Homecoming

When I read the first Ghostgirl book, someone asked me afterwards what I thought of it. I said, "It's one of the worst books I ever liked." Unsurprisingly, I felt the same way about this sequel, though it was even weaker than the first. It's easy to point out a lot of flaws, (and I will,) but for reasons I'm not real sure about, I enjoyed it, and will probably read the final book in the series sometime.
What's wrong with it? The cast of characters is almost exclusively high school girls, and all but a couple of them are dead girls. There is one living high school boy as well, Damon. Most of these girls share the same profound character weaknesses. They obsess over popularity, and are irritatingly catty. The afterlife in Hurley's show more Ghostgirl universe, follows its own set of rules about how things work, but she never makes it quite clear what these rules are. Groups of the dead teens are expected to go "places" and do things that are a bit confusing or meaningless to the reader. Hurley's writing style can also be irritating. She needs to learn the value of the simple word "said." The book is filled with dialogue, but after nearly every "said" there is an adverb, and it is tiresome. She said, irritatingly, annoyingly, distractedly, snidely, proudly, skittishly, etc. Charlotte, the main character, is dreadfully wishy-washy, as she was in the first book. Petula is presented as a cheerleader (alive, but just barely through most of this book) who seems to be the most popular girl ever, in spite of the fact that she is narcissistic, snotty, shallow, and mean. All in all, someone so horrid that nobody would like her, no matter how physically attractive she was. It is easier to believe the complex mechanics of the afterlife in this book than it is to believe that anyone likes Petula.
The plot: Charlotte finds that the next stage in the afterlife, having graduated "Dead-Ed" in the first book, is manning a phone bank, where calls come in from troubled teens who are still alive. What the kids on the phone tell them, is what they hear their conscience say. Meanwhile, in the world of the living, Scarlet (Petula's younger sister) and Damon (Scarlet's boyfriend - Petula's ex-boyfriend) are trying to figure out how to save Petula's life when she is in a coma on the brink of death. Scarlet decides the only way is with the help of Charlotte, and Scarlet takes off into the world of the dead to find her. Then she, Charlotte, and Charlotte's roommate Maddy (who has her own questionable motives), go off to find Peutla's soul to guide it back to her body. It's all quite silly.
I honestly can't put my finger on why I enjoyed these books at all, but for some reason I did. show less

Finally willing to let go of her life, Charlotte moves on to the afterlife. Charlotte and all of her friends graduated and now have move on to interning at a hotline. Teens who feel lost, upset, even thinking about suicide are led to the hotline, and it is their job to help them. It seems like a job she could get into, until Scarlet all of a sudden arrives...in the afterlife.
What is Scarlet doing there? What does Petula have to do with it? Charlotte offers her help, not matter what it costs her in the afterlife.
The author is so creative, I mean, a hotline for troubled teens? It blew me away. I was taken on a whirlwind of imagination and I enjoyed every bit of it.
Another interesting new voice in this book is Petula, the bratty sister of show more Scarlet. We saw her in the first book, but she has her own chapters in this one. I enjoyed seeing her side, and she kind of reminded me of Cordelia Chase from Buffy The Vampire Slayer. Loved reading her side.
And I really enjoyed Charlotte this time. Last book she was selfish and whiny, but this book she grows and has become a great character to read about. I actually felt for her and was a little proud of her when she helped Scarlet.
Although the twist wasn't very twisty, and the action wasn't very...actiony (actiony can be a word in this instance), I enjoyed the book. It was fun, cute, creative, and thoughtful. The author always has this gut-wrenching scene(s) that pull me in and really root for the characters.
It was a nice sequel and I'm even more curious to see what book 3 has to offer. What will happen to poor Charlotte next? show less

Attention goths, gouls, and undead cheerleader wannabes - the much-anticipated sequel to ghostgirl is now available! In the follow-up to Tonya Hurley's best-selling debut, Charlotte Usher is struggling with her new un-life. After passing "Dead Ed," she and her classmates are assigned to a phoneback, acting as a heavenly conscience for troubled teens. But her phone never seems to ring, her friends seem to be ingnoring her, and her new room mate, Maddy, is strange at best. Most of all, she misses her BFF, Scarlet, who is still alive. But when Scarlet's sister, Petula, gets an infection from her pedicure and ends up in a coma, Scarlet is positive that Charlotte is her sister's last hope. Together the girls must find a way to help the show more comatose cheerleader - but only if Maddy doesn't get in the way. While the prose style leaves much to be desired, and the new characters are extremely underdeveloped, Hurley's humor mostly makes up for this novel's flaws. Perfect for a fun summer read, ghostgirl fans will adore this hilarious second novel, and will soon be clamoring for a third. show less

Reviewed by Andrea for TeensReadToo.com

Charlotte thinks that now that she's crossed over, it will be Heaven. Instead, she ends up as an intern answering calls from troubled teens with her other Dead Ed classmates.

But while her classmates' phones ring off the hook, Charlotte's doesn't ring at all. Meanwhile, Petula, Hawthorne High's most popular girl, ends up in a coma and her sister, Scarlet, is determined to save her. And to do that she needs Charlotte's help.

This book was like a typical sequel in that it just wasn't as good as the first book. HOMECOMING just seemed really far-fetched. Not that the premise could ever really happen, anyway, but for some reason to me this one just seemed really out there.

It was still a fun read, though. show more I once again loved Scarlet's sarcasm and one-liners. She's just so funny!

And I really liked what happened at the very, very end. I didn't see it coming and I'm really glad that it did. It ended the book on a really good note. show less

ghostgirl: homecoming, the follow-up to ghostgirl is hysterically tragic! It is even BETTER than the first book! It is funnier, with even more laugh out loud line, it's wittier and deeper! You really get to know the characters and the world a lot more. I love the way the author takes all these strange characters and puts them in this twisted world, but has the ability to make them totally relatable. This book is as beautiful as it's cover, and although you'll laugh through-out, expect some tears at the end.

The kids from Dead Ed have moved onto a call center where their job is to be callers "inner concious", the voice that argues with them when they have make a decision. Unfortunately, no one is calling Charlotte's line and no one seems to have time for her except her new room mate Maddy who's motives are just a little bit suspect. Back at Hawthorne, Petula is in a coma and Scarlet knows she needs to help her and that she can't do it without Scarlett. This book had a more serious tone then the previous book and continued to focus on the ideas of living life to the fullest and self-esteem.

The kids from Dead Ed have moved onto a call center where their job is to be callers "inner concious", the voice that argues with them when they have make a decision. Unfortunately, no one is calling Charlotte's line and no one seems to have time for her except her new room mate Maddy who's motives are just a little bit suspect. Back at Hawthorne, Petula is in a coma and Scarlet knows she needs to help her and that she can't do it without Scarlett. This book had a more serious tone then the previous book and continued to focus on the ideas of living life to the fullest and self-esteem.