Spirit

By J.P. Hightman

Book Overview

Something Wicked This Way Comes . . . Seventeen-year-old ghost hunters Tess and Tobias spend their days and nights searching for the paranormal in the cold, dark heart of the Victorian era--an age of... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060850639
• ISBN13: 9780060850630
• Release Date: July 2008
• Publisher: HarperTeen
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 0.8" x 6.0"
• Age Range: 13 to 17 years
• Grade Range: Grades 8 to 12

Customer Reviews

Enchanting Review: Spirit

SPIRIT J.P. HIGHTMAN Paranormal Young Adult Rating: 4.5 Enchantments There's only one way to describe SPIRIT: a spellbinding page-turner. From the moment I picked this book up, I couldn't put it down. J.P. Hightman crafts a riveting story that grabs hold of the reader immediately and doesn't let go until the startling, goosebump giving conclusion. Tess and Tobias Goodravens, seventeen years old and newly married, are already seasoned ghost hunters. Now on the hunt for `The Ones Who Got Away', witches who somehow managed to escape the Salem Witch Trials, Tess and Tobias find themselves heading to Blackthorne, a tiny, haunted town in Massachusetts. Tess is already feeling anxious about the upcoming experience, while Tobias too is a little uneasy, but he does his best to hide his true feelings from his wife. Along the way, the couple are forced to take a train ride that will have extreme life changing consequences. Wow, what an unexpected paranormal read. Aside from its unique setting and time period, Tess and Tobias are two of the more unusual characters I've ever run across, which I think made them all the more endearing. I loved the whole thing, the twists and turns, the unusual characters that populated the story. An amazing tale, SPIRIT will leave the reader with goosebumps as they near the startling conclusion that will leave them speechless. I can't wait to read more from this talented author. J. P. Hightman is a professional screenwriter and the author of the saint of dragons and samurai. He divides his time between Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area. Lisa Enchanting Reviews October 2008

Chilling

"Those who seek the truth in the blood of the Salem dead will find nothing but torment in their head..." J.P. Hightman's book Spirit is a Gothic novel aimed at the young adult crowd. When its protagonists-- a young independently wealthy married couple-- go looking for the fate of the mysterious "First Accused" of the Salem witch trials, they find themselves trapped in a web of malevolent magic and unable to stop the train of deaths around them. As the body count rises and the evil intensifies, Tess and Tobias try frantically to discern what the spirits want from them. Will their isolation from one another prove their undoing, or will the phantoms of a long dead Puritan couple help them to survive? Spirit's prose is sometimes breathtaking but often overwrought. The plot has so many tangles, twists and characters that it can be confusing, and puzzling scenes are left unexplained. The hypersensitivity of the main characters is a bit heavy-handed and at times annoying, but the haunting atmosphere of the novel easily overcomes its flaws. Spirit is a ghost story perfect for chilly October nights and will appeal strongly to fans of Twilight.

Courtesy of Teens Read Too

Blackthorne has always been haunted. A tiny town in Massachusetts, it has been abandoned since the Salem witch trials, when a group of unfortunates fled there only to be hanged as witches. Now, in the heart of the Victorian era, one train is bound for Blackthorne, where a winter carnival awaits in an attempt to breathe life into the old town. The cars are full of the promise of fireworks, sleigh rides, and skating, but Tess and Tobias Goodraven, two seasoned ghost hunters, expect something much darker. Though they came in search of ghosts, even the Goodravens didn't expect a witch like Old Mother Malgore - a ghost full of malevolence, who stalks the forests, snuffing out any spark of life. When the train derails and casualties soar, the Goodravens must move between past and present tragedies to have any chance of killing the witch, quieting the souls of the living, and setting to rest the ghosts. SPIRIT uses the historical Salem witch trials as a jumping point, and leaps off into an eerie ghost story. The prose is lyrical and haunting, and the narration, led by Tess and Tobias, oscillates between richly romantic, unexpectedly terrifying, and acerbically humorous, all with a touch of darkness. As the story progresses, readers' expectations will be completely derailed as new revelations move the plot in altogether uncharted directions. With an ending so unexpectedly chilling that I was actually frightened, SPIRIT is a masterfully done book that will haunt the reader long after its cover has been closed. Reviewed by: Rebecca Wells

Good read!

I really liked this book....I, of course, read the inside cover/flap at the bookstore and thought it sounded pretty interesting. I took it home and couldn't put it down. I liked the flow of the author's words and the over all feel of the story. I'll be looking for more work from J.P. Hightman in the future.....great writer.