Spend half your life trying to make a change: RULES FOR GHOSTING.

Rules for Ghosting by Shelly Jay Shore
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is not, perhaps, the fun, fluffy ghost story it's billed as, but that doesn't make it any less enjoyable. The fact that it's a debut is even more impressive. Ezra has the weight of the world on his shoulders, with a host of familial expectations and history of caring for his siblings, along with being transgender. When his parents unexpectedly split, Ezra finds himself back at his family's funeral home, a place he's avoided for years--ever since he realized he could see the dead.

He soon meets Jonathan, who is grieving the loss of his late husband--only to realize that one of the dead people he's been spying around just happens to be Ben, Jonathan's late husband. Even weirder, Ben can talk to Ezra, something none of the other ghosts have ever done. Jonathan and Ezra grow closer, but Ben remains a barrier between the two (for a myriad reasons).

This story is a little long-it takes on a lot-and while it manages most of it well, it feels a bit unwieldy. It takes some time to get to the ghosts, especially the talking one! Still, it provides excellent insight into Jewish funeral customs and traditions. The book wonderfully explores the idea of family, digging into the concept of being what your family wants versus what you need for yourself. How does a person shape themselves for, and because of, their family? I empathized very much with Ezra and all the guilt he felt about his family and the duties and responsibilities he had toward them.

Ezra is a charming character and he comes across as very real and likable. His story is often funny, even with the funeral home setting and all the dead people hanging around. Ezra has a wonderful cast of friends--many of them POC and/or queer--and the story does a great job of exploring queer friendships and how important found family is, especially with Ezra's bizarre family situation.

There's certainly a lot of discussion of grief and death in GHOSTING, so avoid if that's a trigger for you. But know that this is also a really poignant and lovely story--part almost coming of age and also a sweet romance. 4+ stars.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine/Dell in return for an unbiased review.

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