Girl meets boy.

Girl loses boy.

Girl gets boy back…

…sort of.

“Emotionally strong and very well written, I Heart You,

You Haunt Me is an excellent verse novel that separates itself from many books on the shelves.” -unknown

It may be short, but you know what they say, “big things come in little packages.”

A lot of times books, that are in verse are hard to follow, and not understandable, but this book keeps the reader flipping the pages and once you start reading this intense novel, you won’t be able to put it down. Lisa Schroeder starts this novel off with Ava, the protagonist, at a funeral, mourning the loss of her boyfriend, Jackson. She then goes back to the day Ava and Jackson met and carries on from there.

Fifteen-year-old Ava and Jackson have been going out for a while and everything was perfect. They were planning on being together forever and figured at their young age that nothing tragic would happen.

“I dare you.” were the words that slipped out of Ava’s mouth, cheering to her boyfriend along with her other friends at the party. It was a game that they had played often. Daring each other to do silly little things that made them laugh. The dare was to jump from a high cliff into a pond and Ava realized it was a bad idea as he cascaded toward the shallow water.

Ava believes that she is the reason for her boyfriend’s short life. She takes all of the blame and the guilt overwhelms her with sorrow. For a while Ava is not able to do anything: get out of bed, brush her teeth, shower. She doesn’t want to go on with her ordinary life thinking she was the reason for Jackson’s death, but she soon discovers he has not left for good.

“Sandalwood aftershave,” is the strange odor that Ava recognizes while roaming aimlessly in her bathroom. She then sees something in the mirror, not just herself, but another person, Jackson. For a slight second, Ava catches a glimpse of his pale face staring back at her. Ava can hear his voice softly in her confused mind. She’s surprised and in shock that her “dead” boyfriend has come back as a ghost and little does she know, he’s here to tell her something.
With the moral “to forgive,” Schroeder illustrates obstacles that Ava has to conquer throughout this heart-wrenching story.