Ghostgirl
by Tonya Hurley

    GHOSTGIRL by Tonya Hurley
    Category:  Paranormal
    Age Recommendation:  Grades 6+
    Release Date:  8/1/08
    Publisher:  Little, Brown
    Reviewed by:  Breanna F.
    Rating:  5 Stars


    "Now I lay me down to sleep,
    I pray the Lord my soul to keep.
    And if I should die before I awake,
    I pray the popular attend my wake."

    This is the year for Charlotte Usher. The year that she's finally going to be noticed. She's finally going to have what
    she's always wanted: to be a popular girl and fit in with the head cheerleader in the school, Petula Kensington. She
    feels that the first day of school will be the start of her new life. She'll finally have the attention of the most popular
    guy in school, Damen. Who is, of course, Petula's boyfriend.

    In a way she does start a new life. Although it's actually her afterlife. Poor Charlotte chokes on a red gummy bear
    just before she leaves her first period physics class and dies. Her hopes of starting over fresh and finally being noticed
    for once are all crushed in an instant. Especially when she finds out that she still has to graduate even though she's
    dead! There's a whole class of students from her school who have died and are still attending classes there.

    Charlotte isn't giving up, though. She's still determined to win over Damen. And with the help of Scarlet Kensington
    (Petula's younger sister) she's sure she'll be able to do it. Scarlet can actually see Charlotte and Charlotte isn't about
    to let that fact go to waste. She figures she can hang out in Scarlet's body and get through to Damen that way. But
    her new dead classmates aren't liking Charlotte's plans too much and are making it incredibly hard for her to get
    anything done. Plus, the more time Scarlet spends time with Damen (when Charlotte isn't in her body, that is) the
    more Scarlet is starting to like Damen herself.

    Charlotte is determined to be noticed. She thinks that if she can just get noticed and be popular that she'll finally
    move on. But is popularity really what Charlotte needs? Or is it just finally realizing that you don't have to be the
    center of attention to matter?

    This book was great. I couldn't really guess what would happen throughout the book, which I always like. Poor
    Charlotte has such a rough time! Especially in the beginning of her afterlife. But she pulls through and even learns a
    valuable lesson along the way. I loved Scarlet's character. The way she acts towards her sister is hilarious. They are
    total opposites in every way. I loved all the nicknames the other dead students have, too. And I thought the ending
    was cute. It might not have been totally realistic, but then again this book wasn't really all that realistic in the first
    place. So I thought the ending fit pretty perfectly. I highly suggest checking this book out.