Review: Beyond: A Ghost Story

Author: Graham McNamee
Published: January 3rd 2013
Publisher: Hodder Children's
Paperback, 257 pages
Source: Publisher for review
Buy: The Book Depository



Beyond is the second young adult book by a Canadian male author I’ve read in the last year (first was The Repossession by Sam Hawksmoor), they were both published by Hodder, and they’re both original and refreshing. I’m even more picky and difficult with horror than I am with steampunk, which is why I’m especially happy to report that the horror parts of this story met my extremely high standards. But I’m getting ahead of myself here…

Jane is afraid of her own shadow… literally. Every time she faces any kind of danger, her mind goes numb and her shadow takes control, moving Jane’s body towards peril instead of away from it. If there’s one thing Jane can be sure of, it’s that she’s not making it up; her best friend Lexi witnessed her shadow trying to force her to throw herself in front of a train. But since it’s not a story she can actually share without ensuring a bed in the psychiatric ward, everyone including her parents thinks she’s suicidal. It’s up to Lexi and Jane to find a pattern and discover the mystery and horror behind Jane’s shadow.

Although Beyond wasn’t without its problems, the idea behind it was thrilling and so very original. It was unlike anything I’ve read before, and the mystery kept me on my toes until the very end. It wasn’t easy to even try to guess the outcome of this, or the solution to the mystery, and the premise behind it was simply exhilarating. There’s nothing creepier than being threatened by your own shadow… it’s the only thing you can never hide from, and seeing it take over, start moving on its own and even control your movements is a waking nightmare. *shudders* Poor Jane.

The writing style was also fairly unusual. McNamee prefers short sentences that create a steady staccato rhythm; in that, he reminded me of Lisa McMann, whose Wake trilogy I happen to like very much. Generally, I adore this sort of thing – any peculiarity in someone’s style is enough to keep me interested and fascinated even when the plot becomes tiresome. McNamee wasn’t consistent enough to be truly impressive like McMann, but his writing still made the book more memorable for me.

However, I don’t understand why Jane couldn’t have been a teenage boy instead. The story would have worked just as well, if not better, from a male point of view, and quite frankly, McNamee knows about teenage girls about as much as I know about quantum mechanics. Jane and Lexi both thought and acted more like adolescent boys than sixteen-year-old girls, and this was especially apparent in their romantic endeavors. That is not how girls think about boys, Mr. McNamee, not even close, and that is not how girls talk to each other. Suffice it to say that changing this to a male protagonist wouldn’t take much work at all – a simple name change (from Jane to John, since we’re being original and all) would be enough. No other modifications necessary, the voice is already distinctly male. This, too, is the second time that I’ve encountered this problem lately, the first being Vesper by Jeff Sampson.

Nevertheless, few books truly scare me anymore, and Beyond made me want to sleep with my lights on for the first time in many months. McNamee is an excellent horror author with a unique style, but he should definitely stick with male protagonists from now on, in which case I’ll probably read whatever he writes next.