You did it! We figured this one out! It is a truth universally acknowledged (by me for certain) that the Bitchery pretty much knows everything, and really, it's true. Scroll down to see the solution for this HaBO - and many thanks!
This HaBO request comes from Kay, who is trying to find a YA paranormal romance:
Back in high school, I read this YA paranormal romance. I finished it, but the romance never had a proper conclusion. I assumed that the book had a sequel to it, but alas, the library did not have the book I was looking for. I didn’t even like the book that much, but damn it, I want a proper ending!
I do not remember the heroine’s name, but I do remember she came across super preppy. Preppy Chick has to move to a different town (possibly state) with her mother and brother once her parents announce that they are getting divorced. The hero is a ghost haunting the house said heroine and family move into. Ghost Dude doesn’t want any roommates. He tries to scare them out of the house by doing things like turning on the stereo and moving chairs into other rooms but it doesn’t work out very well because the family members end up blaming each other instead of thinking there’s a ghost in the house.
Eventually, she ends up being able to see Ghost Dude because she becomes lonely and loneliness gives you psychic powers. Her little brother was able to see him already because children can see dead people.
I do remember this one part where Preppy Chick (or maybe it was her brother) informs Ghost Dude that they aren’t allowed to have McDonalds because too many Big Macs killed Elvis. His heart breaks because he was an Elvis fanboy and didn’t know that the King was dead.
In the end, she storms off to go to her dad because of teenage angst and feels. She then finds out that her father is seeing a woman and he isn’t exactly thrilled to have his teenage daughter show up unannounced on his doorstep.
Also, I think I remember at the end, Ghost Dude shows up on a motorcycle to give her a ride home.
I’m fairly certain this was written in the nineties, but I could be wrong. If anyone could help me figure out what book this is, I’d be forever grateful.
Ghost Dudes, Elvis, Big Macs. Hopefully, its sequel has the proper ending Kay is looking for!
I believe this is You Can Never Go Home by Dyan Sheldon and there is a sequel called Save the Last Dance for Me. It came out in 1993 and this is the Amazon summary “Loss, thrills and romance befall Angel all at once after her parents split up, and she has to live in a crummy old house inhabited by BJ, a rebellious teenaged ghost.”
You beat me to it BlueWinston! I second this – the ghost is called B.J and he has a ghost dog if that rings any bells.
@BlueWinston
OMG, that’s IT! Thank you!
Whew! Please tell me there’s a third book in which Angel and BJ move in together and she wants to get a ghost hamster but he worries about how it will affect the ghost dog who had to get used to the whole human girlfriend competition thing and anyway why were they in such a hurry to move in together, why is she always RUSHING him, can’t a ghost boy just enjoy his freedom for a while, jeez
This plot seriously reminded me of a godawful TV movie from the 90’s with Tiffani Amber Thiessen, Buried Secrets. It’s got Tim Matheson and Kelly Rutherford in it too. You’re welcome.
I was gonna guess this one: http://www.amazon.com/The-Ghost-Behind-Eve-Bunting/dp/0671622110
But everyone else already found the right book.
This reminds me of several books I read in my YA wistful romantic days! I’m glad someone found the answer! I might need to go diving into those old books again. Not all had ghosts, but they ALL had inscrutable, bad boy heroes. **sigh**
I’m sorry, How exactly does a ghost ride a motorcycle to get to the girl? Is there any explanation for this in the universe? The nerd in me NEEDS to know!! What about when they ride together on the bike, what is she holding on to? Or is she the driver then?
This reminded me of Earth Angel by Kate Freiman (it’s not because it’s not YA, the heroine is named Renata and she’s a lawyer), but once you find your HaBO I def recommend that one because the hero is your typical James Dean type from the 1950’s who rides an Indian Chief motorcycle and there’s mobsters and ghost sex.
Heather S – That one was my first thought too. I still have my battered, worn-out copy somewhere. *Nostalgic sigh*
Now I have to go seek out You Can Never Go Home and Earth Angel…
This sounds AWESOME! I also reccommend a YA series by Jenny Carroll (Meg Cabot) called The Mediator…main character is a girl who talks to (and punches) ghosts…and moves to house haunted by hot hispanic ghost. It is a ton of fun!
I am bemused by the wide variety in pricing for used copies of You Can’t Go Home Again… from one penny to $500.00. I kid you not.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/081673691X?keywords=You%20Can%20Never%20Go%20Home&qid=1452717025&ref_=sr_1_3&sr=8-3
I can’t tell you what a comfort to me this group is. I was just in the hospital for three days from Friday through Sunday, still feel pretty terrible, I live alone and that’s kinda scary, but I read what is written here on the blog and the comments and you really cheer me up. Thank you.
@Xandi: Love the Mediator series! It was the first thing I thought of when reading this post.
@Gloriamarie: Hope you feel better soon.
This HaBO reminded me slightly of Slow Dance in Purgatory by Amy Harmon:
Orphaned from the age of ten, 17-year-old Maggie finally finds a permanent home with her elderly aunt in a small Texas town. Working part-time at the local high school, she becomes enmeshed in a fifty-year-old unsolved mystery where nothing is as it seems. Who is the boy no one else can see? And what do you do when you fall in love with a ghost? This volatile and mismatched romance is doomed from its start, as Maggie struggles to hold on to yet another life destined to be taken from her. Secret love and hushed affections are constantly threatened by outside forces resulting in a terrifying race to stay alive.
‘Slow Dance in Purgatory’ captures the heart-ache of a love story where there can be no happy ending…
It has a sequel [Prom Night in Purgatory] too. YA paranormal romances aren’t my thing, but I enjoyed these.
I’m adding the Mediator series and Slow Dance in Purgatory to my must-read list.
@Gloriamarie: I’m sending lots of good thoughts your way. I hope you feel much better soon!
@Gloriamarie – I hope you’re feeling better soon, I always enjoy your comments here. Mediator series is awesome and I wholeheartedly recommend it.
@Mands thank you so much for the addition of the purgatory series to my life – I really enjoyed them and glommed them both up in one evening.
@Diana – I’m working from creaky 1993 nostalgia memories – BJ can interact with the physical world when he gets emotional enough – sort of a poltergeist thing. Also he can appear visible with effort to other people if the girl – Angel (?) is holding onto him, I think? Either way she is one of the few people he can interact with and touch physically as though he has a physical form, I have some half baked memories of there being a pseudo-physic-y explanation of emotion being used as energy. TBH I was there for the wistful snarky romance with the James Dean stand in..