middlemore (loosely based on Perth, Australia). Amy Lee is 16 and lives with her mother above their vintage store, Buy Gones. Amy attends Middlemore High school with her best and only friend Rebecca.

Rebecca drops by one morning, dressed as Kylie Minogue, because their school has been raising money for the end-of-year ball by holding fancy dress days once a week in exchange for a donation and this week the theme is the Eighties. Amy is dressed as Princess Buttercup from The Princess Bride. On their way to school they meet a trio of Jason Donovans, aka Michael Limawan and two of his mates. Amy tries to get them to leave and in the process she knocks Michael, Rebecca and herself into a fountain. It's then that she discovers a silver chain attached to a small locket and she keeps it. From the moment she opens the locket she starts seeing a boy hanging around, dressed in Eighties clothing, but no one else can see him. It turns out he's a ghost named Logan and he died in 1988. At first Amy wants to get rid of him but then she starts to enjoy his company and wants to help figure out what happened to him.

Amy is such a funny main character. She thinks of herself as Rebecca's short, awkward, Asian friend, always the sidekick, never the star but she is so much more than that. She's funny and loyal, fierce and full of love for her mum and her best friend but she doesn't feel like she knows who she is. She is a little bit awkward, isn't very confident in herself and after her mum divorced her alcoholic father when she was eight, she stopped believing that love is really possible. She holds quite a grudge against her father, he didn't allow her mother to take any of her possessions, he doesn't support them financially and he now has a new girlfriend. Amy is always thinking of the perfect script for when she finally bumps into them one day and she can tell him exactly how she feels.

Amy reminded me of Lane Kim from Gilmore Girls. She's into music, especially older stuff, her mother owns a vintage store, she has one best friend, she's unique, interesting and she's not an Asian stereotype although she thinks her old childhood friend, Nancy Soo, is the perfect example of the typical Asian stereotype. I would definitely have wanted to be Amy's friend and I was happy when she and Nancy reconnected because while I liked Rebecca, she wasn't always as good a friend to Amy as she could have been and there was more to Nancy than came across in her school persona.

I loved Amy's mother, Ivy, as well. Unlike Lane's mother in GG, she wasn't super strict but she was always dispensing Chinese superstitions and warning Amy to be wary of ghosts, my absolute favourite was "Amy, remember that if you get lost in a forest and the ghosts trick you into thinking every direction looks the same - take your undies off, put them over your head and spin around in a circle. Then your path will be clear." Amy responds with a thanks that I imagine was delivered in perfect deadpan style. My only issue with the relationship between Amy and Ivy was the lack of affection. Amy often craved a hug from her mum but is afraid to initiate it and I was pleased by the growth in their relationship towards the end of the book.

Logan, the friendly Eighties ghost,was hilarious and turned out to be a really good thing for Amy because he helped her discover who she is. I love that he introduced her to Eighties slang and referenced really old advertisements like Mr Matey bubble bath. And he scores bonus points for reciting the words to Magic Dance (aka You Remind Me of the Babe) from Labyrinth!

I couldn't understand Amy's need to get rid of him when he first appears, a boy from the Eighties is hardly the scariest ghost that you could get stuck with so I was glad she decided to keep him around for a bit longer because his past is a mystery and we get to play detective with Amy and discover what happened to him all those years ago. My only issue with Logan was the number of times he said 'fair dinkum!'. It's such an old Aussie saying and I can't imagine a teenager ever saying it but then I was a baby in the Eighties, maybe teens used it all the time.

There were a lot of pop cultural references in Preloved and it made the book a lot of fun. In the first few pages we had Kylie, the Princess Bride, Labyrinth, Jason Donovan and later on Rainbow Bright and Bananarama. I did wonder how many of these would be recognised by teens reading this book, I'm sure most won't have heard of Bananarama or Mr Matey but for non-teen YA fans, like myself, it was like a trip down memory lane and Preloved is one of my favourite books of 2012.

Just like in her previous novel, Fury, Shirley has created strong, memorable characters in a beautifully written, funny, sweet story about a girl who wants to believe in love and find out who really she is.

