This YA thriller's concept of the main character being literally haunted by her dead boyfriend intrigued me, & while it was very readable, the execution wasn't as hard-hitting as I wanted.

Charlotte & Jerry were the inseparable golden couple, until a car accident on prom night. 6 months later Charlotte's still reeling from Jerry's death. Everyone sympathizes, but she doesn't know how to explain that actually, Jerry was abusive, & part of her is relieved. Until suddenly, he might not be gone after all. There are cold spots in her room, her things are being moved, & she finds mementos of Jerry in places they shouldn't be. Of course he wouldn't let something like death stop his obsession.

Charlotte worries she's imagining things as part of her PTSD, & her gaslighting parents don't help that theory. But then things harder to disprove start happening. Things with witnesses & dangerous consequences. Charlotte starts to wonder, does she have a ghost for a stalker? Or a ghost AND a stalker?

This felt more like an exploration of trauma recovery than a thriller, but then the resolution of that storyline wasn't as deeply explored as I expected. I identified the big twist very early on, to the point that I wondered if it was a red herring because it was so obvious. It was not. & when it was finally revealed I still had questions.

I had to set the book down when Charlotte's mom started waxing poetic about how romantic the end of "Romeo and Juliet" was. Ma'am, they literally k*lled themselves. Maybe don't romanticize that 1. ever 2. 6 months after your daughter's boyfriend died? Also, she thought it was better than "Hamlet", which is just objectively wrong.

I did like Charlotte, & also really liked Nate, her love interest. He was sweet without being cliche, & their communication felt realistic in its good & bad parts. I appreciated the ghost twist at the end & the nuances explored of grief & abusive relationships, but overall this didn't quite go deep enough into either thriller or emotional territory to be memorable for me. Thank you to Penguin Teen & the author for an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.