Review: Bitterroot Crossing By Tess Oliver

Title: Bitterroot Crossing
Author: Tess Oliver
Release Date: January 2011
Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal
Source: Kindle Lending Club

A love triangle that crosses centuries . . .

For Nick Crush, the only thing cool about his town, Bitterroot Crossing, is the gang of outlaw ghosts that rise occasionally from the town’s swamp. But when he finds himself competing with the most notorious spirit and his own ancestor, Zedekiah Crush, for the affections of Jessie Sterling, suddenly the whole ghost thing isn’t so cool.

Jessie Sterling inherited her great-great-grandma’s shorter left leg and incredible beauty, a beauty that a century and a half earlier sparked a love triangle that ended in tragedy. Now Jessie leaves the safety of her grandma’s farm to attend high school in town . . . and Bitterroot Crossing will never be the same.


Bitterroot Crossing is the story of a town, haunted by a group of outlaw ghosts involved in a scandal 100 years ago, and what happens when the descendants of the original scandal fall in love.

WORLD BUILDING: 4
This town reminds me a classic little town in the middle of no where. I loved the tragic love story between Rebecca and Zedekiah. What I didn't like is that the town just accepts the fact that the ghosts haunt their town and never do anything to remedy it. In fact, when it is revealed what will stop the ghosts from haunting, its is so ridiculous to believe no one though of it before hand.

CHARACTER BUILDING: 4
All of the characters are well written and developed. I really Zedekiah, who turned out to be different than what legend said. Even the most insignificant characters had their own personalities and were not cookie cutter.

ROMANCE: 4
This is more of a sweet love story than a passionate one. I really enjoyed that and thought it was a good chance of pace. Jessie never loses her personality because she loves Nick, which is a refreshing change from some other YA literature.

KICK-ASS: 3
There are some altercations, but its not the focus of the book. It balanced the romance nicely.

OVERALL: 15/20
I really enjoyed this book, even if I couldn't tell where it was going at first. Oliver's writing style is different, and each chapter alternates between Nick and Jessie, but it doesn't tell you who is who so you have to figure it out for yourself. It was a nice, short, sweet, read.