Date Finished: May 22, 2010
Summary: Ben's girlfriend, Marly, has been dead for four months and now Valentine's day has rolled around to remind him of all the love that he no longer has. In those four months, Ben has gone from lovable and full of hope to a bitter young teen. He has closed off the world by pushing people away. That night he is visited by Marly's ghost and three other spirits that show him how to love again.
Likes: The thing that I like most about this story is that it's isn't trying to do something new and exciting with a Christmas Carol. It's instead taking the novel and doing something different, looking at the story in a way that we haven't seen before. It's isn't trying to hard to be different and in fact, the language and the dialogue reminds me of Dickens' style, but with Levithan's lyricism that I'm in love with.The story is a remix, as Levithan states, it samples from Dicken's novels and combines with some of Levithan's own writing that doesn't try to do anything except tell Ben's story. It was a light quick read and packs a lot emotion in 155 pages.
Dislikes: Since it is a remix of Dickens' original Christmas Carol, the story is a little predictable and while the characters themselves are a new take on the classic characters, the story and plot isn't that original. It's not supposed to be an original story, but it was little too much like Dickens and not enough of Levithan's storytelling.
Overall: This was a quick and light read and I enjoyed the concept and the idea. I believe that Levithan may be one of the few authors who has the skills to remix such a beloved and well known novel.
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