A Certain Slant of Light: Laura Whitcomb

I LOVED this book. It's haunting and beautiful. Helen has been dead for 130 years, unable to pass on to the next world because of something that happened at the time of her death. For most of the novel, we are unaware of what this event is, only that it has something to do with water. Helen has spent her earthbound years attached to different human hosts, who are unaware that she is there, yet she is subtlely able to affect their lives. But all that changes when she notices a teen-age boy staring at her one day while she haunts her current host, a high school english teacher. At first, Helen is frightened- it's been so long since anyone has seen her. But this teen has an interesting story to tell. For the soul inhabiting this teen is James, a young man who died in WW2 and was able to take over the body when it's original soul tried to commit suicide. Helen and James begin a friendship that quickly becomes first love, and the two decide to find a body for Helen to inhabit so that they can be together.

I highly recommend this book for reading. It's a terrifc first novel and well worth purchasing. The ending, if you're anything like me, will probably have you reading through tears- but in a good way.

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