The Ghosts Of Ourselves

Aleah Kearsley

The Accident Season

                                                       By, Moïra Fowley-Doyle

  The ghosts of ourselves can, and will, follow us anywhere. Whether our ghosts are of the people we want to be, the person we are meant to be, and the person we were once, our ghosts can haunt us; watch over us. For Cara, Bea, Alice, and Sam, their ghosts follow them every step of the way. Cara, Alice, and Sam have always found themselves in the accident season every year. During the accident season---believe it or not--- accidents occur daily. These aren’t your small everyday accidents like bringing the wrong clothes for gym, or forgetting your phone at home. These accidents are dangerous and crippling like falling down stairs, getting hit by a car, falling in a river etc. For Cara, Alice, and Sam they need to navigate through high school, relationships, friendships, parties, and the accident season every year, and their best friend Bea is there to help them weather the storm. The Accident Season by Moïra Fowley-Doyle is a mix of mystery, fantasy, fiction, and romance all combined into the tale of four children trying to make their way out of the accident season alive.

  This book was very interesting, to say the least. Every chapter brought something new for the reader to digest. The only problem with this is that there were so many things going on at once it was all hard to keep track of. It almost seemed like there were two stories combined into one. As the book is called The Accident Season I thought it would be about just that: a season full of accidents. As I read it went from a season full of accidents to searching for a missing girl to ghosts on a train to, “we should have a party… a Halloween party” and each one was randomly visited in their own chapters(57). Each chapter was focused on a different point and these points were a bit scattered through the book. Although they included all the same character and the time frame they tended to jump around themes. It would go from the mystery of the missing girl to the fantasy of their ghost selves, to the romance of their relationships. Although this was kind of confusing, I did enjoy the book. Each of the points I described was interesting to read and I wanted to follow each point to its end in the book. In the end, all the themes came together and all problems the characters were facing resolved. I personally connected to the main characters because they are a small group. Each one of them have their stories and memories that after, “that we became best friends”(40). My friends and I hang out with other people, but in the end, we all come back together. Just like their group, my group hangs out the most and we will be friends for a long time. I was moved by the language because unlike the books we have to read, the characters are modern and teenagers, and they sound like the people around me. 

  I would recommend this book to whoever likes fantasy and mystery. It is very interesting if you are able to piece things together and notice little details along the way, because even if you think something is “all we have to go on,” there will always be something more to it (148). Some things in the book are also relatable like how the characters act and talk, so if you are looking for something you would be able to connect to this is also a great choice. I would rate this book a 4.5/5 because it is a very interesting book once you get past the changing plot and it held my attention throughout the whole thing.