My Last Kiss by Bethany Neal (review)

Waking up dead is disconcerting, especially when you have no idea how or why you came to be drowned and separated from your body. Cassidy’s quest for answers about her untimely demise is hampered by her inability to control her movements; she drifts from memories to the present on whims that she can’t consciously manipulate. She is, however, able to make physical contact with her boyfriend, Ethan, who is devastated by losing her but unwilling to talk about their last night together. Their relationship was/is ineffably sweet, mostly because Ethan is a great guy—caring and forgiving, and willing to help his dead girlfriend figure out why she was on a bridge with another boy the night she died so that she can move on and leave him once again and forever. The mystery here is well played, with possible guilt and culpability shifting deftly among the usual cast of high school characters until the final reveal. The heartbroken boyfriend, the best friend, the chirpy student government gossip, the misunderstood stoner, the boorish jocks, and the frenemy are all suspects by turn, causing Cassidy to see both her classmates and herself in a new light. As a result, the book draws out insights on the ethics of relationships as well as the raw power of emotions to have lasting consequences.