The cover for Preloved is gorgeous, it features the dress that Amy wears to the ball. I love the matte finish of the cover and the pretty pink and sepia tones of the image. It suits the book perfectly but Shirley has shared some of the draft covers that were considered here - all of them are lovely, but I think they made the right choice.

Preloved is released April 1, 2012 but it's already in a few Dymocks stores and you can order it online through Fishpond. I recommend it to all fans of Aussie YA, realistic fiction and fans of the Eighties!(less)

13 likes · like · see review

Jun 05, 2012 Steph Sinclair rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: aussie, young-adult, pretty-covers, 2012-release, 2012-reads, ghosts, i-really-enjoyed-it, reincarnate-me, surprised-me, triangle-of-love, original-and-creative

I have to admit, Preloved truly surprised me. After finally getting a hold of Fury, I wasn't entirely sure how Preloved and I would get along because Paranormal Romances with ghosts usually make me want to roll my eyes. However, in Preloved's case it worked really well for me. In fact, there is something really special about Shirley Marr's sophomore novel because while the blurb sounds strictly PNR, it gives off a very strong contemporary feel at the same time. I actually found myself enjoying P...more

29 likes · like · see review

May 17, 2012 oliviasbooks rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult-fiction, ya-contemporary, author-from-down-under, problem-focused, ghosts-dead-people, in-love-with-the-cover, swapped-or-given-away, laugh-a-little, in-love-with-the-title, love-story-romance, read-2012

3.5 stars. *** You might come across something you consider as spoilers reading my review.***
"Amy, remember that if you get lost in a forest and the ghosts trick you into thinking every direction looks the same – take your undies off, put them over your head and spin around in a circle. Then your path will be clear."
Shirley Marr's second novel, Preloved, is thoroughly peppered with indispensable pieces of wisdom like this endearing warning the heroine's mother sends her daughter off to school...more

9 likes · like · see review

Aug 23, 2012 Nemo (the Moonlight Library) rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: mine-mine-mine, physical, teens-rule-the-world-yo, it-s-a-love-story-ruuuuuun, 2012-read, candidate, publisher-walker-books

See this review and more on The Moonlight Library!

Preloved has one of the coolest concepts on the block (a ghost from the Eighties? It was only the so-daggy-it's-cool era), and add to that major bonus points for a YA heroine who's Chinese.

However the startling brevity in which this tale was told left me breathless and a little disappointed. The book could have easily been twice as long with a little description added.

Perhaps it was the narrative style itself that didn't gel with me, but I didn't...more

5 likes · like · see review

Nov 19, 2012 Skyla rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: aussie-fiction, ghost, ya, awesomeness, cool-author

Pretty cover. Pretty author. 80s. Ghosts. Aussie. Converse shoes...I'm sold.

So I am going to do a small pre-review first just because I have been obsessing over this book for a long time. Like Shirley's first book Fury I have been searching for this book ever since I learnt of it. Not only is it written by one of the most adorable and awesome people I have ever "met" (even if it is only online) but the synopsis made me think of that "Are you Afraid of the Dark?" episode about the Prom Queen who...more

9 likes · like · see review

May 02, 2012 Lisa O. rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012-aussie-challenge, australian, ya-lit

Shirley Marr always manages to surprise me.
4 stars and review to come.

************

So I'm reading Preloved and incidentally I see Kylie Minogue on the paper today:

Look closer... she's wearing these:

Another detail:

Apparently, the shoes spit fire.
She really is stuck. In the 80s, I mean.

15 likes · like · see review

Aug 05, 2012 Good Golly Miss Holly rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: aussie-swap

If you were ever a fan of Ghost Whisperer or Gilmore Girls, you're going to be very fond of Preloved. It's a mash-up of 80's pop culture and Chinese superstition all rolled into one!

Poor Amy is a little bored with her high school routine. She simply cannot see how amazing her life is right now. Her days are filled with helping out at her mothers antique store while also suffering through the old wives tales she offers up as advice to almost any willing ear. Then there are the longing stares from Michael, the utmost perfect boyfriend waiting in the wings for Amy yet she still feels utterly lonely and totally oblivious.

