Charlotte Usher is your typical teenager - her only problem, she’s basically invisible to the kids in school. She’s the type of person who just blends into the background... has no real friends, isn’t overly academic nor into sports. She is excited this first day of school because she spent her whole summer preparing herself to finally catch the attention of Damen Dylan (yes, he’s the hottest boy in school). Although Damen already has a girlfriend (Petula) - Charlotte plans on not letting anything or anyone get in her way - that includes Petula and her BFF’s - The Wendys. Just as things start looking up for Charlotte when it comes to Damen - she has a mishap with a gummy bear and (dum dum dum) SHE DIES. But she refuses to let something as minuscule as being dead get in the way of her plans. Shortly after her death she learns that she has to complete Dead Ed in place of high school. All “dead” students have to learn something important (something they never learned in life) before crossing over.... and Charlotte is definitely lacking in that subject. Be prepared for possessions (consensual, of course), major stalking issues and even a love triangle.

I must confess I purchased Ghostgirl because I fell in love with the cover (it reminded me of Tim Burton and I ♥ anything a-la Tim Burton). I loved the elongated cover and pages, the color scheme, great illustrations, the font, the borders on every page, etc. In between each chapter there was this fantastic little blurb that caught my attention and I just bought it... very spontaneous-like, since I had never really heard of it before.

With that said, I had some issues with it. Don’t take me wrong, I did find the story unique at first, but then it slowly disintegrated for me. I definitely could not relate to Charlotte - not even thinking back to when I was her age. She was very shallow and I found some of her actions even annoying at times. Luckily, she did outgrow most of this - but it was towards the end of the book so she didn’t fully redeem herself in my eyes. I did like how the story ended (although it did feel a bit rushed) and I can definitely appreciate the message that the author was trying to convey but it was still confusing and I felt as though it left a few plot holes. There were some great characters and some fantastic lines thrown in that made me laugh, but in the end, I must confess I was disappointed with this. ( )

If you have ever lost someone, or have ever felt jealous of another, then you can really relate to this book. The cover art at first, then the ghostly appeal due to my slight love for the paranormal made me select this book. AHS/KL

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. ( )