Ninth Key

Book 2 in the Mediator series was not as well-plotted as the first book, Shadowland. Extravagantly implausible difficulties encountered by the MC (Susannah, a.k.a. as 'Suze') subverted this story for me, but I'm still liking Meg Cabot's writing. Although the pacing seemed rushed in this book (compared to Book 1), Cabot's characterizations are fun and in many instances she nails that angst of a 16-year-old girl. An amusing read for teens, especially those navigating the social hierarchy of high school.

What would you do when the ghost of a woman shows up in your bedroom and tells you to "tell Red he didn't kill me"? You'd tell him, right? Especially if that was the only way to get her to stop screaming and yelling at you all the time. So Suze asks around to find out if anyone knows "Red" and finds out he's a well-known pillar of the community, one with a very hot son she starts dating. Oh, and Red also might be a vampire because he keeps staring at Suze's neck and his assistant does too when he asks if Red hurt her.

Jesse, the ghost who lives in her bedroom, seems jealous over her dating Tad. That's great by Suze because she's falling for him in a big way, even though there's no way they can be together. But Tad's nice, and she gave show more him poison oak, so she's willing to see if there's something there, even though she's busily trying to figure out if his father murdered a bunch of people or just ate them for a vampiric snack. Red isn't the Red she was looking for so it takes a while for her to deliver the message but when she does it's worth it. show less

Suze Simon has a major problem. The problem isn't that she can talk to ghosts or that a super-cute ghost is living in her room or even that she is being made to live across the country from her native New York along with THREE stepbrothers. Her biggest problem is that she is sweet 16 and never been kissed, nor ever even had a boy interested in her. It's not that she's ugly (she's not), or stupid (Suze is quite witty if she does say so herself.) It's that no one can quite get past the fact that Suze seems as likely to smack you around as give you a hug. Maybe she should consider a change in 'tude? Then again, considering her mediator duties and all the ghost-busting she's had to do since arriving in California, it could be that the show more attitude is all that stands between staying alive or joining her unwelcome charges.

It has been a while since I first read Meg Cabot's Mediator books and I've been curious if they would stand the re-reading test and be as good now as I remember. I can certainly say I still love it! Suze's sarcastic, if slightly self-important, views on life made me giggle all the way through the story. This particular volume has a couple of my favorite scenes to grace the whole series, most specifically we get to see Suze's first kiss (LOL!) and the climactic scene at the end, despite all the fried fish. Also, I have to mention Jesse, who is the number one choice for my favorite hero in any book series, young adult, adult or otherwise.

Now that I've given into the temptation of re-reading this one, I guess I'll have to continue on and do the whole series over. They're just that good! show less

The second book in the Mediator series is as frothy, fun, and wholesome as the first. And by wholesome I don't mean that Suze, who can communicate with the dead, is a "family values" prig--rather, I mean she's forthright, smart, a good friend and has no shame about her own desires. It's YA, and I really hope a lot of teenagers read it.

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Actual rating: 3.5 stars

Rereading old favorites is interesting. The Mediator series was one of my favorite things ever, but it’s shocking how little I actually remembered about the books. Reading them through a blogger lens definitely casts them in a slightly different light, but they’re still hilarious and fun, even if they’re no longer perfection to me. That said, I’m fairly certain that Ninth Key is the weakest in the series. Fun, but lacking much effect on the larger narrative.

Suze is amazing, and I love her, but I also want to see her grow. She doesn’t really do that in Ninth Key at all. She runs around to solve the absurd mystery du jour, and show more that’s basically it. Nothing really happens to move the larger plot arc forward. Of course, partially, that’s awesome because the larger plot revolves around Jesse. Cabot wants to give us the slow burn, so she’s filling time.

So Suze gets her first kiss in Ninth Key. I have to say that much as I don’t like Tad (especially since my dad’s name is Tadd – double yuck) that I love the fact that Suze does try out other guys. She’s already got a sizable crush on Jesse, but hello he’s dead. Unlike most paranormal heroines, she’s totally phased by the fact that her dude is not a living human, even if he is gorgeous. Suze is just cool that way, even if she does feel the need to tell me about the guys’ body hair, which no thank you.

Also, the mystery in this one is totes ridic to the max. Like, the whole thing is built around a really stupid misunderstanding where the ghost won’t be specific. So Suze gets involved in this big dramatic murder mystery because reasons, and it’s just all so over the top. That’s part of the charm of the book, too, but it’s just so silly.

I mean, I still loved reading it and flew through it, because Suze is just amazing. However, sadly, what makes Ninth Key notable is mostly the stuff that didn’t work as well as usual. Still, I think three is where the ship starts to board, which means YES. show less

In a lot of longer series, I tend to look at some books as filler. This is one of them. A lot of Ninth Key revolves around Suze settling into her role at Carmel and how her relationship with Jesse is progressing. (I did like that her dad’s ghost pops in and promptly chews Jesse out for living with his daughter.) But it’s a good filler book for setting up and expanding on these relationships. I like that Suze realizes her crush is impossible and tries to go for living boys; I like how CeeCee and Adam kinda graduated into her right-hand companions/researchers; I like how you see how much harder it is to be a mediator in her new circumstances. The vampire plot that drives the book gets a little silly, and I reacted similarly to Suze show more whenever Father Dominic first brings up the possibility. But I do enjoy it, and I liked how the whole thing resolves. show less

Second verse same as the first...it's like an episode of a soap opera, you want to say no but you have to know what happens next. Clever Cabot.