Michael is dead. This is not a spoiler. Marlo Berliner, the author of The Ghost Chronicles, tells the reader this at the beginning of her book, actually offering up a rather vividly detailed account of his accidental but violent passing to ensure the reader understands: Michael is really, truly, completely dead, which is a deft move on her part as Michael’s further life – after death – is the subject of a most beguiling, intriguing, mystery-filled adventure. Michael must learn quickly how to navigate this new reality of death, finding both helpful and conniving other ghosts to guide and to mislead him as he seeks to understand why he was not “taken by the light.” As he searches for a purpose that may or may not come from a Creator, he falls in love. Of course with another ghost. And he must continue to fight off his demons, both real and those imagined. Will he find all that he is looking for? Will he, so to speak, survive?

With a literary nod to the movie Ghost, something Ms. Berliner acknowledges in her accompanying blurb for The Ghost Chronicles, and a certain resonance with the Odd Thomas series by the master of the genre, Dean Koontz, the story does remind us frequently that it is intended for Young Adults. And yet, the excellent plotting, precise editing, and well-projected development of storyline all guarantee that the writing is also perfectly suitable for an Old Adult. The familiarity of the worlds depicted both in Ghost and Odd Thomas do not make the reader feel cheated by the similarity found in The Ghost Chronicles. Not at all. Quite the contrary; the reader feels comfortable with the easily recognizable physics involved in ghosthood and needs no overly detailed explanation for the demonic shades that plague Michael and his eternal love.

The Ghost Chronicles, Volume 1 is a young adult paranormal fantasy written by Marlo Berliner. Michael had his whole life ahead of him. He had a basketball scholarship waiting for him in the fall and a fun-filled senior summer stretched out in front of him. Better yet, Melissa, his girlfriend of two years, seemed definitely interested in taking their relationship to the next step. After he completed his chores on Saturday, he started to get ready to pick her up from her job and then got into the Mustang that he, his brother and their father had lovingly restored. Everything changed in a moment. As he turned into a bend, a tractor-trailer manned by an overtired, snoozing driver bore down on his vehicle, pinning him in the ensuing wreckage. But Michael felt no pain, and he knew he should have. The out-of-body experience was something else he knew meant trouble, and he willed himself back down into his body. It didn't seem to matter, however, as it became all too obvious that he had died.

Marlo Berliner's young adult paranormal fantasy, The Ghost Chronicles, Volume 1 is an imaginative and original story about a young man's entry into a strange, otherworldly existence. He's got no idea why he didn't go up to heaven or down to the other place, and his initial experiences as a ghost are filled with feelings of alienation and despair. Still, the reader can't help but be intrigued as Michael figures out how to visit the places he loved when he was living, and then gets excited as he meets Tom, another wandering spirit who seems to have been around a bit longer and acts as his unofficial mentor. Berliner injects a sweet romance into her fantasy when Michael meets Sarah, a young Irish woman who died in a fall and still haunts the B&B where she met her end. The Ghost Chronicles is filled with conjecture and philosophical concepts that keep the reader thinking and progressing along with Michael. This is an original and thought-provoking story that will keep readers wondering and looking forward to the next book in the series. It's highly recommended.