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The Ghosts We Keep

The Ghosts We Keep

  • Downloads：3281
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2022-07-27 07:51:40
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Mason Deaver
  • ISBN：1338819607
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary

Everything happens for a reason。

At least that's what everyone keeps telling Liam Cooper after his older brother Ethan is killed suddenly in a hit-and-run。

Feeling more alone and isolated than ever， Liam has to not only learn to face the world without one of the people he loved the most， but also face the fading relationships of his two best friends in the process。

Soon， Liam finds themself spending time with Ethan's best friend， Marcus， who might just be the only person that seems to know exactly what they're going through-for better and for worse。

The Ghosts We Keep is an achingly honest portrayal of grief。 But it is also about why we live。 Why we have to keep moving on， and why we should。

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Reviews

Anna Christine ，

I’m a real big fan of Mason Deaver’s books！！They have such a talent at making you really feel for the main characters。 I just really enjoy spending time with them and just learning about their lives and their struggles。While yes， these books are hard hitting contemporaries。 They’re excellent and NECESSARY for every audience。 I’m so glad they’re writing these stories for the young adult age because they’re so good。There is so much dealt with grief and trying to handle it and experience it and I t I’m a real big fan of Mason Deaver’s books！！They have such a talent at making you really feel for the main characters。 I just really enjoy spending time with them and just learning about their lives and their struggles。While yes， these books are hard hitting contemporaries。 They’re excellent and NECESSARY for every audience。 I’m so glad they’re writing these stories for the young adult age because they’re so good。There is so much dealt with grief and trying to handle it and experience it and I think the story was done so well at showing Liam deal with it。It was beautifully done。 Also really good on audiobook too！ Totally recommend it！ 。。。more

k！ ，

BAD。

Hayley Newman ，

3。5/5end felt a bit rushed。 overall very heartbreaking but also beautiful

Holly ，

Great YA book about a high schooler grieving for their brother and dealing with regular HS things

Ben Shaw ，

Liam is a relatively average high school student， at least insofar as their struggles are relatable。 They have an older brother who they both hate and love， to whom they have the burden of being implicitly compared to， they have some close friends who are slipping away as school continues， they have struggles with parents and grandparents accepting them for who they are and who they want to be。 Nothing too preternatural。 But then Liam's brother， Ethan， is killed in a hit-and-run accident， and hi Liam is a relatively average high school student， at least insofar as their struggles are relatable。 They have an older brother who they both hate and love， to whom they have the burden of being implicitly compared to， they have some close friends who are slipping away as school continues， they have struggles with parents and grandparents accepting them for who they are and who they want to be。 Nothing too preternatural。 But then Liam's brother， Ethan， is killed in a hit-and-run accident， and his world is turned upside down。 The rest of the book is about grief。 How Liam deals with it， how their parents deal with it， how it affects their relationships with their family and friends， how it affects them at school， and how it strips raw both the bereaved and the lost。 I feel cold-hearted saying this， but I found the book underwhelming。 The characters were not all that likeable （understandable - grief makes corpses of more than just the dead）， the plot didn't really go anywhere interesting， and the one major twist was so bluntly alluded to that it wasn't a surprise at all。 There's a difference between practically telling the reader the twist， and making them suspect and second guess and revoke the twist。 This book was more on the side of the former。 Deaver actually acknowledges the ostensible mediocrity of the book in their author's note: "I know it won't be for everyone。。。there's no love story， the main character is a pain in the ass， the friendships are frustrating and so much of it is bleak。。。But that no longer concerns me。。。this book only matters to one person。 Myself"。 Which makes sense。 Deaver pulled on their own experiences of unexpectedly losing their father， so the book， I think， an outlet for that emotion and grief， a way of exploring and explaining it in a quasi-fictional way。 The parts about dealing with grief， and how it affects one's life did seem quite heartfelt and accurate。 But they just weren't all that gripping to read， and the lack of interesting and exciting plot cemented this ordinariness。 Things that I did like though include the representation （main character was with trans （both non-binary and female to male）， bi and gay rep） and the character Marcus （Ethan's best friend）， who was such a cool person and a good vibe。 But that's about it regarding what stood out。 Overall， the ghosts we keep is a relatively trite， unengaging reflection on loss。 Whilst some features of the novel stood out， it was mostly relatively average and uninteresting as far as books in the YA genre go。 。。。more

