Review: Life After Theft by Apprilyne Pike

Moving to a new high school sucks. Especially a rich-kid private school. With uniforms. But nothing is worse than finding out the first girl you meet is dead. And a klepto.

No one can see or hear Kimberlee except Jeff, so--in hopes of bringing an end to the snarkiest haunting in history--he agrees to help her complete her "unfinished business." But when the enmity between Kimberlee and Jeff's new crush, Sera, manages to continue posthumously, Jeff wonders if he's made the right choice.

Clash meets sass in this uproarious modern-day retelling of Baroness Orczy's The Scarlet Pimpernel.

My Review:

Life After Theft is a very quick read that I could hardly put down.  This book has paranormal elements since there is a ghost in it, but it reads like it's a contemporary novel.  The characterization and the story are both great.

POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD

Jeff is a good guy who tries to do the right thing.  When Kimberlee comes into his life, he agrees to help her return all the stuff she stole.  Of course, when he agrees to this, he doesn't realize quite how much she had stolen during her lifetime.  He has to figure out ways to return all this stuff without it looking too suspicious.  As he returns the stuff, he does some things of questionable legality because he is determined to make it so Kimberlee can move on from earth and no longer be a ghost.

Kimberlee is a person who did some awful things in life, but it is easy to feel bad for her now that she has died.  She is now stuck in a place she doesn't want to be, and no one can see her but Jeff.  She can't even take care of her unfinished business, because, as a ghost, she is unable to physically touch and return the things that she stole.  In life, Kimberlee was a very messed up person.  She stole things from many people and stores, and she was a major bully.  She tormented one girl in particular, Sera, for a petty reason that Sera had no control over.  Sera never did anything to hurt Kimberlee.     

The romance that develops between Jeff and Sera is sweet, though they still have their problems.  Sera was the girl that Kimberlee tormented, but Jeff doesn't realize the extent of what she did to Sera.  One time he mentions how maybe she shouldn't still be so mad at Kimberlee, and Sera gets mad at him.  She then tells him the whole story of what Kimberlee did to her when they were freshmen.  Luckily, she doesn't stay mad at him for too long.  I think Jeff and Sera do make a good couple.

If you like YA paranormal that feels more like contemporary, read this book.

Katie