When I originally requested it, I was really intrigued by the blurb. Although the writing was good, I just never really got into the story and didn't finish it.

I love a good mystery that doesn't have a predictable ending, and Kim Harrington has succeeded in creating a suspenseful one in which I had to keep changing my predictions.

I loved Jade, the main character and heroine of the story. She stayed true to herself and her own belief system of morality and ethics. I really respected how she was able to withstand the treatment of many of the students at the new school she attended without responding in kind, and yet she stood up for herself.

Her relationship with her little brother Colby is heart-warming as she would protect him at all costs. Her father, step-mother, and half-brother must come to terms with just how much listening to each other and trusting one another means in a family.

Recommendation: I would recommend this to anyone who loves a good mystery, family dynamics, and a non-predictable ending to a mystery of what happened to cause one girl's death.

This book was recommended by a fellow reader and definitely not for me. I found it predictable and slow. Now, that doesn't mean I won't recommend it to someone looking for a haunting or horror book in the Teen section. The ghost story was good and what made me get through the book.

Due to a glitch with the book file, I was unable to read this book. I regret that I am unable to give a proper review.

Unfortunately, I didn't download this in time back in 2012 when I originally requested it. My interests have changed as I no longer primarily read YA, so I have no plans at this to read or review this title. Thank you.

I love Kim Harrington- She writes amazing YA mysteries.
This book has it all- a great mystery, an adventure, and a wonderful, endearing strong heroine.
Jade was a different character in the sense that she was true to her self and was not trying to get into the cool group of teens at school.
And the ghost aspect of this book- haunting.

I wasn't able to download and therefore did not provide feedback. You can see I never downloaded the book. Thank you for the opportunity.

Loved, loved, loved this books. It has stayed with me over the years. I am now just looking back on some of these books and think that this one has to be added to my permanent library.

Whew, this book was scary. It was an amazing ghost story. Kayla was a sinister, terrifying presence, and I was so scared for Colby. It was crazy when the door opened and put him in more danger. In a nutshell, this was another one of those books that I couldn't read before bed. One small thing I would like to brag about: I guessed correctly who-done-it way early in the novel! I am never right about stuff like that the first time around. Even though I knew who it was, it wasn't predictable. I loved watching everything unfold and, of course, being right. The ending was fantastic, by the way. Ok, I'm done. If you want something deliciously scary, read this book. It's a great one to read in October. I'm still a bit jumpy from reading it! I'll be reading Kim Harrington's other books for sure. I hope she writes more ghost stories!

*Review*

At its basic core, “The Dead and Buried” is pretty much like any other ghost story in that it has plenty of twists to keep you guessing right until the very end. The author gives you enough hints along the way for you to figure out who was responsible. The overall fear factor and knowing who the villain is however did not go far enough to create an environment of chills and spills for my tastes.

As with most, if not all YA novels these days, you have the appearance of a 3-way love triangle between the lead character (Jade Kelley) and two boys (Donovan & Kane) who are polar opposites but went out with the same dead girl (Kayla Sloan). The only redeeming factor about this book when it comes to 3 way triangles is that Jade herself is really not a fan of triangles and definitely chooses the right boy to be with. She’s also not a huge fan of cliques or popularity contests as she finds herself friends with the most unlikely of persons in Alexa Palmer aka Robot Girl.

I liked Jade's tenacity of being the new girl in a new school where everyone seems to be filthy rich and cliques are a thing that is absolutely necessary for survival for most of the kids who go to school there. I liked the fact that she didn’t cower when she is forced into finding out who killed the nasty girl (Kayla Sloan) she never met after she threatens Jade’s 5 year old step brother Colby. Jade is also a strange character because she has an obsession with gems of all kinds.

The one thing that I find to be typical with lots of YA novels these days is that the parents somehow find a way to come across aloof and distant to the main character and not realizing or understanding what is happening right under their stuck up noses. In the end, it takes an in your face threat by the ghost girl in order to wake the parental units up from their slumber party and by then it is too late to actually do anything to help the kids out in their time of need.

Would I recommend this book? Sure I would. I would just advise that you should take this book with a grain of salt, and seriously contemplate that this is a ghost, romance story with a mystery twist and not about vampires, werewolves or any other paranormal creature. I would also suggest that you take notes on the different characters that are introduced throughout the book so that you don’t miss the obvious clues as to who the killer really is.

*Recvd from Netgalley 01/30/2013* Published January 1st 2013 by Scholastic Point

Jade's a small town girl in a big, new town, which means new cliques at school, new gossip, new teachers, a new home, and her first ever brand-spanking-new ghost.

It turns out that the only reason Jade's dad and stepmother could afford their amazing new home is because someone had died in it just months before.

And that someone didn't leave with the body.

Now Jade must not only deal with all the usual problems a new senior in a new school must cope with, but she now must also figure out who murdered the girl who lived there before.

If she doesn't catch the murderer soon, her little brother could suffer at the ghost's hands.

Final thoughts: Harrington has an interesting take her on Du Maurier's Rebecca, though it might have been nice if she hadn't brought up the original work within this one. Once I knew what was up, I got distracted by trying to figure out which character was which in comparison, though that shouldn't be a problem for people who've never read the classic. Jade's a bit bland as a character and I never really feel for her situation. Her brother's cute, but only randomly there and more inserted as a plot device than an actual character. I never really felt much for Donovan and Kane because they just didn't have much of a presence. It's a simple story that really could have been fleshed out more, but still does a decent job maintaining interest.

I remember loving this book: the ghost, the characters, and the writing. I liked it so much I immediately bought Clarity. Harrison is really not that good at writing mysteries (at least the "whodunnit" part is always glaringly obvious). But she can create a great atmosphere.

Sorry, requested book but did not get around to reading it.

THE DEAD AND BURIED by Kim Harrington is a spooky and captivating ghost story.

Jade is glad that her father and stepmother have finally moved to a bigger town and into a larger, nicer house, even though it is her senior year. She makes friends with the quirky Alexa, and attracts the attention of both the attractive arty boy, Donovan, and the attractive athletic boy, Kane. Others act a bit oddly around her, however, and she soon finds out that her home was the scene of former Queen Bee Kayla Stone's death. What's worse, her younger brother Colby claims to see a girl in his room, and Jade soon feels the ghostly presence as well. Donovan was a suspect in the death, but was cleared and is now a persona non grata. As things heat up in Jade's social life, things get weirder and weirder at home, and she knows she has to find out who killed Kayla before the ghost will leave her and her brother alone.
Strengths: Harrington does a brilliant job writing YA books that are also appropriate for middle grade. The fact that this is a ghost AND a murder mystery makes this especially brilliant. The stepmother and busy father are a nice touch, as is the big new house that would be unaffordable if not for the murder.
Weaknesses: Don't like the cover. Too many covers with languid/dead looking girls on them.

Jade is about to start a new chapter in her life. Shes moved into the house of her dreams. So she doesn't mind starting a new school and seeing how things go. Its much better than everyone living in the old home that was falling apart on them. Not she has the big fancy house shes always wanted.

Things are going as normal as can be for the first day of school. Jade and her brother get ready and he asks for a jewel for his first day and mentions about seeing a girl in his room. Jade doesn't really give it much thought. Their house is new and no one ever died in it. So it wasn't a ghost or anything, not that she really believed in them....least not anymore. So she just gives her brother a gem and goes on with her day.

Then the book kinda died a little. I love Kim's books but idk, this one fell a little short for me. It was all going great then it just died for me. I was losing interest, and then about more than half way it picked up again. Then things were moving ad had me on the edge just waiting to find out what the answers were. Otherwise I still liked the book and will keep checking out Kim's books.