HeartBrekkers ，

alright soo。 I sadly didn't like this as much as I hoped for ☹️。 it was sad， but wasn't enough to make me cry or sob 🤷‍♀️。 the dialogue also felt veryyy flat， and I also didn't connect much with the characters。 It was a little boring， if I'm to be honest。 Liam was an interesting character and was a very messy and unlikeable character which I thought was pretty realistic。 Marcus was alsoo fascinating to read about， and— （Spoiler alert: I pretty much already guessed that there were already somethi alright soo。 I sadly didn't like this as much as I hoped for ☹️。 it was sad， but wasn't enough to make me cry or sob 🤷‍♀️。 the dialogue also felt veryyy flat， and I also didn't connect much with the characters。 It was a little boring， if I'm to be honest。 Liam was an interesting character and was a very messy and unlikeable character which I thought was pretty realistic。 Marcus was alsoo fascinating to read about， and— （Spoiler alert: I pretty much already guessed that there were already something going on with Marcus and Ethan but it still made me teary-eyed。 （End of Spoiler）。 Ethan also seemed like such a nice brother and the grief between Liam and his parents were extremely real。 and I fucking hated Vanessa and Joel， but that's that 🥰。 anyways， this probably wasn't just for mee because I ended up giving this a ⭐⭐⭐。 it was decent， I didn't hate nor love it。 so unfortunately， I was a little bit disappointed considering how I loved I Wish You All The Best。 I still recommend checking it out though ^^。 。。。more

acids ，

You can feel the grief in these pages and even knowing nothing about the characters in the first few chapters I was tearing up because it felt so real。

Jaqi ，

The writing in this， to me， was overly simple and not good， to the point where I noticed every other page。 The same statement would be made two sentences in a row or using the same words just phrased slightly differently。I don’t have much experience with grief， but this was not interesting to read。 It seemed probably realistic， but the lack of communication in boring ways that caused all the conflict that was often barely or not at all resolved did not make for a good story！ The main character r The writing in this， to me， was overly simple and not good， to the point where I noticed every other page。 The same statement would be made two sentences in a row or using the same words just phrased slightly differently。I don’t have much experience with grief， but this was not interesting to read。 It seemed probably realistic， but the lack of communication in boring ways that caused all the conflict that was often barely or not at all resolved did not make for a good story！ The main character really annoyed me in repetitive trains of thought that didn’t really grow and most of the other characters weren’t great or interesting either。 。。。more

C。J。 ，

I’m a wreck

sophia ，

10/5 stars！！ so heartbreaking but such a page turner。 i think this is the fastest ive ever finished a 300 page book。 im so glad this didn’t go the way i thought it was going to at the beginning 🫶🫶🫶

Emily ，

I'm shocked this book has a 4。08 average rating。 Nothing happened。Nothing。Liam had no personality and he NARRATED the book。 And wasn't likeable。Every exchange w his parents was enormously cliche。He "gets closer" to Markus？ Markus is rude to him， they hang out like twice and never become a thing。I thought this was going to be a love story between them， but the only story line is。。。 "My brother died and my friends don't like me anymore。"Where was the rising action？ The conflict？ The resolution？ I I'm shocked this book has a 4。08 average rating。 Nothing happened。Nothing。Liam had no personality and he NARRATED the book。 And wasn't likeable。Every exchange w his parents was enormously cliche。He "gets closer" to Markus？ Markus is rude to him， they hang out like twice and never become a thing。I thought this was going to be a love story between them， but the only story line is。。。 "My brother died and my friends don't like me anymore。"Where was the rising action？ The conflict？ The resolution？ I love the nonbinary and trans rep but。。。 this story had nothing else going for it。Very linear。 。。。more

taylor ，

[4。0]

