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Type of bind: Library Type of bind
EAN num: 9781590211304
ISBN number: 1590211308
Label: Lethe Press
Manufacturer: Lethe Press
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 204
Printing Date: March 15, 2008
Publishing house: Lethe Press
Age index: Ages 9-12
Sale Popularity Level: 820136
Studio: Lethe Press
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Product Description:
In a small New Jersey town a lonely boy walking along a highway one autumn evening meets the boy of his dreams, a boy who happens to have 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 for best speculative fiction young adult novel.
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Rated by buyers 
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What could possibly be worse than being "one of the odd ones," an outcast in the small town where you grew up? How about being a gay outcast? How about being a gay outcast that attracts ghosts? Such is the premise of Steve Berman's charming Vintage: A Ghost Story, a Young Adult novel with enough in to also satisfy the not-so-young adults out there.
Told in the very first person, Vintage focuses on an unnamed (and, therefore, universal) seventeen-year-old boy and his friends, a family made up of outsiders. Our hero--having recently run away from home and dropped out of high school when his parents discovered he was gay--lives with his likeable, albeit a bit dense (or is she?) Aunt Jan, and passes the time with his best friend Trace, a similarly disaffected young woman. He is young, full of hormones and longing for someone to love. The problem is, our hero doesn't believe any boy would really be interested in him. So, he mostly hangs out with Trace, and the duo pass the boredom of their lives by dressing in dark clothes, drinking exotic beverages and attending random funerals that feed their interest in the occult.
Now, Berman may have wrapped his characters in the trappings of the goth scene, but he expertly avoids the character clichés: the faux bravado, the pretentiousness, the acid-dropping recklessness. Berman keeps the characters firmly rooted in reality, imbuing them with the very tangible concerns of youth without ever falling into melodrama. The protagonist and Trace have simply adopted some of the aspects of goth as a sort of armor, making themselves stand out before others have a chance to point at them and laugh for their differences. Filtering in and out of their lives are a teen lesbian couple, Maggie and Liz, and Trace's brother, Second Mike--so called as his mother named him after her very first son who'd run away and was presumed dead. Second Mike is a typical younger brother, fifteen, hovering about the older kids in his sister's life, sometimes annoyingly so.
One night while walking home from Trace's, our protagonist heads down Route 47 and stumbles upon the ghost of a high school football star who was killed on that road some 50 years before. Though our hero had heard the story before, it never involved the ghost speaking to anyone, and when he convinces Trace to come out to the highway on another night, he learns that the ghost only speaks to him. Smitten, he obsesses on the ghost and finds himself inexplicably "falling" for him. In short, our hero has found someone who in the real world would never give him the time of day, someone who makes him feel special. But as he has more and more encounters with his ghostly boyfriend and learns that the jock isn't the only ghost he attracts, things begin to feel a little more dangerous. What is it really that this ghost wants? Is he as gentle and loving as he seems? Or are there darker needs feeding this phantom's desire, some need that could prove fatal to all involved.
In Vintage, Berman has created a kindler, gentler ghost story-one that harkens back to days when tales of these types were devoid of massive gore and cynicism. Wisely, Berman never pushes things too far and mines humour where he can to keep things on track. When the boy finds himself falling in love with a ghost, the author is wise enough to have his characters understand the absurdity of that notion. And when our hero begins to see more and more ghosts, he sees the humour in it wondering when he became the kid from The Sixth Sense. Berman knows how far he can take the characters and wisely keeps them very real, appealing because they aren't stereotypes.
Berman also finds nice ways to pack a lot into very few words. Just by the fact that Second Mike was named after his dead brother, we're given a history without ever having to delve into its constituent parts. We can imagine what it must have been like for him to grow up in the shadow of a brother who had died before he was even born. And we learn a lot about our protagonist's outlook on life from two simple sentences: "I always thought my life would end up as an Araki film. Nothing by Burton." Trace is also nicely full character, a girl on the outside who is blooming into a womanhood of her own. She's a woman who is best friends with our gay hero, but hardly a "hag" as she's not so wrapped up in him that she puts her own life on the sideline.
With Trace, Second Mike and our protagonist, we have a nice trio of likeable characters and the piece works best when it stays focused on them and the plot. When we start wandering too far away from those three or the central story, the characters get a little thinner and the pace a little slower. Maggie and Liz tend to be drawn with a coarser brush than our core characters (I often go them confused, they seemed somewhat interchangeable), and the subplot with their characters is not as strong as it probably ... Read More
Rated by buyers -
This was a book I took on the recommendation of Holly Black. (Author of Tithe, the Spiderwick Chronicles and such) I read through the book in one day because I just couldn't put it down. Unlike so much of the gay and lesbian fiction out there in the world, this story wasn't preaching to people about how hard it is to be gay. This story's soap box was all about how difficult it is to fall in love for the very first time... especially when that very first time happens to be a ghost.