That is, until Amy finds a locket on her way to school one day and as a result is stalked by a ghost named Logan. Logan becomes her love interest from afar and keeps her company when the days are a bore. Yet Logan has his own agenda for tagging along, he adores Amy's BFF, Rebecca as she is almost identical in looks to his 80's high school sweetheart.

It's obvious Shirley Marr adores the 80s era and at some point in her life has held or hopes to host an 80s themed dress-up party. Personally, I never experienced this time period but can totally relate to reminiscing about the years of your youth.

Unfortunately, I was a little disappointed by the major turning point in the novel, I felt I had been waiting and wishing for a great outcome for the most-part of the novel and for it all to come down to pure imagination and mental illness was not as fulfilling as I'd hoped. I would've liked to see the mystery evolve possibly with the assistance of Michael as he was an excellent character I feel we didn't see enough of.

In one word, I would describe Preloved as simply adorkable. I loved Amy's pop culture references and the many mentions of old wives tales, some I had never heard of before but loved trying to figure out the meaning behind them all. Overall, it was a light and enjoyable Aussie YA novel for those of us who have always questioned the possibility of reincarnation.(less)

4 likes · like · see review

Jan 31, 2013 ~ mariya ~ rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads, young-adult

This was a pretty awesome YA paranormal romance - I am very happy that I got a chance to read this, due to winning a Goodreads Giveaway.

The book is about a teenage girl named Amy Lee that lives in a town in Australia. Amy is Chinese (I loved the fact that the main character wasn't a blue-eyed blonde white girl; aren't you tired of those?) and lives with her very superstitious but lovable mother. One day on the way to school Amy finds a locket that releases a cute boy ghost from the 80's when she...more

1 like · like · see review

Jul 28, 2012 cait rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: romance

Oh... I almost cried. It rang sweet... sweet, sad, and wonderfully un-soppy. I could have rejoiced.

Perhaps one of the most appealing elements: Amy and Logan quote movies. What's not to love? The saddest line in the entire book could be, "As you wish." (That's, of course, very handy for the author, since she didn't have to think it up.) I loved all the references to The Princess Bride. I loved that movie. And Amy must be a genius. If school is having an eighties dress-up day, dress as Buttercup....more
Oh... I almost cried. It rang sweet... sweet, sad, and wonderfully un-soppy. I could have rejoiced.

Perhaps one of the most appealing elements: Amy and Logan quote movies. What's not to love? The saddest line in the entire book could be, "As you wish." (That's, of course, very handy for the author, since she didn't have to think it up.) I loved all the references to The Princess Bride. I loved that movie. And Amy must be a genius. If school is having an eighties dress-up day, dress as Buttercup. I tell you, Amy is awesome.

It's a love-story, yes, not a genre I read very much. But the way it was done... it wasn't a boyfriend-girlfriend thing at all. It was hardly romantic. Actually, the best way to describe it is a story-about-love, not a romance. Shirley Marr has a way with writing romance that doesn't equal soggy, soppy, mushy messes with a tragic break-up and an inevitable get-back-together.

On the "inevitable" note, I felt like rolling my eyes when it mentioned the "end of high-school ball." I'm afraid that is done so often that it's just plain annoying. Even the author's first book, Fury, had the end of high-school ball" (the characters never actually made it to the ball, but I won't go into spoiler details.) The way the ball was done impressed me and there was no lead-up parentless party before hand. (That one bugs me worse than the ball.) All up, Preloved gave a high-school drama with the "have to have them" cliches, but made them fresh and different.

I love Amy's mother. She was MOTHERLY. I don't know about you, but I've noticed a sad lack of parents in books, loving or otherwise. Think of your favourite book with a younger-than-eighteen main character. Do they have parents? Probably not. If they do, the parents aren't even part of the story. And if they are, it's because they're missing and the character has to find them. (I admit, I'm guilty of that in my writing, too.) In this book, Amy's relationship with her mother was a huge part, and a welcome one. Go mothers who care about their kids! Another part of this book was forgiveness, and I loved that, too.