Isabel ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 this hit close home， i have never related to a mc as much as i related to liam， i have trouble speaking about my emotions and this book just put everything into words， i felt so understood it really is one of the bests books

B ，

4。75 Stars

Katie ，

The Ghosts We Keep is a moving exploration of grief’s aftermath。 The story weaves between the present and the past， and even occasionally the future， as Liam processes the death of his older brother。The story was different from what I thought it was going to be after reading the blurb。 Liam， the main character， clearly isn’t meant to be liked。 In fact， the author describes the main character as “a pain in the ass” in the Author’s Note。 However， it feels real， authentic， and raw， and I could tell The Ghosts We Keep is a moving exploration of grief’s aftermath。 The story weaves between the present and the past， and even occasionally the future， as Liam processes the death of his older brother。The story was different from what I thought it was going to be after reading the blurb。 Liam， the main character， clearly isn’t meant to be liked。 In fact， the author describes the main character as “a pain in the ass” in the Author’s Note。 However， it feels real， authentic， and raw， and I could tell that it was influenced by the author’s personal experiences。I recommend The Ghosts We Keep to readers looking for fiction centered on LGBTQ experiences。Rating assigned 7/25/2022。 。。。more

Carly Fanella ，

This book takes you through the ugly， messy， dark， lonely， and raw parts of grief。 For someone who has lost somebody so suddenly and tragically， it hits in a way that is so accurate and painful， yet so comforting to know other people have felt that too。 It perfectly described how my grief felt and feels and made me understand myself better。

Jose Angel CM ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 "I couldn't bring Ethan back。 And short of that， there wasn't anything I could do to help Marcus。He moved to New York the week after he graduated， and I tried so many times to go and see him。 I thought about sending him emails， calling him， going to one of his book signings， but aside from buying his collections of poetry and his novels were the stories bore a striking resembles to a real life love lost， I never saw Marcus again。"Without a doubt， one of the best books I've read this year （2022）。 "I couldn't bring Ethan back。 And short of that， there wasn't anything I could do to help Marcus。He moved to New York the week after he graduated， and I tried so many times to go and see him。 I thought about sending him emails， calling him， going to one of his book signings， but aside from buying his collections of poetry and his novels were the stories bore a striking resembles to a real life love lost， I never saw Marcus again。"Without a doubt， one of the best books I've read this year （2022）。 。。。more

Anderson Elizabeth ，

I love Mason‘s writing so much。 IWYATB changed my life in ways like I don’t even know how to fully explain and I have been putting off reading The Ghosts We Keep for a little bit because I knew it would kind of wreck me。 And I was right。 It did。 Grief is such a weird， long， and messy thing。 On top of that， going through grief while in high school and other transformative periods in your life makes it so much more weird to deal with。 Mason had Liam deal with it in a way that makes so much sense t I love Mason‘s writing so much。 IWYATB changed my life in ways like I don’t even know how to fully explain and I have been putting off reading The Ghosts We Keep for a little bit because I knew it would kind of wreck me。 And I was right。 It did。 Grief is such a weird， long， and messy thing。 On top of that， going through grief while in high school and other transformative periods in your life makes it so much more weird to deal with。 Mason had Liam deal with it in a way that makes so much sense to me。 I love Liam so much。 I want to give them and their parents and Marcus such big hugs。 Everything that Liam did in response to their brother’s death was something that I totally got their logic for。 I understand not wanting to let go and feeling like everyone is moving on from those terrible events so quickly while you’re just stuck sitting there spiraling and trying to figure out how to function as a person again。 Especially when the loss is something that you didn’t have time to prepare for。Also， the situation with Liam‘s friends boiled my blood to no end。 I’m someone that is fortunate enough to have a great support system of friends that have shown up for me so well when I’ve gone through hard times and grief so to see Liam‘s friends drop the ball so hard was so frustrating to me。 And I understand that being in a friend group where there are people in relationships does make things harder but at the end of the day friendships are things that I feel should be prioritized as much as relationships。 。。。more

