Chasing Brooklyn (review)

It's almost a year since Brooklyn lost her beloved boyfriend, Lucca, in a car crash, and she's shattered anew when Gabe, the surviving driver of the fatal vehicle, dies in a possibly suicidal drug overdose, then begins to haunt Brooklyn in her dreams. Meanwhile, Lucca's older brother, Nico, encounters his own supernatural phenomenon: Lucca keeps leaving Nico urgent signs that Brooklyn needs Nico's help. Soon Nico and Brooklyn are training together (they're aiming for a triathlon) and growing closer, but they can't bring themselves to tell the truth about their attraction to each other, or about the ghosts who visit them. Writing in free verse, Schroeder alternates between Brooklyn's voice and Nico's; while both narrators speak in compact and emotional lines, they're relatively well differentiated, with Nico more literal, energetic, and even humorous while Brooklyn remains dreamy and reflective. The haunting premise is an appealing one, especially on top of a romance that only the participants don't see as inevitable. Unfortunately, the poetry is pretty unpoetic, operating more often as mannered, even maudlin prose; Brooklyn's truly fearsome ghost disappointingly and ludicrously turns out to have been trying to scare her away from being as frightened as he was. There's nonetheless enough angst, schmaltz, and mystery here, in an easy-reading package, to draw readers reluctant and otherwise, and they'll be pleased to see Nico and Brooklyn finally end up in each other's arms.