One thing that bothered me the whole time--the language. Come on. That sort of bad language just isn't needed in a book. I didn't particularly like Amy's friend Rebecca. I don't think the reader was supposed to like Rebecca, though. Another thing I didn't like was the big emphasis on re-incarnation. That was a huge part of the storyline, but all the same, I just didn't agree.

Logan was so funny. All the aspects of him being a ghost echoed hilarious (walking through walls, being extremely cold) and the phrases he used were so bizarre and whacked. (Who'd have thought "chucking a spack" was eighties slang? Even I knew that one.) A lot of the references to the eighties didn't click with me, so I just skimmed them and kept reading. It didn't wreck the book.

I have officially read Paranormal! A ghost story! I don't know whether to be shocked, horrified, or excited. I do know that is was an excellent book and 100% worth the read.
(less)

1 like · like · see review

Jun 06, 2012 Stephanie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult

This review originally appeared at www.readinasinglesitting.com.

According to Etsy, anything more than 30 years old is considered to be vintage, meaning that pretty soon, mullets, blue eye shadow and Labyrinth will be able to be found online at horrendously marked up prices, all in the name of a vintage 80s revival. In three years’ time, I’m going to be vintage. Dear God.

But anyway. Though being a child of the 90s was pretty damn’ cool–Captain Planet, tencel jeans and sparkly butterfly hair clips...more This review originally appeared at www.readinasinglesitting.com.

According to Etsy, anything more than 30 years old is considered to be vintage, meaning that pretty soon, mullets, blue eye shadow and Labyrinth will be able to be found online at horrendously marked up prices, all in the name of a vintage 80s revival. In three years’ time, I’m going to be vintage. Dear God.

But anyway. Though being a child of the 90s was pretty damn’ cool–Captain Planet, tencel jeans and sparkly butterfly hair clips, anyone?–there’s something about the 80s that’s just utterly awesome (shoulderpads and hyperconsumerism aside). I’m totally writing this while listening to Sly Fox, Roxette and Blondie, by the way.

So when Shirley Marr’s Preloved opened with a fight scene between three, yes three, Jason Donovans, a Neighbours-era Kylie Minogue and an O Ren Ishi-ii-inspired Princess Buttercup, I was pretty much sold. But then things get even better. Protagonist Amy Lee (whose Chinese-Australian mum is totally not a Tiger mum, and doesn’t even make her go to Kumon after school) finds a dodgy 80s locket complete with a dazzling plastic rainbow that would put Rainbox Brite to shame, and despite all of her mother’s warnings about vengeful spirits and hungry ghosts lurking everywhere (they really are–my husband is way too afraid to go to his temple during the Festival of the Hungry Ghosts), sets about opening it.

And, then, voom! Amy is haunted by a ghost of decades past. A vintage ghost–well, almost. Admittedly, Logan’s not the most scary of ghosts, being more inclined to spend his spookin’ time singing along to 80s TV ads and floofing his hair, but really, there’s only so much eyeliner that should be in a room at one time. Needless to say, Amy’s mum suspects that something’s up right away: as the owner of an antiques store she has quite the eye for anything vintage that might be crossing over the threshold of her home. And though poor Amy might get a reprieve from Chinese school on Saturdays, she’s certainly not spared from the various cures and treatments that come out of the woodwork when a ghost is in one’s midst. (Aside: my husband has had any flat he’s lived in since moving out of home ‘cleansed’ by his Buddhist master. Only our current flat has thus far managed to escape this, largely due to the fact that his master is now in his 80s. He’s, like, totes vintage.)

