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‘Part ghost story, part Jewish family epic, and part romance, RULES FOR GHOSTING is a meditation on life, death, and healing that is at turns bitingly funny and deeply moving’ – Anita Kelly
Ezra Friedman can see ghosts – which made growing up in a funeral home complicated, especially with his grandfather’s ghost giving disapproving looks at every choice he makes from his taste in boyfriends to his HRT-induced second puberty. It’s no wonder that since moving out, he’s stayed as far away from the family business as possible.
But when dream job disappears and his mother uses Passover seder to tell everyone she’s running away with the rabbi’s wife, Ezra finds himself back in the thick of it at the funeral home.
Having agreed to help out, Ezra must face not only his loved ones, but also his crush on Jonathan – the handsome funeral home volunteer who also happens to be his new neighbour – and Johnathan’s ghostly relative, who is breaking every spectral rule Ezra knows.
As he tries to keep his family together and his heart from getting broken, Ezra will soon realise there’s more than one way to be haunted…
Rule #1: They can’t speak. | Rule #2: They can’t move. | Rule #3: They can’t hurt you.
Ezra Friedman can see ghosts – which made growing up in a funeral home complicated, especially with his grandfather’s ghost giving disapproving looks at every choice he makes from his taste in boyfriends to his HRT-induced second puberty. It’s no wonder that since moving out, he’s stayed as far away from the family business as possible.
But when dream job disappears and his mother uses Passover seder to tell everyone she’s running away with the rabbi’s wife, Ezra finds himself back in the thick of it at the funeral home.
Having agreed to help out, Ezra must face not only his loved ones, but also his crush on Jonathan – the handsome funeral home volunteer who also happens to be his new neighbour – and Johnathan’s ghostly relative, who is breaking every spectral rule Ezra knows.
As he tries to keep his family together and his heart from getting broken, Ezra will soon realise there’s more than one way to be haunted…
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Reviews
RULES FOR GHOSTING has everything: a family funeral home and a main character who can see ghosts, an adorable pit bull named Sappho, a mother coming out at seder dinner, a trans love story, a fiery climax that brings everything to a head, humor, heart, and so much more. It's about finding your place in the world, in your family, in partnership, and finally, within yourself. It was a joy to read, and I can't wait to see what's next from Shelly Jay Shore
As unabashedly queer as it is loudly and beautifully Jewish, RULES FOR GHOSTING is one of the most unique, poignant novels I've read in a long, long time. Ezra's journey through self, complicated family dynamics, and opening up to new love was one I'll never forget
RULES FOR GHOSTING is the kind of book you want to live in. This gorgeous debut marvels at new life and does not shy away from life lost. It cracks open the meaning of the word 'haunting'-whether that be of discarded identity, hidden yearning, or literal ghosts. Best of all, Shelly Jay Shore has written the soft-Jewish-trans-boy-who-sees-dead-people of our literary dreams. I'd read a million pages about Ezra Friedman and still be left wanting more
RULES FOR GHOSTING is fun as hell . . . I'm sure you can even read it if you aren't trans, but I don't even care to think of the cis people right now. Because this is fun and it's for me
A movingly wrought story about the ways queerness, Jewishness, grief, and joy intersect in messy, painful, and beautiful ways
Fully immersive from the first page, Shore's writing grabbed me by the throat and never let go. Part ghost story, part Jewish family epic, and part romance, RULES FOR GHOSTING is a meditation on life, death, and healing, told through a queer and trans lens that is at turns bitingly funny and deeply moving. Shore is an immense talent. Ezra's world will live in my heart for a long time.
A tender, heart-filled novel, RULES FOR GHOSTING is a beautiful story about identity, family, faith, community, and first love. . . . A breathtaking debut