Break My Heart 1,000 Times

Living in the aftermath of the Event means that seeing the dead is now a part of life, but Veronica wishes that the ghosts would just move on. Instead, the ghosts aren't disappearing-they're gaining power.

When Veronica and her friend, Kirk, decide to investigate why, they stumble upon a sinister plot. One of Veronica's high school teachers is crippled by the

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Living in the aftermath of the Event means that seeing the dead is now a part of life, but Veronica wishes that the ghosts would just move on. Instead, the ghosts aren't disappearing-they're gaining power.

When Veronica and her friend, Kirk, decide to investigate why, they stumble upon a sinister plot. One of Veronica's high school teachers is crippled by the fact that his dead daughter has never returned as a ghost. Veronica seems like the perfect body to host her. And even if he's wrong, what's the harm in creating one more ghost?

From critically acclaimed Generation Dead author Daniel Waters, comes a delectably creepy and suspenseful thriller. Break My Heart 1,000 Times will leave readers with the chills. Or is that a ghost reading over the page?

Editorial Reviews

Ever since the mysterious “Event,” which instantly killed millions of people worldwide, ghosts have been appearing like clockwork—brief, repeating images of the dead doing everything from visiting libraries to eating breakfast. Veronica’s father is one such ghost, and the high school sophomore takes comfort in seeing him every morning, even if he is just as uncommunicative as the other ghosts. Veronica’s history teacher, Mr. Bittner, also has ghosts on his mind—his late daughter isn’t returning as one—and his unhinged wife has been goading him into killing teenage girls for their daughter to “possess.” After multiple failed attempts to bring their daughter back, they set their sights on Veronica. Veronica’s friend/romantic interest, Kirk, and her ghost-obsessed English teacher also get drawn into the plot, and it soon becomes clear that some ghosts might be able to interact with humans after all. Even knowing early on who the sinister players are in Waters’s (the Generation Dead series) story doesn’t dissipate its tension (Waters gets some good twists in there, too). There’s ample creepiness in this supernatural thriller to keep readers invested. Ages 12–18. (Oct.)

VOYA - Rebecca Denham

Since The Event, the world has become a place for more than just the living. Ghosts haunt cities, many caught in some kind of mindless loop where they continually reenact a scene from their life before fading. For those who survived The Event, these spirits have become a part of everyday life; a reminder of loved ones or strangers who have passed on. When Veronica and her almost-boyfriend, Kirk, begin to investigate the appearance of new ghosts in their town, they uncover a deadly secret. Readers will have no trouble slipping into the world Waters has created for this novel. The town that Veronica and Kirk inhabit could be any small town in the United States, except that ghosts are a visible part of the community. Tension and suspense builds with each chapter, latching hooks of curiosity and concern into readers. Teens should relate well to both Veronica and Kirk, and emotionally engage with both of them. The villain of the novel is both sympathetic and unnerving which is an interesting twist. Told in alternating points of view, Break My Heart 1,000 Times combines ghosts, serial murder, and the emotional highs and lows of high school into a gripping, thrill-laden read sure to keep teens up all night. Reviewer: Rebecca Denham

School Library Journal

Gr 7 Up—The ghosts that inhabit Jewel City are an everyday fact of life. Veronica isn't afraid of them, but she wonders why they are there. She catches a glimpse of her deceased father every morning reading the paper and, on her way to school, a flash of Mary Greer, a murdered high school student, ascending the steps and knocking on the front door of her creepy history teacher's house. When a hot teenage ghost from another era appears in Veronica's bathroom one morning and makes eye contact, she begins a field study on ghosts with her new boyfriend, Kirk. Their research leads them to Mary Greer's killer and hints that Veronica might become a serial killer's next victim. The creep factor is high in this novel. Told from the points of view of the ghosts, a teen, and the serial killer, who is haunted by images of his dead wife and daughter, the narrative takes time to delve into questions of memory, mortality, and the afterlife. This is a fast-paced, highly entertaining read, recommended for fans of horror and mystery.Shawna Sherman, Hayward Public Library, CA

"Everybody's haunted by something." Generation Dead author Waters (2008) turns from zombies to ghosts in this supernatural thriller. Six years after the Event, a seemingly 9/11-type occurrence that killed an estimated 2 million people, ghosts (even those not associated with the Event) continue to inundate Jewell City. Teen Veronica Calder, born on leap day, sees many of these ghosts, including her father and fellow teen Brian, who committed suicide in her bathtub years earlier. Hoping to capture Veronica's attention, classmate Kirk begins an independent study on the city's ghosts. Also vying for her attention is serial killer and history teacher August Bittner, whose daughter died on leap day many years ago. As another leap day approaches, he secretly plans to kill Veronica in an effort to bring back his daughter's spirit. Although occasionally slow, the fresh story reveals flashes of the author's dark humor amid the terror as Kirk and Veronica's initial romantic interest turns to trying to prove Bittner's guilt in local unsolved murders, as well as trying to keep Veronica alive. Most of the novel is written in the third person, except for Brian's perspective. His side story and own dilemmas, told in the first person, offer both interesting diversions from and connections to Veronica's survival. Waters not only causes hearts to race, but brains to ponder the possibilities of ghosts. (Supernatural thriller. 12 & up)

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781423122289 Publisher: Disney Press Publication date: 10/15/2013 Edition description: Reprint Pages: 352 Sales rank: 499,500 Product dimensions: 5.50(w) x 8.10(h) x 0.80(d) Age Range: 12 - 17 Years