But Amy’s struck by the niggling feeling that perhaps she doesn’t want Logan banished to the afterlife so that he can be reincarnated as a poodle or some other harmless but overly coiffed animal. For all of his mullety goodness, skinny tie obsession, and penchant for quoting Boy George he’s actually kind of…ace. A bit bomdigity, even. As much as Amy doesn’t want to admit it, he’s better company than her self-obsessed, I’m-so-misunderstood, totally unmainstream friend Rebecca, the one who shops at Hot Topic and listens to A Fire Inside and confuses the lyrics of Banarama with the poetry of Sylvia Plath. But when Logal drops a bombshell about Rebecca being the reincarnation of his high school sweetheart, Amy starts to wonder whether the three of them are connected in some sort of karmic fashion…and hits the microfiche to try to solve the mystery. And thus the concept of “preloved”, touched upon in so many ways throughout the book, begins to become ever more meaningful.

Shirley Marr, I salute you for somehow squishing the essence of the 80s (well, only the fun bits–none of that Wall Street stuff) and the Australian-Chinese culture I’ve married into all into one slim, super-quick volume. There’s nary a page without an 80s reference that had me chortling or some reference to a Chinese-ism to which I would point and shriek “yes! Yes, that’s my mother-in-law!” It’s ridiculous, rambly and all sorts of nonsense, and soon-to-be-vintage folk like me will be professing their love for it. I’m not sure how those youngsters born after 1990 will go (yes, there really are people born after 1990, and who have never heard of Superted–a frightful thought, I know), but that’s what Wikipedia and Youtube are for.

I loved the relationship between Amy and her mum, and thought that this was by far the strongest of the book. It teeters between that horrible awkwardness of a mother wanting to be her daughter’s friend and wanting to protect her, and Marr does an excellent job of pinpointing those key moments that demonstrate this tentative balance so well. The other characters aren’t quite so well rendered, but I think that’s partly the idea: the book is a comic romp that gets its momentum from its silliness and slapstick brilliance rather than from deeply involved relationships. In fact, the only character that didn’t quite work for me was Logan: perhaps it’s because I have a deep-seated loathing of mullets or an irrational fear of anyone who says ‘fair dinkum’ in actual conversation, but I just didn’t quite grok the connection between Amy and Logan, nor quite believe Amy’s promptly developed crush on him.

But regardless, Preloved is a witty, likeable ride through a good thirty years’ worth of pop culture and karmic retribution, and beneath its glittery, hairsprayed veneer is a thoughtful discussion of the ways in which we’re connected to others in our lives, and how widely our actions extend–both in our present context and across time.

And yes, my husband does believe that we met in a past life.(less)

2 likes · like · see review

May 21, 2012 Vivien rated it 4 of 5 stars

I was so uber lucky to be apart of a book tour. So grateful to http://www.thereadventurer.com/ for hosting it!!

This book is a ghost story, filled with some contemporary and tons of 80's nostalgia.

Amy is your typical loner. She has a best friend in Rebecca who gets all the attention from the guys. The kind of girl that is the 'fantasy girl' of a teenage guys dream. So naturally, Amy falls into the role of side-kick and is always in the shadows.

Amy's mother is a little quirky. She's Chinese and...more

2 likes · like · see review

Feb 11, 2013 Wattle rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, young-adult

I have to admit, I was a bit apprehensive about reading this book. I'm not usually one for paranormal romances but ohmygaaawd this was awesome!

There was a part in Shirley Marr's first book, Fury, that I found a bit weird and it's kind of stuck with me. So I was sort of worried something similar was going to happen here. But it didn't.

To break the plot down to one sentence: Amy is in her final year of high school and finds a locket, and then she starts being followed around by Logan, a ghost from...more

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Jul 24, 2012 TheBookSmugglers rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: hidden-gems, young-adult

Original review posted on The Book Smugglers

"I thought about Mum’s vintage shop. How she believed that if she found something broken and lovingly put it back together, that someone would come along and love it again."

