Review: Chilling, fun & poignant
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 01 7, 2014
I began reading Danielle DeVor's “Constructing Marcus” with strong reservations. I usually shy away from stories told in the first person (only a few can do it well), I'm hardly the target audience for YA, and I'm not a fan of ghost stories. All these reservations were blown away about halfway down the first page.  Ms. DeVor cast a spell on me that was not lifted until I came to the words “The End.”The story is told by Emma, a 16 year old who is SO completely teen in her thoughts and speech that I found myself busting out laughing quite often. She, her mom, and her dad moved from Florida to  Boston because of his medical practice. Their new house is actually very old in a very Boston way and, of course, is haunted. Not a problem for Emma because she is, after all, a ghost hunter. It's not a spoiler to say that the ghost is Marcus, who also just happens to be every maiden's dream. The fact that her mom and dad take this in stride is one of many twists and turns that keeps the story fresh and charming.But the tour de force is Emma. Ms. DeVor's portrait of her is so vivid and believable that she becomes a major charm offensive. Left to her own devices to deal with a spectral boyfriend and the evil spirits determined to destroy him, she is witty, clever, and resourceful. Yet above all she is sweet and caring, even more impressive when considering that she is dealing with two chilling encounters in her life, and one of them is not ghostly; it is painfully and poignantly real.Ms. DeVor's narrative is so smooth, fluid, and professional that I forgot I was reading. There is not a wasted or superfluous word. Her story construction is flawless. It has been a long time since I read an entire book in one sitting, but once I started “Constructing Marcus,” I couldn't put it down. I bet you won't be able to either. Highly recommended and thoroughly entertaining.