The Ghosts of Heaven

Young Adult Fiction

G/A  Sedgwick, Marcus.  The Ghosts of Heaven.  Roaring Brook, 2015.  368p.  978-1-6268-2125-8.  17.99

This novel consists of four semi-interconnected short stories (that the author states can be read in any order). Each “quarter” takes place in a different time and place, but they all have one thing in common, a fear or obsession with spirals. From cave drawings to spinning tops to spiral staircases and spiraling through space, all the characters of the four stories are focused on the meaning of spirals and surviving their circumstances (although not all do). Each individual story is compelling, but it may all be a little too mysterious and philosophical for most teens. It may be better suited and appeal to adult readers more. Loren Spector, LAPL, Memorial Branch Library