16-year-old Chinese-Australian Amy Lee walks into her own story dressed up as The Princess Bride’ Buttercup and I love her already. It’s Eighties Theme Day at her school and as she makes her way there with her BFF Rebecca dressed as Kylie Minogue (and trying to avoid three Jason Do...more

1 like · like · see review

May 13, 2012 Michelle rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult, contemporary, paranormal, myths, folk-tales, romance

I think the best way to sum up Shirley Marr's Preloved is to say, whatever you are expecting? It isn't that. Not exactly, anyway. I read tons of reviews that try to explain. Marr says it herself when she describes it as "more a bad romance, less of a love story. And it's more abnormal than paranormal," but still, I went in thinking I knew what it would be. I was wrong, and I was blown away. I tore open my manila mailer, seated myself on the couch, and started reading. I sort of grunted incoheren...more I think the best way to sum up Shirley Marr's Preloved is to say, whatever you are expecting? It isn't that. Not exactly, anyway. I read tons of reviews that try to explain. Marr says it herself when she describes it as "more a bad romance, less of a love story. And it's more abnormal than paranormal," but still, I went in thinking I knew what it would be. I was wrong, and I was blown away. I tore open my manila mailer, seated myself on the couch, and started reading. I sort of grunted incoherently at my husband as he thrust a glass of tea and a sandwich in my hand somewhere around dinner time, only to finally surface hours later to a quietly sleeping house.

I went in expecting a book that would extol the awesomeness of the 80s -- The Cure, Labyrinth, Princess Bride, Rainbows on everything. And they were all there; but so was the Challenger, Chernobyl and the fall of the Berlin Wall. I expected a little gratuitous nostalgia or the 80s used as an "exotic" backdrop (Hah! Now I know why my mom would get twitchy when we talked about how long ago the 60s were!) Marr was able to display the 80s in all their fab-glam glory while still showing that everyday people were living out their lives -- just as they are today.

I went in expecting a love story. And, boy does it deliver! Only, it's not of the teen romance variety (yep, there's a bit of bad romance there). Instead, it is about familial love. Amy and her mother have hands down one of the best mother/daughter relationships I have ever read. Marr helps you feel everything between them: the push and pull, the frustration, the suffocating clingyness, and the all-encompassing, ever-abiding love.

It was interesting as an American to explore the evolution of slang and trends not only between the 1980s and now, but also America and Australia. I think most Americans would, unlike Amy, still recognize and use the word "spaz" (my little brother calls me this on a regular basis), but I had no clue what was going on with this Mr. Matey thing until I YouTubed it. (We had Mr. Bubble; just as creepy but at least no talking of taking off clothes!) I also completely love the way Marr incorporated Chinese culture. I was fascinated by all the different superstitions, traditions and rituals. It made my day when I found out that ALL of them are true, told straight to Marr from her mother.

I also think it is incredible that in amongst all the 80s camp and ghostly shenanigans, Marr was able to write a wonderfully compelling and relatable story about a young girl coming of age and coming to terms with who those around her really are, and what they mean to her. It will be worth the extra work to get my own copy.

This review also appears on Chronicles of a Book Evangelist; my review copy was part of the Preloved Book Tour 2012 hosted by Flannery of The Readventurer.(less)

4 likes · like · see review

May 25, 2012 Nicole rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: aussie-ya, far-off-places, all-of-the-feelings, favorite-characters, leading-men-i-have-loved, friendship, read-in-2012, fiction, favorites, ya, romance

I feel like this review is a bit sloppy and doesn't adequately convey how much I loved Preloved. It's more like a high 4.5 stars than a full 5, though, and I'll get to why eventually. But first I'd like to share with you the Mr Matey commercial that plays such a pivotal part in this novel. I'll wait.

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Did you see it? I feel very cheated for being an Americ...more

3 likes · like · see review

May 17, 2012 Anna rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: aussie-ya, contemporary-ya, comedy, fiction, mystery, ya, paranormal

I don't usually bother with the paranormal YA reads most of the time as I'm more of a lover of the contemporary YA stuff and I have more than enough of that at the moment to keep me busy for the next, oh, several decades, I reckon. BUT, when I read a few lovely bits about this one over at Wear The Old Coat, Vegan YA Nerds and The Readventurer, my interest was well and truly caught in it's ghostly looking literary net.

