Clever! ( )

Reviewed by Breanna F. for TeensReadToo.com

"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. ( )

A fun story about a girl named Charlotte who chokes to death on a gummy bear just when her life seems to be looking up. Though she is dead, she finds out that she must continue to go to school until the time that she and the others in their class resolve whatever issue that remains to be resolved from their prior life. Problem is, they all have to figure out what that is. On top of that Charlotte has other plans. Her goal is to figure out how to get the guy of her dreams - even in death. ( )

All Charlotte wants is to be popular. So for the new school year she has a new look and she is going to try out for cheerleading. Another thing she wants more than anything is to get the most sought after guy in school, Damen.Right when things start to go the right way with Damen Charlotte ends up choking on a gummy bear. But she isn't going to let a little thing like being dead stop her from getting what she wants.

This book was really different from anything i've read before. It was funny, and weird, and a little cheesy, but the plot kept it going at a fast pace. This book has everything, cheerleaders, gummy bears, love, death, and rotting corpses. I also like the style of the book cover, and the silver on the edges of the pages, and there are color and designs in the book, very fancy for a book that's under $20. ( )

ghostgirl by Tonya Hurley

Popularity, the handsome Damen, and a friend is all Charlotte wanted. The new school year would bring all these things closer to Charlotte, she knew it, if only she changed herself a tad bit. But the first day of junior year, things don’t go as planned. After a deadly incident involving a gummy bear, Charlotte finds herself on the Other Side of the school. She is able to be on the outside looking in, without the Living Kids seeing her staring with eager eyes: something she always felt but finally came true. It isn’t exactly a dream though because now Damen can’t fall in love with her! Then Charlotte finds out she is still in high school but having to learn from a dead teacher about Deadiquette, though her hope to become popular is still shining. But when Charlotte discovers that one of the Living Kids can see her, her hope only shines brighter …

ghostgirl was enjoyable after the first 30 pages. The beginning was dull but when I met the Dead Kids, everything was becoming ‘fun’. Though the dialogue was predictable, I couldn’t get enough of it! I’m not a fan of the narration (third person but completely descriptive) and the death references took up a lot of space. Things like “dying to be popular” and “he doesn’t even know I’m alive” were funny the first time, but they soon became overused.

Charlotte was selfish and only cared about herself (she even admitted to it) but this is the story of how hard she tried to overcome that. Her logic was interesting and her decisions made the storyline twist and turn with every chapter. The Dead Kids added so much to the story that I can’t imagine it without them. They each explained their Life and their Death which was utterly fascinating. Author Tonya Hurley’s voice is fun and distinctive but I’d like to see how she would use it in a different book. ( )