Reader reviewed by Mrs. Healt

Ghostgirl is about an unnoticed high school girl who is determined to be popular this year.  She has worked very hard over the summer to look better and is determined to get better, more popular friends.  Poor Ghostgirl, she never gets the chance because she chokes on a gummy bear and dies right at school  This book tells about how her experiences on the OtherSide are not much better than they were when she was among the living.  I did enjoy this book, although it was a little slow at the beginning.  I wans't sure where the author was going with the story.  I ended up reading the second in the series also; Ghostgirl Homecoming.  They are really cute books.  I like the shape of the books and the silver leafed pages.  The quotations and the pictures that the author puts at the beginning of each chapter are neat and go along with the story.  I would recommend this book for high school and up due to some mild bad language and some mild sexual situations.

Reader reviewed by Lizzy

I'm
going to admit that I picked up this book mainly because of the cover.
Now, that doesn't mean that the premise wasn't interesting, it was, but
the cover just looked extremely original. The book starts off with
Charlotte's death...death by gummy bear. If it's not tragic enough to
be remembered as "that girl who died because she choked on a gummy
bear", she finds out that she has to attend high school for ghosts. At
this "deadiquette" class she meets other teens who had untimely deaths,
and together they are supposed to work toward graduating (crossing
over). Charlotte is supposed to accept that she's dead, but she just
can't give up the dream of catching Damen (her super popular, living,
crush). So, Charlotte strikes up a deal with a girl named Scarlet (who
is, much to Charlotte's surprise, able to see Charlotte). Charlotte
will inhabit Scarlet's body for a while, and during that time Scarlet
will get to wander around invisible to her peers. Shenanigans ensue.

The
story was unique, and written by someone who really made me remember
the angst of being a teenager. It was well written, and Hurley is a
veteran in the field. This may be her first teen book, but she's spent
a lot of time writing/directing for television and film. The problem,
however, was that I lost interest around the middle. This might have
been due to the large number of books that had just been released that
I had been dying to read, or it might have just been my lack of empathy
for a character so set on being popular. Eventually, I made it through,
and was pleasantly surprised that story picked up again toward the end.
The sequel, Ghostgirl: Homecoming is being released in July, and I'll
undoubtedly read it. I'm interested in seeing how Hurley can continue
this story (since the first one seemed to wrap up really well). The
premise of the new story does sound interesting, and once again the
cover art is amazing.

Reader reviewed by Hillary

Charlotte Usher feels practically invisible at school, and then one day
she really is invisible. Even worse: she's dead. And all because she
choked on a gummy bear. But being dead doesn't stop Charlotte from
wanting to be popular; it just makes her more creative about achieving
her goal. If you thought high school was a matter of life or death,
wait till you see just how true that is.

There has been an
increasing popularity of young adult paranormal books in the last few
years. Everyones talking about their new favorite vampire book, or the
cool faerie story they just picked up. But, in all this paranormal
popularity, ghosts seem to have been left out. But I believe that
Ghostgirl is going to be the one to bring attention to the forgotten
portion of the paranormal category.

Ghostgirl was a very unique
story. Charlotte, the storys main character, was strangely relateable.
Her desire to be popular and the crush on the popular and unattainable
boy is something that (almost) every teenage girl can recognize. She
spends every moment of her life, as well as her after-life, trying to
be accepted by the people she admired most.

Another character
that really stood out to me was Scarlet, the little, Gothic sister of
the most popular girl. She was the only person who was able to see
Charlotte after she died. Their friendship was complex and full of
bumps and problems, which only made it seem more realistic. Scarlet
will make you rethink anything you thought about Goths in your own
school. Her personality made her my favorite character to hear about.

Overall,
the book was enjoyable. The layout of the book was very unique and
interesting. But, all the extra pieces of writing introducing each
chapter made it a lengthier read then it appears to be. The ending of
the book was really satisfying, but I still wanted to read more about
Charlotte. I would recommend it to people who enjoy paranormal or
fantasy books.

Reader reviewed by Kristen

I couldn't help myself! I saw the cover to this book, felt it and had to read it!

Although,
I started reading it and was ready to kill the main character. Alas,
Charlotte died before I had a chance to get too far into the book. From
there on, I couldn't put it down. Hurley did a great job with the
humorous main character, who sets off a new year at school wanting to
get noticed by a certain popular guy. She's astonished to find she may
end up tutoring him and then chokes on a gummy bear and dies...

Only
now she has a new life as a ghost. She's obsessed with keeping up where
she left off - finding a way into popularity. But here's a snag - the
only live person that can see her is the goth outcast whose sister is
dating the guy she wants to herself! I can't stop chuckling about this
book and can't wait to read the sequel.