Review: Loved It!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 04 20, 2012
I love the characters and the story. Even the subplots were interesting. As the title implies, there is art involved. Well, and there are graves. The young adult is the target audience. I'm four times that old. Even still I found that I could relate to the story. I was very pleased that the book wasn't all teen angst. In fact, it was an angst we all have about changes in our lives. The ghost has a bit of angst of her own, and that drives the story and the main character. Thankfully, the usual teen bullies and heart throb romance wasn't a part of this book. Yes, there is like/love but it is secondary to the plot.What I will remember this book for, what makes it stand out among YA books for me, is that I felt I learned something. And I felt inspired. There are places, and terms, that I felt I needed to look up. In doing so I began to want to know more. I even feel inspired to take more art classes.The book does take a look at the kinds of pressure a student goes through. If you are gifted, do you need to be pressured into only the `hard' classes? If you are talented but not educationally gifted, are you a loser? I love how the author addresses these issues, often left out of other books.The Grave Artist was a fun read. I am sorry I am finished with it. I think it stands alone, but I would love to follow the characters further.I received a complimentary copy of the book from BookRooster to review.