The Other Side of Dark by: Sarah Smith 2010 Technothrillers, Haunted Places, Ghost Stories, the Supernatural and Miscellany

I found this book especially creepy! I think one reason this book bothered my are the ghosts in the book. Since I was a child I have been very afraid of ghosts and I had to keep reminding myself that this was just fiction. Poor Katie has the "gift" of seeing ghosts. I could not imagine leaving my apartment every day and seeing my father hanging out (literally) outside my apartment. Katie was a seemingly normal girl before the death of her mother; before she lost it. Katie is not sure at first if she is really seeing ghosts or if they are hallucinations.

Katie finds someone who understands her and wants to help. Law is a intelligent young man who once had a crush on Katie. The two start a friendship that will help them both. Law encourages Katie to express what she sees through her drawings. Law is forbidden by his parents to see Katie after her drawings turn dark. One part of the book that was eerie was when Katie visited Law's house she could see his grandmother his father's office.

I have to be honest....Law's parents drove me crazy. His mother was hell bent on saving the old historical home despite it's jaded past and his father was obsessed with reparations. Law's father in particular angered me. He refused to call his son by his birth name and forced his son to give a speech based on what he thought was correct not what Law believed. I thought his dad was a hypocrite because he wanted equality for African Americans yet he refused to let his son be who he was or date who he wanted. If I had to read about reparations one more time I would have put this book down!

Katie befriends George after meeting him while walking near Pinebank. George is the handicapped grandson of Thomas Handasyd Perkins (the builder of Pinebank). It is believed that George holds the key to the treasure buried someone in the ruins of Pinebank. In the end Katie escapes death and discovers that Pinebank contains an station from the underground railroad and saves Pinebank.

All in all the book had some good aspects but some parts seemed to drag on. I felt some parts were redundant. I did feel like teens could relate to the part about Katie and Law fighting to be who they were and date who they wanted. My biggest issue with the book was that Katie wanted to see her mother more than anything yet that was the one person she could not see. I spent the whole book wishing she could just see her!