Rules for Ghosting

I’d been seeing Rules for Ghosting by Shelly Jay Shore on displays at bookstores for the last several months, and I decided to give it a listen on Libro.fm over a snow day in mid-January. It didn’t disappoint.

Ezra’s entering a new chapter in his life: he’s moved on from a long-time on-again, off-again boyfriend, and he’s moving out of his studio apartment. He’s also grappling with his mother’s announcement of her lesbian relationship with their rabbi’s wife. AND it just so happens that Ezra can see ghosts. Yeah. His new chapter is pretty beefy.

What I like about this book is the family that Ezra has. Not only does he have a beautiful relationship with his (now dead) grandfather, but he also has sibling relationships that are quirky and so real. They even have a drinking game for different Jewish holidays, and oh, how I can relate! Yes, there are a lot of characters to keep straight in this book, but I think Shore’s ability to show the genuineness of Ezra’s relationship with each is masterful.

And the relationship that takes center stage in this novel is a romantic one between Ezra and Johnathan, a recently widowed man who helps at the funeral home Ezra’s family runs. Johnathan is a beautiful man, inside and out, and the way Shore develops his ability to be reverent to ritual is touching. What’s not to love about Johnathan? For Ezra, though, seeing his husband’s ghost is a major turn-off. And finding out how the two of them – Ezra and Johnathan – navigate grief and burgeoning feelings is where Shore works her magic.

Rules for Ghosting is a great read for anyone who enjoys  novels like The Dead Romantics or the Seven-Year Slip (both by Ashley Poston), and shows like Six Feet Under.