ghostgirl

ghostgirl by Tonya Hurley
published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2008
336 pages
approximate age level: 12+

Charlotte Usher has been virtually invisible at high school, but she hopes all that is about to change. After a summer of personal improvement, Charlotte starts school with a brand new makeover and one goal: get gorgeous Damen to fall for her, take her to the Fall Ball, and give her an exquisite midnight kiss. Not even Damen's popular and perfect girlfriend Petula can stop her, especially after Charlotte lucks out when she's assigned as Damen's lab partner and he asks her to be his physics tutor. Swoon! But then fate deals Charlotte a terrible blow just when she thinks things are going her way -- death by asphyxiation on a gummy bear. Now, Charlotte really is invisible, but she's not going to let that stop her from achieving her dream. With the help of her new friend Scarlet, Petula's goth little sister and the only person who can see her, Charlotte must find a way to get to the Fall Ball with Damen -- even if it means breaking every rule there is to being dead.

More satire than romance, ghostgirl is a surprisingly lighthearted comedy about high school and death. Hurley's novel is full of a lot of hilarious scenes, snappy dialogue, and tongue-in-cheek caricatures of well-known high school stereotypes: the popular girl, the crushable guy, the in-crowd clique, the goth girl. Reluctant readers will love the short chapters, quick pacing, and adorable black and pink illustrations that begin each chapter.

Even so, parts of ghostgirl fall a bit flat due to many of the characters being, well, flat. Though Charlotte does grow a lot throughout the book, for the first half she is a rather one-dimensional, and pathetic, character without many likable traits due to the fact her entire being is centered around achieving popularity and getting Damen. Scarlet is much more interesting right from her first appearance, and it might puzzle readers why a self-assured individual like Scarlet would give Charlotte the time of day, especially after the novelty of having a ghost as a friend has worn off. Petula, too, is a static villain with no redeeming qualities and who is clearly only around as an obstacle for Charlotte and for comedic effect. However, readers will enjoy Hurley's treatment of Damen, which is much more detailed as he emerges as an interesting leading man with a real personality and unique interests.

Yet despite these drawbacks, many aspects of ghostgirl are very enjoyable like the descriptions of the new ghost high school Charlotte attends, especially her morbid classmates who still show the injuries that caused their deaths -- some of which are delightfully gruesome. ghostgirl ends with a satisfying conclusion, one which proves just how much Charlotte has evolved from the beginning of the book. Currently, there are two sequels which follow Charlotte, Scarlet, Damen, and Petula on a few more supernatural adventures: ghostgirl: Homecoming and ghostgirl: Lovesick.

The ghostgirl series also has a wonderful official website: http://www.ghostgirl.com/

The third book in the series has a trailer with an original song by musician Polly Scattergood:


Read-alike suggestions:

ghostgirl: Homecoming by Tonya Hurley

ghostgirl: Lovesick by Tonya Hurley

Bad Girls Don't Die by Katie Alender

Bleeding Violet by Dia Reeves

Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr

The Secret Life of Sparrow Delaney by Suzanne Harper

Ship Breaker

Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi

published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2010

336 pages

approximate age level: 12+

National Book Award finalist

Printz Award Winner, 2011

There are a lot of things that Nailer doesn't know: how old he is, if he's going to get enough to eat, when he's going to lose his job, if his father is going to drink and hit him again when Nailer finally makes it home to his shanty house after another grueling day. Nailer's just a normal kid but was unlucky enough to be born in a slum on the Gulf Coast in the not too distant future, so instead of going to school or doing chores, he struggles to survive as a member of a light crew, a group of kids like him that work long hours disassembling old, rusty oil takers and taking what valuable parts are left, like copper wiring. It's a rough life -- Nailer barely gets paid and will soon be forced out of his job, and left with virtually no other work options, when he grows too big to crawl through the tiny ship ducts. His only hope is for a Lucky Strike, or a windfall so good it will lift him out of his miserable life forever. Then one day he miraculously finds a giant Lucky Strike -- a wrecked clipper ship off the coast that's full of valuable treasure. But there is one problem -- the owner of the ship, a young girl, is trapped on board but still alive. She promises Nailer riches beyond anything he has ever imagined if he will only help her. But is she lying? Nailer must decide if simply a life worth living is worth killing for or if this mysterious girl really can take him farther than he has dared to dream.

Ship Breaker is a novel that undulates, mirroring the ocean, an important and ubiquitous part of the setting. Parts are full of action and and move as quickly as a hurricane, then things slow down and Bacigalupi focuses on the characters who are revealed to us one layer at a time until the climax, which is as much about a finale to the drama as a revelation of what intentions and desires many characters have been harboring inside themselves. Nailer is a plucky protagonist with shades of Oliver Twist whom the reader can't help but root for despite seemingly enormous odds. A collection of other characters, such as Nailer's friend Pima, her mother Sadna, and even, eventually, the mysterious girl from the clipper, are multifaceted, surviving by their own unique moral compasses that are neither commendable or detestable, but understandable given their lives and circumstances. The dystopian setting is described in a detailed and believable manner and is a persuasive enough future to be rather unsettling. Even with its dark moments, such as more than a few violent and unnatural deaths, Ship Breaker is an enjoyable adventure that will leave readers satisfied and hopeful. Though Ship Breaker is Bacigalupi's only YA novel, readers may also enjoy his first work, The Windup Girl.

