Saturday, December 6, 2014

Review: Slow Dance in Purgatory


Slow Dance in Purgatory
Slow Dance in Purgatory by Amy Harmon

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Slow Dance in Purgatory was a bit strange. The plot was interesting enough that I wanted to finish it, but I can't say I loved it.
Maggie lost her parents when she was ten, and spent several years being shuffled around to different foster families. She ends up living permanently with her great aunt in Texas, finally having a home again. While working her part time job helping clean the high school she attends, she learns of a fifty year old mystery that still haunts their small town. Meeting the man, who's now a ghost that is at the center of this mystery isn't as surprising as it should be. Maggie has always been able to see ghosts, though usually she isn't able to interact with them. Seeing the ghosts of people long dead, repeating an endless loop of things they had done in life, isn't nearly as exciting as falling in love with a man only she can see.


***Spoilers***
Maggie & Johnny develop a fast friendship. He hasn't had an opportunity to speak with anyone in fifty years, and she doesn't exactly have a lot of friends. Their friendship develops into love, but it's something she must keep a secret. Johnny knows that Maggie shouldn't love him. He is bound to the school where he died, and can never leave. He tries to distance himself from her, but the two of them can't seem to stay away from each other. He does finally pull away from her for good, knowing that it's in her best interest to get over him and move on. Her friend Shad gets himself into trouble trying to impress some of the older, cool kids. He gets his grandfathers key to the school after convincing the other kids it's haunted. They make him think he is a part of their group long enough to gain access, and then stuff him in a locker. After what seems like forever he is finally able to get to his phone and dial Maggie's number. She heads up to the school immediately. While the others were messing around with a Ouija board, and drinking a few beers they unintentionally set a fire that quickly gets out of control. They all take off, forgetting the kid they left in the locker. Maggie pulls up to the school in flames, and is horrified to think that Shad is trapped inside. She goes in, knowing that if she can get to Johnny he can help her. He tells her to stay put while he gets Shad, but she is lured away by the ghost of Roger, her great grandmothers deceased husband, who was involved in Johnny's death. She sees how Johnny dies, and is almost there herself. Roger tells her to let go, that she can join Johnny and be with him forever. Johnny finds her just in time, and takes her as far out as he can. He can never go past the doors of the school, but is able to get her to safety where she is quickly found and taken away by the ambulance. While still in a coma at the hospital, Johnny's body is found among the rubble, with a gunshot wound from fifty years ago, and an unsteady pulse. He too is taken to the hospital, but only Gus, Shad's uncle, recognizes him. He tells Maggie that Johnny is alive, and that he will need her once he wakes up. Somewhere lost in her coma she hears him, and forces herself to wake up. To be continued in book two.



View all my reviews

No comments:

Post a Comment