Ben's girlfriend Marly has died, right on top of Valentine's Day. He wants nothing to do with love or anything else about it, until Marly's ghost approaches him one night and tells him that three ghosts, of Love Past, Present and Future will arrive at his bedroom, the first two at one and the third 'when the final stroke of 12 stops vibrating…' to teach him a lesson about love and grief.
In case you hadn't guessed, yes, Marly's Ghost is a remix of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.
David Levithan has impressed me with his novels in the past. Every Day is amazing and everyone I've met has said exactly the same. But I couldn't help feeling slightly disappointed by this tale.
Don't get me wrong, it's a charming tale. It's short, so if you're after a quick read that you might be able to get done in about an hour then maybe this is good. And I know that it completely defeats the object of being a remix, but… I wanted it to be more original.
At some points, I found it cheesy how much like A Christmas Carol this book was. Granted, there were a few bits that were original, but the end where Ben asks for the bouquet of flowers that's as big as the boy he's asked to get them just sounds like the turkey. So do the Valentine's Gifts.
This is a delightful tale to read though, less about love and more about learning to cope with grief. Grief being one of those 'hot potato' subjects that seem to come up in books I read, but David handles it incredibly well, which is definitely something David Levithan is renowned for.
If you are a fan of Levithan novels or even, at a push, Gayle Forman novels, this might be definitely worth a read. I did enjoy it, it was definitely charming and I think it's a book that needs to be rediscovered.
• Buy this book at the Guardian Bookshop.
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