Read-alike suggestions:

The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi

Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld

Boneshaker by Cherie Priest

Hold Me Closer, Necromancer

Hold Me Closer, Necromancer by Lish McBride
published by Henry Holt and Co., 2010
352 pages
approximate age range: 13+
Morris Award Finalist

Samhain Corvus LeCroix, Sam for short, is having a hard time getting his life together since he dropped out of college and took a job in a fast food joint called Plumpy's. He's barely making ends meet and has no personal life to speak of, but at least he's got the company of his friends Ramon, Brooke, and Kevin to help him get through his cringe-worthy shifts. Then, Sam's boring world changes in a flash when a terrifying man, Douglas Montgomery, comes into the restaurant and instantly recognizes something important about Sam he never even knew about himself -- that, like Douglas, Sam's a necromancer and, with the right training, he can talk to, and even raise, the dead. From there, Sam's life only gets creepier. To send Sam a message that he's in charge and doesn't like competition, Douglas has a werewolf beat Sam to a pulp and then cuts off Brooke's head and has it delivered to Sam in a box -- still talking. Now with Ramon, Kevin, and Brooke, who may only be a head, but is still her smart and sassy self, Sam has one week to discover what he can about the powers he never knew he had and face Douglas or lose everyone he loves, as well as his life.

Sherman Alexie sums up Hold Me Closer, Necromancer best with his quote from the cover: "This is a SCARY funny book OR a FUNNY scary book. In any case, it is a GREAT book. I LOVE IT." While it might seem hard for one book to straddle the line between laugh-out-loud funny and chills-up-your-spine-scary, Necromancer does so with ease and neither the funny nor scary moments seemed forced or out of place. The urban fantasy world McBride creates is creative and unique, and as readers slowly discover its secrets with Sam, we become more and more intrigued. Sam himself is a likeable, well-rounded character, as are his friends, though McBride also skillfully shifts the perspective throughout the novel, at times telling the story from a handful of different characters, such as Brid, a shapeshifter girl and fellow victim of Douglas, Sam's mom Tia, and even evil Douglas himself. Each character's voice is distinct and easily recognizable, and these different view points flesh out the story and show past events and current motivations in a way that wouldn't be possible with a single perspective. In addition, there's plenty of action -- some comedic, some creepy -- to keep even the most reluctant reader entertained. However, Necromancer does contain some violence and brief sexuality, so cautiously recommend to younger readers. Though the book winds up in a way that's satisfying, McBride leaves plenty of room for a sequel, which most enamored readers will feel can't come quickly enough.

There are two official book trailers:






Read-alike suggestions:

Zombies vs. Unicorns edited by Holly Black and Justine Larbalestier

The Gates by John Connolly

The Princess Bride by William Goldman

Going Bovine by Libba Bray

M is for Magic by Neil Gaiman

Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill

Zombies vs. Unicorns

Zombies vs. Unicorns edited by Holly Black and Justine Larbalestier

published by Margaret K. McElderry, 2010

432 pages

approximate age range: 13+

Ah, the age old question -- which does the esteemed reader prefer: staggering, brain devouring zombies, or magical, majestic unicorns? Been there, done that? Okay, what about pitiful, pining zombies longing for love or ferocious, man-eating unicorns menacing society? In this collection of short stories gathered by well-known YA authors Holly Black and Justine Larbalestier, readers may find that it's hard to choose sides in the zombie vs. unicorn debate as stereotypes of each are shattered and both are reinvented in very innovative and, at times, rather humorous ways. Garth Nix, Libba Bray, Scott Westefeld, Carrie Ryan, Meg Cabot, and many more popular teen authors toss their hats into the ring, forming teams that dream up tall tales about their favorite creature and face off for the reader's affection. Each story is thoughtfully labeled with a picture of either a zombie or a unicorn so any readers that are adamant about not reading stories from the competition can easily avoid them. In addition, excerpts of an ongoing snippy, tongue-in-cheek conversation between Black (team unicorn) and Larbalestier (team zombie) on the positives and negatives of each prefaces every story and sets the quirky, off-the-wall tone of the collection.

Zombies vs. Unicorns is an easy sell to teens as it's a short story collection with a little bit of everything that will appeal to a wide range of readers and fans of different genres and authors. There are hilarious stories, gory stories, thoughtful stories, romantic stories, post-apocalyptic stories, and so on -- all of which give a fresh, worthwhile look at what one may feel like are two over-examined genres. Every writer is on top of his or her game and it's clear that they had fun with these short fictions that are some of the most creative and clever readers will come across. Narrative voices vary wildly from a runway girl living on the streets, to a princess, to a teenage cop, to a zombie himself. In addition, a couple of stories have gay and lesbian protagonists whose sexual orientation is portrayed in a positive way and deftly interwoven with the supernatural plots. Even so, though Zombies vs. Unicorns is a fun collection with a lot to love, beware when recommending it to younger or more sensitive readers as many of the stories contain mature content such as profanity, teenage sexuality, violent imagery, and, in one instance, alluded-to bestiality.

The official book trailer is appropriately hilarious:

Read-alike suggestions:

The Princess Bride by William Goldman

Stardust by Neil Gaiman

The Gates by John Connolly

White Cat by Holly Black

Liar by Justine Larbalestier

Going Bovine by Libba Bray

Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

Rot and Ruin by Jonathan Maburry

The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle