Book Review - Hold Me Closer, Necromancer

Hold Me Closer, Necromancer by Lish McBride
Release Date: October 12, 2010
Pages:384 pages
Publisher: Holt
Summary:Sam's life sucks. He dropped out of school and is flipping burgers for a living. While working the night shift, a creepy character named Douglas notices him. What Sam doesn't know is that he has a power that Douglas wants: Necromancy. When Douglas gives him an offer he can't refuse, Sam has a week to figure out how he can get away from Douglas and keep his friends and family safe.

I really liked this book. I was sort of burnt out on paranormal, but this story sucked me in from the beginning. There are many unique things about this book, but two in particular that stood out to me.

The protagonist isn't in high school.
This is one of the seven deadly sins as far as YA is concerned. After all, how can a teen relate to a main character that isn't going through the same things they are? I think the author does a great job of making Sam real, even though he's going through this very unreal ordeal. Overall, he's a character anyone can relate to. Most teens would be terrified of Douglas and want to protect their family. They'd also feel helpless and lost, just like Sam.

There are multiple points of view and not all of the narrators are teens.
Now this is something I don't think I've seen in a YA book before. The POV switches between Sam, Douglas, Sam's mom, Ramon (Sam's friend), Sam's little sister, and Brid (another one of Douglas's targets) and does it seamlessly. At first I was a bit confused because of the amount of characters, but as I continued to read I could easily distinguish between them. Each has a unique and distinct voice. It was fun to read a story and hear what everyone was thinking. It reminded me a little of a Stephen King book.

Anyone looking for a funny, well written paranormal novel is sure to like this book.

I received this book in an ARC contest run by Denise Jaden. I was not compensated in any way for my review.

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