A contemporary/paranormal/possibly slightly historical (?) YA. And an Aussie on...more

9 likes · like · see review

Aug 20, 2012 Heidi rated it 3 of 5 stars

Amy’s always been the sidekick to her best friend Rebecca, and she likes it that way. She doesn’t have to worry about all the guys loving her, and all the girls hating her; she can focus all of her energy into being Rebecca’s go-to gal and dealing with her superstitious Chinese mother. Amy certainly wouldn’t have planned to find a locket containing the ghost of a boy from the 80s that only she could see–especially not when that locket was meant for someone else. Now Amy has to deal with Logan, w...more

5 likes · like · see review

Dec 31, 2012 Whatchyareading added it

Shelves: caitlin, paranormal, young-adult

This one was just plain old FUN! I loved how it took place now but worked in so much of the Eighties. I loved how, on the surface, it was fun and lighthearted but had all these serious things going on beneath all the fun. I loved Amy slowly realized how WORTH IT she was. This book was simply a joy to read. If you’re looking for something fun and fluffy that still has some weight to it, and a slight paranormal edge (GHOSTS!) then I highly recommend this one.

This book was reviewed with three other...more

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May 21, 2012 Renee rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: aussie-authors, wish-list-to-buy, cover-loving

This is going to sound corny (*shudders*) but every now and then a book comes along at just the right time. Preloved is one of my 'comfort' novels. I was feeling a bit crappy when I picked this up but my mood was immediately brightened as I read. I almost devoured this in one sitting.

I had borrowed two books and got my friend to pick which one I should read first (since I'm so indecisive) and she picked Preloved. Maybe because the cover is so lovely? I really wasn't expecting to like it as much...more

1 like · like · see review

Nov 19, 2012 Becki rated it 5 of 5 stars

You and Fury will be in my arms soon prettehs...soon. You've been warned.

1 like · like · see review

May 12, 2012 Lauredhel rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: australian-women-writers-challenge, fantasy, young-adult

The Good: A great modern Chinese-Australian YA ghost story that's also a homage - almost a love letter - to the 80s! Great for all us YA readers in our forties *whistles*

The Bad: The lack of Valley Girl references. The weird five-minute counsellor appointment - this was not believable, and I'm not sure what the point of it was.

The Ugly (but no different to most other YA, and hot damn I wish this would change real soon now): Multiple (and unchallenged) references to "spazzing out".

The Bonus: La...more

1 like · like · see review

Sep 08, 2012 Mel Campbell rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: not-even-if-it-was-the-last-book-le, writen-an-actual-review

It's unusual for me to mark a book so low - mainly because i do tend to put it down before finishing if i don't like it.
I'm trying to get out of that habit and finish the books, even if it sends me to sleep (like this one literally did)

I felt like Marr was trying to hard to be cool. Not Amy, Marr. she brought up all these references, and I personally HATE it when things like that are brought up. I guess the classic 80s things are ok, because they are still around today, and in that sense i conne...more

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Jul 20, 2012 Monica rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2012, read-not-owned, fantasy, fiction, humour, paranormal, ya

2.5 STARS!

Okay, I don't usually give half stars, but today is an exception for this book. I want to be straight - this is not a supremely negative review. I did not hate the book. In fact there were some really nice things about it. But it just doesn't quite make it to 3 stars for me. The main reason?

I think it was the writing style and language used. You know, there are some YA books that really work across the age board, but I feel this one in particular was aimed directly at young teens. It...more

6 likes · like · see review

Jul 07, 2012 Sarah rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya-contemporary, ya-paranormal