The feelings in this book are universal. As a straight woman, I was was right there with our protagonist trying to figure out what my feelings were. The story is short but stunning, gripping but sweet. An absolutely wonderful read!
Rated by buyers -
When you and your best friend Trace are fascinated with anything and everything gothic, you wouldn't think that ghosts would cause you any worry. Wrong. The narrator (who is never given a name) finds himself seeing the ghost from the legend of Rt. 47. At first, he's highly attracted to him, but soon realizes the dangers of carrying on a relationship with not only the dead but the jealous. With Trace's help, the two try to find the best possible way to help Josh move on. A new love interest occurs between the main character and Trace's brother, Second Mike, along with trying to unravel the mystery surrounding their older brother, the very first Mike.
Vintage is a quick, thrilling read. It was a perfect mix of romance, friendship, mystery, and suspense. The various emotions are clearly shown, pulling you into the lives of this group of clear misfits. Even with the company of ghosts, this is still a great coming-of-age and growing into yourself novel. I loved it and highly recommend to anyone interested in a companion, yet supernatural story. All I wanted to know at the end was, where's the sequel?
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Rated by buyers -
The story is told in very first person by the main character, a teenager, and so we never know his name. I actually realized that I didn't know that name well past the mid of the book, and this is a clue that I was so enthralled by the story to not take care to "small" details like that.
Our hero is a runaway teenager; when he came out with his parents, he was kicked out from home but lucky him he found shelter with his aunt. Probably still suffering from the reject of his family, he retired into his shell, and he only relates with his best friend, a girl named Trace. Both Trace and him have their problems to overcome and in their difference they find a common path: goth teens who go to funerals to spend time, dressing like the adults they still aren't.
Actually our hero was quite lucky and he now has a comfortable and welcoming home with his aunt, and so his problems are the same of a normal teen: the insecurity of a guy who wonders if he is good enough to attract a boyfriend, the daydreams of a young man who is approaching to sex for the very first time. Probably since he has this strange familiarity with death, our hero is not so shocked when he meets a ghost: Josh is an 18 years old guy dead in a car accident in 1957. He is not only a teen like our hero, he is also a very handsome guy, a jock; and like every goth teen should do in high school, our hero falls in love for the jock, but this time the jock reciprocates the interest... there is only the little fact that Josh is dead and that his interest in our hero is very deeply, almost lethal.
Meantime our hero realizes that the little brother of his best friend Trace, Mike, is already fifteen years old and rather cute; Mike is clever and tender, with a joy for life that is involving. Where Josh is shadow and night, Mike is full light and sun. Where Josh arises in our hero dark desires (that are actually normal sexual urges in a teen...), Mike inspires him cuddles and playful kiss. From not having the hope to find a boyfriend, our hero now has two boys around him, but it's not a situation he can bring along forever. You could say that Josh represents the dark side of our hero, and staying with him is like choosing to not coming out from the darkness, meanwhile Mike is the light, the future that he could have if he chooses to leave behind his sense of abandonment.
Even if the story deals with quite sad things, dead people (not only Josh), the whole feeling I had of the book is of "lightness". The author is very good in taking the reader glued to the book till the last page, both for the mystery than for the romance; there is also a switch in the story that seems to lead to an angst ending, but still the author chooses for a more "normal" development. All this concurs to the lightness of the story, making it a very good read both for a young adult than for an adult too.
Also the love story between our hero and Mike is light, fresh and sweet; where our hero maybe could be ready for something more, Mike is still 15 years old, and so, for me, it's right that they don't become too involved; they are still boys, not men.
Rated by buyers -
There is everything to love in this book. Expertly capturing a haunting, velvety mood, the tone is smooth and beautiful and simply a joy to read. I found myself right at home with the thoughts and feelings of the characters, their personalites created so well it's as though a real individual is sharing their story with me. I haven't read a story with such well-done characterization in a long time. The plot is gripping and realistic- something that isn't far-fetched and silly. I especially like his attention to details, not nit-picky, but softly calling attention to things most people might miss or look over.
The author handles love as it happens in real life: how people, no matter their orientation, love like anyone else. There isn't any actual sex, although he gets up to some seriously strange play with the ghost that is both erotic and scary. The love scenes with the boyfriend he comes to have are touching and sensitive which seemed right on par with the main character's calm, gentle nature. Again, there's no hard core sex, but for those who are into some fluff will be pleased.
There is under-age drinking and drug use, alongside a jealous ghost. Stuff that I've never done, but it wasn't so in your face that I found myself uncomfortable (if anyone's worried about that stuff.)
Overall a real joy to read. I'm very happy I bought it and will enjoy reading it again. I'm looking forward to reading his other books as well.
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