Mio ，

4。5⭐️

Katie Kelly ，

4。5/5 Stars （Audiobook）

bayleefie ，

this book was so good。 it was a bit hard for me to get thru （not because of the book itself， the fact i was in a reading slump） but it was a great book， it was bittersweet & it was sad。 it showed me grieving in a way i could understand。

Katie ，

As someone who's never gone through this kind of grief， I found this book kind of hard to relate to。 As someone who's never gone through this kind of grief， I found this book kind of hard to relate to。 。。。more

Juni Uchiha ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I was gonna give this book a three star， because it was was real nice。 But near the mid point of the book the tone changed， and I really started to feel it。 Liam was dealt a really shit hand， and that ending was raw。 I like how It was written， jumping back and forth from before Ethans death， to after。 And near the end when you realized it was from the perspective of an older Liam who would give insight into what became of certain relationships years later。 It ended up really making me feel to th I was gonna give this book a three star， because it was was real nice。 But near the mid point of the book the tone changed， and I really started to feel it。 Liam was dealt a really shit hand， and that ending was raw。 I like how It was written， jumping back and forth from before Ethans death， to after。 And near the end when you realized it was from the perspective of an older Liam who would give insight into what became of certain relationships years later。 It ended up really making me feel to the point that I had to give it 4 stars。 I would love to read a book form Ethan and Marcuses perspective。 。。。more

Mary Kasputis ，

Heart-wrenching story about a kid who loses their brother to a hit-and-run driver and everything that happens as a result。 It’s a tough story about coming to terms with such a monumental loss and coping with PTSD， depression， and anxiety。 It was a really frank and open and honest conversation about grief and death and how that changes your brain and your relationships with yourself/others。 Superimposed on that narrative is a discovery of the older brother’s （secret） queer relationship with his c Heart-wrenching story about a kid who loses their brother to a hit-and-run driver and everything that happens as a result。 It’s a tough story about coming to terms with such a monumental loss and coping with PTSD， depression， and anxiety。 It was a really frank and open and honest conversation about grief and death and how that changes your brain and your relationships with yourself/others。 Superimposed on that narrative is a discovery of the older brother’s （secret） queer relationship with his childhood best friend。 Watching the main character uncover this truth about their brother is what kept this book from being five stars for me - it was very predictable and I wish more attention had been given to the younger child realizing this truth about their older brother and how it affected him。 Nonetheless， it was refreshing to have a queer main character who’s queerness was not the center of the book nor their characterization。 Overall a well-written exploration of the messiness and anguish of grief and loss of someone close to you。 。。。more

Artjola ，

Oh man this one scratched a wound。

liv wiley ，

y’all ever had a book completely rip your heart out and stomp on it…bc yeah

Angie Knapp ，

Prépare your heart before delving into this novel。 Liam loses his big brother Ethan in an accident and this is his journey。

Nat ，

Fuck everyone， fuck this book， I’m in to much emotional pain to do anything right now。 Pls leave me in my sorrows。 Just uuggggghhhh 😭

Kenzo ，

what the fuck that was so sad omg

Kit ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I think this book is a beautiful， raw， honest， and accurate look at grief and the guilt many people feel after someone dies。However， my issues lie with the story itself and the storytelling。 I hated how Marcus’ story ended （not him being in love with Ethan or then together）。 It was so abrupt that Liam and Marcus talked and then that was it， never to be seen again after NYU。 After all of that？ As for the story itself - it was hard to connect to a lot of the relationships or see why or how they we I think this book is a beautiful， raw， honest， and accurate look at grief and the guilt many people feel after someone dies。However， my issues lie with the story itself and the storytelling。 I hated how Marcus’ story ended （not him being in love with Ethan or then together）。 It was so abrupt that Liam and Marcus talked and then that was it， never to be seen again after NYU。 After all of that？ As for the story itself - it was hard to connect to a lot of the relationships or see why or how they were breaking down。And I know it was meant to be shocking and so surprising about Ethan and Marcus， but it wasn’t。 Lastly， on a positive note - this book deserves more love for the amount of representation in it。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Ghosts We Keep

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Ghosts We Keep&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Ghosts We Keep&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0