Review: LIV, FOREVER by Amy Talkington

3.77 STARS — 368 GoodReaders

It sucks to be dead.

I collapsed onto the ground. I swung my arms and felt stinging pain as they whipped right through the dead leaves. Through them. Not possible. I paused --calmed--tried to pick up a leaf. I focused intensely. I had to pick up that leaf. It would mean everything was normal. I managed to manipulate it between my fingers, but touching it caused a burning sensation on my fingertips as if it's orange-red color was actual fire. I moved it barely--almost imperceptibly. Then I dropped it and slumped over, my whole being exhausted ad weakened as if I'd just carried a heavy piece of furniture up a flight of stairs.

BACKSTORY

Liv Bloom has the opportunity of a lifetime. She's gotten a scholarship to the elite Wickham Hall school. When she arrives she finds that she doesn't fit in, but she doesn't care. They've given her a gorgeous studio with tons of supplies. And even better, before she dies she finds the boy that has all the makings to be her one great love.

YES, I said die. Poor Liv doesn't get to make much art or spend much time with her new boyfriend before she is murdered. The question is why? Why was she murdered and why does she see all these other ghosts?

The story centers around 3 characters: Liv, her love Malcolm, and a remarkable boy she meets by happenstance, Gabe.  Gabe's claim to fame, besides the fact that he is also an outlier in their world of super rich children, is that he can see ghosts. And it's the three of them that set out to discover who has been murdering girls over the centuries.

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Review: IN THE SHADOWS
Review: MISTWALKER 
Review: THE GHOST BOX
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Remarkably, LIV, FOREVER, with all of the ghosts and deaths, is a sweet story. It's also a very quick read.  A little slow in the beginning but that's more or less necessary to create the background and to invest the reader in the characters.  I enjoyed how the three worked out the mystery. Liv can talk to Gabe and Gabe to Malcolm so it made for a fun communication triangle.

For those that don't like high-stress/suspense stories, don't worry. LIV, FOREVER is not like that. It's a highly enjoyable twinkie read that would be suitable for Middle-graders and Young Adults. I enjoyed it.  

Pam~


LIV, FOREVER
by Amy Talkington

Reading Information:
Word Count:  66,148
Page Count:  278
Accelerated Reading level: 4.7 / points: 10.0
AR quiz: 164732
--sample pages and other reviews available
--audio version available
--sample e-chapters available