Rules for Ghosting

A Novel

By: Shelly Jay Shore

Narrated by: Petey Gibson, Shelly Jay Shore

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • To save his family's failing funeral home—and his own chance at a queer love story—a reluctant clairvoyant must embrace the gift he long ignored in this poignant and warmhearted debut.

“For top-notch drama, this year’s medal goes to Rules for Ghosting. . . . Here, actual ghosts haunt the quiet and tender moments, and it’s the scenes at family holidays that leave you rattled and gasping.”—The New York Times Book Review (“One of the Best Romance Novels of 2024”)

Ezra Friedman sees ghosts, which made growing up in a funeral home complicated. It might have been easier if his grandfather’s ghost didn’t give him scathing looks of disapproval as he went through a second, HRT-induced puberty, or if he didn’t have the pressure of all those relatives—living and dead—judging every choice he makes. It’s no wonder that Ezra runs as far away from the family business as humanly possible.

But when the floor of his dream job drops out from under him and his mother uses the family Passover seder to tell everyone she’s running off with the rabbi’s wife, Ezra finds himself back in the thick of it. With his parents’ marriage imploding and the Friedman Family Memorial Chapel on the brink of financial ruin, Ezra agrees to step into his mother’s shoes and help out . . . which means long days surrounded by ghosts that no one else can see.

And then there’s his unfortunate crush on Jonathan, the handsome funeral home volunteer . . . who just happens to live downstairs from Ezra’s new apartment . . . and the appearance of the ghost of Jonathan’s gone-too-soon husband, Ben, who is breaking every spectral rule that Ezra knows.

Because Ben can speak. He can move. And as Ezra tries to keep his family together and his heart from getting broken, he realizes that there’s more than one way to be haunted—and more than one way to become a ghost.

Novel of the year

I love everything about this book. From the storytelling to the narration and all the gorgeous details in between. Perfection. Never has a dedication so perfectly set up a book for me. Thank you.

Just One Thing...

...marring an otherwise lovely book.

I really could have done without the single on-screen sex scene where the very first instance of PIV sex with a cis dude partner was Magically Non-Dysphoric And Fixes Him. I don't read cishet romance for a reason. 😭

The rest of the book is so lovely (the one funeral we hear about made me sob, Zadye's wordless instructions broke my heart in the best ways) but that scene annoyed me so much that I had to take some time off before finishing it.

Sweet family ghost story

This book was lovely. It is a kindly written story of family, community, and love with a slightly spooky flavor. The ghosts aren't a huge piece of the overall narrative as it is mostly focused on other things. If you are seeking horror or angst, this isn't it. However, it was a calm heartwarming read with fun characters.

It's a slow, amazing odyssey

You'll need time to savor this one. And perhaps, crib notes and a Jewish handbook if you're not part of the culture and faith (as I am not). But what an amazing story. And, I have rarely heard such a perfect pairing of narrator and story.

I didn't "get" it all; and I didn't need to and that was just fine with me. The author carried me with sure and certain words and I loved it.

Lost me with the erratic pacing

This started so slow I almost gave up. For me, the protagonist wasn’t very compelling so until he actually started interacting with, rather than avoiding others, things really dragged. I did like the love interest, and some of the friends, but the family storyline was over the top melodrama that seemed so at odds with the day to day slowness that was the first 2/3 of the book. Without spoilers, I almost quit again at the ridiculous argument. I liked the writing style, but not the characters. Narration was solid.