Book Review: Love You To Death by Meg Cabot

Read: December 29 - January 2  Verdict: 4.5 Stars

I first read this series when I was between 14-16 years old I believe and I really loved it so when I found out a new novel was coming in February 2016 with a grow-up Suze, I knew I had to reread the series.

I really loved going into this with a fresh pair of eyes and the knowledge I had the whole series to my disposal on my Kindle and wouldn't have to wait for the next one to show up on the library shelf (this was before the days of reserving books online, it was a 'you see it, you take it' kind of thing cause you didn't know when you'd see it again). I had forgotten a lot of the series except for the basics - 16-year-old moves to California, she can see ghosts, hot ghost in bedroom, whole load of trouble.


Suze is a great character, She's independent, spunky and confident but also has a degree of warmth and caring. She doesn't let bullies or snobs get away with anything and likes to share her opinions. One of the best things I loved about the book was Suze's family dynamic. I forgot how great it was. Despite the fact she hardly knew her stepbrothers, I always felt they settled down with one another really well and with a lovely level of caring, from David/Doc's fawning over Suze to Jake/Sleepy's role of big brother caring for little sister. There was very little angst between them other than some normal sibling squabbles and her relationship with her stepdad Andy was also lovely. The family life was healthy and great to read.

I'm knocking off a half a star to the book basically because at times I felt uncomfortable with the attitude towards suicide. Suze's first ghost in the book, besides Jesse, killed herself after her boyfriend broke up with her and she became a malevolent spirit, intent on harm.I literally winced at how unfeeling Suze was at times and I'm not sure if the casual way she says "blow your head off" would go down as well in a book written today when society in general has a much better attitude towards mental health and suicide. There was basically nothing done to discover other reasons why Heather felt the need to shoot herself other than her relationship status and it definitely left the impression that she was just a stupid, shallow girl. There was also the use of the words "fag" and "fag hag" at one point which, again, I didn't enjoy at all. Though in fairness, Dopey did get a slap and grounded for saying it.

Overall, I loved revisiting this book and I can't wait to read the rest. I've already fallen in love with Jesse. I hate the new covers though. I much prefer the old ones.