Losing Logan

By: Sherry D. Ficklin

Narrated by: Tara Millette

Normally, finding a hot guy in her bedroom wouldn't irritate Zoe so badly, but finding her childhood friend Logan there is a big problem. Mostly because he's dead.

As the only person he can make contact with, he convinces Zoe to help him put together the pieces surrounding his mysterious death so he can move on. Thrust into his world of ultra-popular rich kids, Zoe is out of her element and caught in the crosshairs of Logan's suspicious ex-girlfriend and the friends he left behind - each of whom had a reason to want him dead.

The deeper they dig to find the truth, the closer Zoe gets to a killer who would do anything to protect his secrets.

And that's just the start of her problems, because Zoe is falling for a dead guy.

©2014 Sherry D. Ficklin (P)2014 Sherry D. Ficklin

Surprsing Mystery

When I picked up Losing Logan, I expected to cry. It’s a book about loss and death after all. But I didn’t cry much. I did laugh, though. A lot. Somehow Sherry D. Ficklin managed to write a book about loss, love, and finding yourself with a lot of humor – including a fair amount of my favorite snarky kind – without ever making light about death. No wonder I liked Losing Logan so much!

First off, I loved that Zoey – the main character – was irritated with Logan most the time. She wasn’t crying over his death, because a part of her was still pissed that her childhood friend had left her behind for the popular kids. It wasn’t intentional on Logan’s part – Zoey’s dad died and her mom pulled her out of school for a couple years. When she came back, things had changed. And Zoey doesn’t fully understand that she’s holding a grudge – but man is she! So she wants Logan GONE! Of course she’s the only one who can see him, so if she wants him gone, she’ll have to help him figure out why he’s stuck here.

And helping him leads to a couple great story lines. She has to figure out what happened to Logan, because he doesn’t remember a lot of the events leading to his death. This ends up turning into quite the (unexpected for me) mystery. I really had a blast trying to figure out how Logan died!

The other side of that is Zoey needing to cozy up to Logan’s friends – the popular kids. Enter one of my favorite plot devices – THE MAKEOVER. I know, its been done every which way, but its so fun to see the seemingly boring, not so popular, not so pretty girl become interesting, popular, and beautiful – especially when its really just a change in attitude and some better fitting clothes.

Zoey’s make over is made oh so much better because of her best friend Carlos. Did I mention he’s gay? I liked that Sherry didn’t make him ridiculous or over the top flamboyant as sometimes happens – he has his giddiness over shopping and FINALLY getting to dress Zoey up right, but that doesn’t mean he has to be “flaming”. Carlos is a balanced, complex character going through his own things – like falling for a guy and introducing him to his family. He’s a great friend to Zoey and a fantastic addition to the story.

I think I would have loved Losing Logan in any format, but the audio was really good. Tara Millette did a good job giving the characters unique and appropriate voices – including the guys.

I was trying to figure out why – after clearly liking everything so much – this was four and not five stars for me. I think the ending was the reason. Obviously I can’t explain without giving away A LOT but I wasn’t a fan of the last chapter. It wasn’t BAD but it also wasn’t quite right for me. *shrugs* It certainly didn’t spoil Losing Logan for me!

I received this book for free from Audiobook Jukebox in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Totally wrecked in the best possible way.

I have no words that can describe how I felt after finishing this book. I never thought I'd fall in love with a ghost, but somehow I managed to. After finishing this book, I promptly bought the rest of the books that were available by Sherry Ficklin.

Zoe is such an easy character to get along with. Her and Logan's relationship, and the growth of both characters throughout the book, were written in such a masterful way that it felt real. The two of them together were so natural you would almost forget one of them was dead.

Once I got to the end of the story (just before the Epilogue) I was literally curled up in a ball in my favorite reading spot sobbing. I literally was hiccuping and had shaky breaths. I had to keep taking breaks to wipe my face dry. Once I got in the epilogue I thought it would be better. It was. I got plenty of closure. But I still managed to feel totally wrecked (in the best way).

I can't wait to break open Haunting Zoe to get a bit of a different perspective on the story.

A great story!

Great book - Ficklin knows her audience well. Enjoyed the narrator's performance, but lots of mouth noise and/or background pops and clicks in some places that were a bit distracting at times.

All in all, a wonderful weekend listen!

A very unique ghost story

Any additional comments?

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this story it had me laughing and crying with lots of great one liners I have to agree with most of the reviews i read you think you know what going to happen, you think you have it all figured it out. Oh no your totally wrong and in the end that a great thing. It a great story and very entertaining.

Zoe is totally rocking!

What made the experience of listening to Losing Logan the most enjoyable?

I loved Zoe''s character. She is sarcastic, funny, brave and strong. I loved the simultaneous love stories. It was different than a love triangle, it was a love that will last a lifetime and one that will last into the afterlife. It's written in a way that you aren't having to choose sides, which is refreshing.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Losing Logan?

I wish I could have a bunch of memes for all of Zoe's sarcastic come backs. They had me laughing and wanting to write them down for future reference. I would say the most memorable moment to me was when... Crap I can't say it without a spoiler. Let's just say it's at the end when the pieces come together and Zoe realizes her part in all of this and she has a reunion and farewell in one afternoon... Hopefully that's vague enough to not spoil anything. It was emotional turmoil at it's best.

Which character – as performed by Tara Millette – was your favorite?

Most definitely Zoe. I like that the narrator really kept the sarcasm dry and did not over play it. This to me made it seem more genuine.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Definitely, but I made myself spread it out so it gave me something to look forward to during my daily commute.

Any additional comments?

Loved this story so much!

Brilliant Storytelling and Lovely Performance

I had read Losing Logan in print, but I loved it so much I just had to add it to my Audible collection. I was not disappointed. Sherry Ficklin's storytelling ability blows me away. She tells a beautiful, compelling love story with irreverent humor and amazing wit. Add to that the twists and turns of the mystery and the ultimate ending that was impossible to see coming. Each time I thought I knew what would happen next I got a jaw dropping surprise. The end is both unexpected and done with such graceful beauty. While you will likely ugly-cry, you will feel good about it when it's done.

The performance was brilliant. Like I said, I had read the story before, so I wasn't sure if I would get bored listening or if the performance would live up to the "Zoe" I had in my head. But Tara Millette did a wonderful job!

One warning... do NOT listen to the final chapter while driving... even knowing what was going to happen I did and well, driving and sobbing uncontrollably don't mix.

Incredible

What made the experience of listening to Losing Logan the most enjoyable?

That the narrator was able to put emotion into her voice and switch between the characters seamlessly.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Losing Logan?

The one liners.

What does Tara Millette bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

A memorable voice.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Laugh and cry it was a variety of emotions.

Any additional comments?

I was given a Audible.com credit from the author, i also own a paperback version of the book. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this story it had a ton of great one liners that had be laughing so hard. I have to agree with most of the reviews i read you think you know what going to happen, you think you have it all figured it out. Oh no your totally wrong and in the end that a great thing. It a great story and very entertaining nicely done Sherry, nicely done.

Loved it!!

Great story right from the beginning! My daughter read the book in one day so I bought the audio. Fantastic!!

absorbed into the story

very creative vernacular, great twist ending, I loved getting lost in the story and feeling the feels along with the characters

Amazing!!

This book was SO good. I was enthralled with it and didn't want to stop listening. I had the story like a movie in my head! Now I want more audiobooks! So very badly! Amazing job!