if you're wanting a gripping, edge of your seat, passionate romantic thriller, this book is not that. This book is more lounging, feet propped up on the table, read casually as you're listening Come On Eileen. And honestly I find that very refreshing! I find Shirley Marr has certain knack for capturing the teen voice very well. You think that would be a given, seeing as she's a YA author, but in all the YA I've devoured in my short life it's more of a rarity than you'd think. The writing, overal...more if you're wanting a gripping, edge of your seat, passionate romantic thriller, this book is not that. This book is more lounging, feet propped up on the table, read casually as you're listening Come On Eileen. And honestly I find that very refreshing! I find Shirley Marr has certain knack for capturing the teen voice very well. You think that would be a given, seeing as she's a YA author, but in all the YA I've devoured in my short life it's more of a rarity than you'd think. The writing, overall, has a very current and relevant feel to it. (I especially like the joked Amy's mother had about slapping a lace bow on a cheap locket and selling it on Etsy for a billion dollars. Ha! I laughed at that one.) It was light and bubbly with just enough darkness thrown in to give it a bit of an edge. That being said, I personally like my books with a lot more of an edge, but that doesn't mean I didn't still find this book enjoyable. It left me with such a hopeful, lighthearted feeling, like an 80s movie played out in book form. It had all the proper 80s-esque formula for storytelling going on (the awkward main character, the unattainable boy, the gossipy girls, the pretentious geek boy who is actually a sweet prince, the totally trippendicular tunes), I'm guessing Marr did that purposefully, in any case I thought it was quite clever.

If I had to pinpoint one major thing I didn't like about this book it would probably be Logan. For most of the book, I pretty much didn't get his appeal at all. He was just there, for me. It didn't make any sense to me why Amy was so infatuated with him. Well, I mean, besides the fact that he was a cute ghost that only she could see and hear. I thought he was mostly annoying up until the last 1/4 of the book, in which he started preaching all swoonily about mixtapes and finding yourself and it was very Casper and sickeningly sweet. I loved it!

casper

The main thing I really loved about this book was the relationship between Amy and her mother. It was so funny, and sad, and awful, and sweet, and heartbreaking all at once. Like most mother-daughter relationships tend to be. I loved the way Marr was able to portray that, even though it was told through a very specific point of view, I think any young girl would be able to relate. She's got the magic touch, I swear! Like, if this book had been written by anyone else, I don't really think I would have enjoyed it as much as I did. You can tell Marr doesn't just write for something to do, or thrown in cheesy metaphors because they sound good, she's got a real talent in my humble opinion and I can't wait to read many more books from her!

All in all, I think this book will resonate more with the younger side of YA readers (13-16) but if you're like me and just an old creeper who can't get enough of good old fashioned well written contemporary YA fiction, give Preloved a try! If you're wanting something a little darker and more dramatic, you might want to try Shirley Marr's other novel, Fury, which is one of my favorite books! I want to end this with a fun little catch-phrase, like on Reading Rainbow when they'd enthusiastically shout "But you don't have to take my word for it!" except that doesn't even make sense because you are sort of having to take my word for it, so instead here's a picture of Geordi from Star Trek.

(less)

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Jul 13, 2012 Sally rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: ghosts, australian, ya, school, 1980s, time-travel, friendship, all-my-squees

I absolutely LOVED this book to pieces. I want to read it again and again! And I suck for not reviewing it sooner, but I finished it just before I moved house and all the packing and unpacking kind of took over my world :( So now I'm sadly a little vaguer than I'd like to be on all the many things that made me love it. Oh well, means I really do have to read it again!

I LOVED that it was Australian, first of all. And I loved Amy's crazy superstitious Chinese mother. I loved their house and their...more

2 likes · like · see review

Sep 04, 2012 Zoe rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012-favourites, favorites

After enjoying Shirley Marr's other novel Fury so much I thought I had to check out Preloved. I remember when buying this book one of the staff at the bookstore was telling me how much she loved this book. I do admit I did get a bit worried I was not going to like it since I had such high expectations. But I can happily say it wasn't the case.

I loved Amy she just made me smile. She is definitely not like Eliza from Fury but I loved her just as much. I may not have a very superstitious Chinese mo...more

1 like · like · see review

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About Shirley Marr

Shirley Marr is an Australian author of contemporary Young Adult fiction who specialises in “writing about and for Little Lady Macbeths”. She arrived on the scene in 2010 when her manuscript was plucked out of a slush pile and published by Black Dog Books (now an imprint of Walker Books). The resulting novel, Fury, is a dark and funny murder story narrated by a petulant sixteen-year-old mean girl...more

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“If you're hoping to party like it's 1999 because Prince told you the world was going to end in 2000, then I'm sorry to disappoint you. We're still here.” — 1 person liked it

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