Vintage: a ghost story

On a chilly, autumn night, on a lonely New Jersey highway, a teenager meets the boy of his dreams dressed in vintage clothing. When the boy vanishes, the teenager discovers he’s encountered the local legend, the ghost of a young man who died four decades earlier and has haunted that stretch of road ever since. Curious and smitten, the next evening the teen returns with his best friend. So begins an unusual story of boy-meets-ghost complete with Ouija boards, hours spent in cemeteries, scares and macabre humor. This new edition of the book, to celebrate its thirteenth anniversary, features a new introduction by New York Times best-selling author Holly Black.

Library journal:

"An unnamed, gay Goth enthusiast and his friend Trace spend their time frequenting thrift shops, attending random funerals, and playing with ouija boards. On the way home from one of their jaunts, the protagonist finds himself haunted by a jock-ish ghost dressed in 1950s regalia. At first, he is charmed, intrigued, and turned on, but when the ghost, Josh, turns out to be a jealous maniac bent on keeping him forever, the teen discovers that he needs to ditch the demon and fast before it's too late. The action kicks off with a blast in this slim, densely packed volume and keeps chugging forward until the bitter end. Berman has created a creepy, kitschy, lusty atmosphere particularly when the narrator's abilities to tap into a ghost's past are harnessed that should appeal to mature horror fans."

richard bowes:

"Steve Berman's first novel Vintage is a skillful brew of Goth fashion, gay teen alienation, a sexually predatory ghost from the legendary past and an improvised exorcism into which the author has blended a surprisingly sweet coming-of-age love story."

holly black:

"A witty, shuddersome, and extraordinary book that haunts as it charms."