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    Vintage: A Ghost Story
    Unavailable
    Vintage: A Ghost Story
    Unavailable
    Vintage: A Ghost Story
    Ebook216 pages3 hours

    Vintage: A Ghost Story

    By Steve Berman

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    In a small New Jersey town, a lonely teen walking along a highway one autumn evening meets the boy of his dreams, a boy who died decades ago and haunts the road. Awkward crushes, both bitter and sweet, lead him to face youthful dreams and childish fears. With a cast of offbeat friends, antiques, and Ouija boards, Vintage offers readers a memorable blend of dark humor, chills and love.

    A finalist for the Andre Norton Award! A recommended title on the GLBT Round Table of the American Library Association's Rainbow List for gay teens!

    "An unnamed, gay Goth enthusiast and his friend Trace spend their time frequenting thrift shops, attending random funerals, and playing with ouija boards. On the way home from one of their jaunts, the protagonist finds himself haunted by a jock-ish ghost dressed in 1950s regalia. At first, he is charmed, intrigued, and turned on, but when the ghost, Josh, turns out to be a jealous maniac bent on keeping him forever, the teen discovers that he needs to ditch the demon and fast before it's too late. The action kicks off with a blast in this slim, densely packed volume and keeps chugging forward until the bitter end. Berman has created a creepy, kitschy, lusty atmosphere particularly when the narrator's abilities to tap into a ghost's past are harnessed that should appeal to mature horror fans."--School Library Journal

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherLethe Press
    Release dateJul 13, 2010
    ISBN9781452428284
    Unavailable
    Vintage: A Ghost Story
    Author

    Steve Berman

    Author of over a hundred short stories, editor of numerous queer and weird anthologies, and small press publisher living in western Massachusetts.

    Read more from Steve Berman

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    Reviews for Vintage

    4/5

    65 ratings6 reviews

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    • 3/5
      The narrator is an unnamed gay, goth teenager with the power to see and speak to ghosts. He was kicked out of his parents house, dropped out of high school, and now lives with his aunt while working at a vintage clothing store. Walking along the highway one night, he sees a handsome boy in 1950s clothes and falls for him. It turns out his new crush is the spirit of a dead jock who is a local urban legend known for haunting that stretch of highway. The ghost, Josh, begins haunting and seducing him. At first, the narrator is elated, but the relationship quickly sours when Josh turns out to be less charming and more selfish and possessive. Not to mention his physical attentions may actually kill the narrator. Meanwhile, he realizes that he has feelings for his best friend's younger brother. Although I enjoyed the ghosts, the story became less suspenseful as it moved along. It doesn't really have much going for it in the "horror" department, as the narrative focuses on the narrator hanging out with his friends, including a bickering lesbian couple, rather than on the dangers of being pursued by a possessive, angry ghost. It's not a bad story, but I was losing interest by the end.
    • 3/5
      A spooky but somewhat absurd ghost story. A gay goth kid meets and is preyed upon by the handsome ghost of a jock from the 50s. The atmosphere is tense, and the rapport between this character and his best friend Trace, as well as his best friend's cutie-pie younger brother, are sizzly and fun. Many of the secondary characters, however, speak and behave in a way that struck me as strangely unnatural. And the central ghost story was a little too weird and campy for my tastes.
    • 5/5
      This being a ghost story you would expect some strange stuff. However, the strangest thing that I just realized after trying to start this review, is that I really don't think we ever found out the first name of the main character. Something you would think would be glaringly obvious while reading a book, but I never noticed until now (unless I'm just completely losing it!) Putting that aside, I have to say I really enjoyed this book. I'm not a huge horror fan so it was good that although the book was very creepy it never ran to extreme violence or absolute terror, which really would have turned me off. This story is about a goth teen with many problems; he has run away from his home, dropped out of school, has a morbid fascination with death and is gay (not that this last is necessarily a problem, only in that having others find out is what caused his other issues). However, the most disturbing problem is an ability he has yet to realize, one that could lead to a potentially deadly crush.Although the descriptions seemed rather scarce, we still got a very good view of all the characters, including our nameless lead and his various acquaintances. I especially liked Trace and Second Mike, their family dynamics being unusual and intriguing. I also very much appreciated the main character's compassion when dealing with everything from the ghosts (at least the ones that aren't completely horrifying) to his blossoming physical relationship and knowing some things need to be taken slow (I have one scene in particular in mind, but won't say more so I'm not giving spoilers).I thought this was a very good ghost story, almost as creepy as "The Monkey's Paw" which has always rather freaked me out, rounded out by an additional focus on personal relationships and what it means to be gay in an oftentimes unaccepting environment.One last little thing I wanted to mention is that I noticed and wanted to give a thumbs up to is the little fan service the author gives to his friend, Holly Black, who is also one of my favorite authors.
    • 4/5
      Very clever twist to the usual ghost story...sparse prose,well defined characters...lonely gay kid yearns for a boyfriend..but soon learns, be careful what you wish for. Recommended.
    • 4/5
      I loved this. I wish it were part of a series, because I wasn't finished hanging out with Narrator and his friends. (...I didn't even realise Narrator didn't have a name until I read other people's reviews. That's some good storytelling.)

    • 4/5
      Interesting young adult ghost story. This is narrated by a gay teenager whose name we never learn, who starts into a strange and spooky relationship with a ghost, and eventually finds a live love interest, which causes some supernatural drama. Genuinely scary at some points, and also poignant in the characterization of the main character, who was kicked out of his house by his parents for being gay and now lives with an aunt. Recommended.Edit | More