This is Not a Ghost Story by Andrea Portes [book review]

This is not a Ghost Story book summary

This is Not a Ghost Story follows Daffodil Franklin. Her plans are to have a quiet summer before she starts her first year at college. She finds the perfect job being able to do just that by house-sitting a mansion for a wealthy family. An even bigger plus side is that she’ll be able to make enough to pay for some things at college. It doesn’t take her long to realize she’s not welcomed there and she will be forced out one way or another.

What I thought of This is not a Ghost Story

Don’t get me wrong I really enjoy YA books but when I got the audiobook through my library I didn’t realize that this story was even considered YA. So that little bit was a nice surprise. I found out about This is a Ghost Story right about the time that it was going to be released and then I spaced and kind of forgot about the book. Fast forward until now and it showed up on the Libby app and made me remember about wanting to read it. I’m so so so glad that I rediscovered this book!

The Characters

This is not a Ghost Story follows Daffodil who goes to a completely different city just to house sit for someone. I swear characters like her always kind of inspire me. At this age (or even now at 31) I really doubt that I would just up and leave my family to go house sit. I’m very family-oriented so living far away kind of freaks me out a little bit. To think that there are hundreds if not thousands of people who have to just pick up and move. Even more so if you include military families. I feel like if it was easier for me to make friends then the whole situation would be different.

If it was actually easier for me to make friends this whole thing would probably be different. I love the idea of house sitting for someone because it seems like one of the easiest jobs.

I actually really like Daffodil’s character because I can really relate to her. I have always wanted a job where I don’t have to deal with people much. As an introvert that is a dream job! But it’s something that seems to be very hard to come by. I just wish I was brave enough to do something like this when I was her age.

The plot

As many of you might already know I love horror. It doesn’t matter what age group it’s for but if I enjoy it then I’m going to try and share it with everyone. This is not a Ghost Story is one of those books. Surprisingly the rating on Goodreads surprised me. The rating on there is a lot lower than I expected. To me, the story is pretty fast-paced and I love a good haunted creepy tale. This one is no different. The story grabbed my attention from the very beginning. But y’all… I loved that ending. I’m going, to be honest. The ending of this story isn’t for everyone.

I won’t give anything away but things end on a not-so-good note. It’s the type of ending not everyone likes which could be the reason why it doesn’t have the best reviews on Goodreads. But I loved it and I will probably read more books by Andrea Portes!

Do you guys enjoy books with surprising endings?

If you enjoy books like this then you might enjoy my recommendations of YA Horror here.