SOLVED. YA Fantasy. Boy travels to the Ghost realm after having a near-death experience. There he meets a ghost girl and together they plan their escape back to the living world. Published 2000s/early 2010s? [s]

[Elli]

I read this book in middle school so I only vaguely remember it. It probably came out in the 2000s or early 2010s.

There is a specific scene where the boy and the ghost girl are trying to cross a river in a rowboat in order to return to the living world. If they look behind themselves as they cross they'll be trapped in the ghost world forever.

I believe the near-death experience for the boy is getting hit by a car. The ghost girl died from suicide.

Other things I remember: After the boy returns to the living world he can see ghosts. There is a friendship/romance between the two main characters. There is a scene where the boy and girl dance together.

[Kris]

The Night Tourist by Katherine Marsh sounds like your book.

Some Goodreads reviewers say:
- A lonely young boy accidentally enters the world of the dead beneath NYC. There he searches for his dead mother.
- A fourteen-year old boy, Jack, does not accept the passing of his mother and wants to meet her in the beyond. This beyond is introduced to him by a girl-ghost called Euri, who committed suicide.
- After Jack is hit by a car...
- ...need to offer a token of passage of some kind to cross the river...

Google search of Goodreads:
site:goodreads.com "fantasy" "young adult" "ghost" near-death suicide

Amazon's short "Look Inside" preview:
https://www.amazon.com/Night-Tourist-... There are are different cover images.

[Elli]

Kris wrote: "The Night Tourist by Katherine Marsh sounds like your book."

That's it! Thank you

[Kris]

You're welcome. Glad you found your book, Elli.