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mariapds's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
anakavel's review against another edition
5.0
The last time I read this book was when I was 10. I only remembered 2 things, the gummy bear & CoCo (because I clearly remember how funny I thought it was when Pam said “rest in Prada”). This was one of the first books I genuinely enjoyed because I chose it. I’m 24 now & I realize that I didn’t remember much, but it was so much better than what I remembered, I really really enjoyed reading it now, 14 years later. And the musical references were
missprint_'s review against another edition
3.0
I had really high hopes for Tonya Hurley's novel "ghostgirl" after seeing an advanced reading copy of the novel due out in August 2008 (this despite the fact that the title is all lower case). The book design is really amazing: Taller and narrower than a mass market book, the novel immediately looks different. The dominant colors are pink and black. The cover features a silhouette in what looks like a coffin with a sash that reads "Rest in Popularity." Even the interior of the book is snazzy featuring a silhouette by Craig Phillips at the start of each chapter and a loopy border at the top and bottom of each page. In other words, this book looked really cool. Even its marketing campaign is cool. Just take a look at www.ghostgirl.com to see what I mean.
Despite all of that, I'm still not sure how I feel about "ghostgirl." I was hesitant to put this novel as a CLW review at all. But, by the end of the story, it's clear that the main character is trying and she does change eventually and, since that's all anyone can ask, I decided to go with it.
And, now that I've set up the novel more than anyone would have thought possible, on to the review:
Charlotte Usher is virtually invisible at her high school. She's the kind of girl no one would miss if she disappeared suddenly. Even when she does exactly that. To be more specific, she dies. Because of a gummy bear.
Adding insult to injury, Charlotte was certain things were looking up before she died. After a rigorous summer campaign, Charlotte was finally prepared (mentally and physically thanks to intense surveillance and a makeover) to make a play for her crush, Damen Dylan--the guy every girl at Hawthorne High wants to date. Even Damen's snooty girlfriend Petula and her sidekicks, The Wendys, couldn't discourage Charlotte.
With that kind of tenacity, it's not surprising that Charlotte isn't about to let a little thing like being dead get in the way of her goal. Wandering town as a spirit with unfinished business, Charlotte decides to focus on living the life she was so close to having instead of dying with style. Much to the chagrin of her new "Dead Ed" classmates who are all waiting to learn their own lessons and finally rest in peace. What follows is a zany plot involving stalking, possession (don't worry, it's consensual), and a love triangle that has to be read to be believed.
As that description might suggest, this plot--like the book itself--has a lot of potential. Sadly, a lot of that potential is squandered. Charlotte is painfully invisible to her classmates before her death. Unfortunately she remains equally aloof from readers. At points I feel like I can see Charlotte, but not once in the novel did I feel like I knew her. (This is, to a lesser extent, a problem for the other characters as well.) While her desires are obvious throughout the novel, her motivations never quite manifest.
The actual narrative has its own shaky points. Hurley has several characters mention that teen-aged ghosts are too self-absorbed to miss their families, which seemed like an easy (too easy) way to write out an entire part of Charlotte's life. It also leaves the question of why no one tried to help Charlotte make friends before her death unanswered.
Finally, the tone of the novel is slightly erratic. The novel alternates haphazardly between morbid and flippant at breakneck speeds making the characters seem cartoonish with their odd situations and reactions to them (I'm not even talking about Charlotte being a ghost here)
Yet, I still finished "ghostgirl" and I still did enjoy parts of it. If you can get past the erratic writing and underdeveloped characters, this is an okay book even if it doesn't live up to the hopes created by its design.
Almost in spite of herself, Charlotte does learn her lesson and find peace by the end of the story as she begins to understand that, sometimes, there's more to life than being seen--even in high school.
You can find this review and more on my blog Miss Print
Despite all of that, I'm still not sure how I feel about "ghostgirl." I was hesitant to put this novel as a CLW review at all. But, by the end of the story, it's clear that the main character is trying and she does change eventually and, since that's all anyone can ask, I decided to go with it.
And, now that I've set up the novel more than anyone would have thought possible, on to the review:
Charlotte Usher is virtually invisible at her high school. She's the kind of girl no one would miss if she disappeared suddenly. Even when she does exactly that. To be more specific, she dies. Because of a gummy bear.
Adding insult to injury, Charlotte was certain things were looking up before she died. After a rigorous summer campaign, Charlotte was finally prepared (mentally and physically thanks to intense surveillance and a makeover) to make a play for her crush, Damen Dylan--the guy every girl at Hawthorne High wants to date. Even Damen's snooty girlfriend Petula and her sidekicks, The Wendys, couldn't discourage Charlotte.
With that kind of tenacity, it's not surprising that Charlotte isn't about to let a little thing like being dead get in the way of her goal. Wandering town as a spirit with unfinished business, Charlotte decides to focus on living the life she was so close to having instead of dying with style. Much to the chagrin of her new "Dead Ed" classmates who are all waiting to learn their own lessons and finally rest in peace. What follows is a zany plot involving stalking, possession (don't worry, it's consensual), and a love triangle that has to be read to be believed.
As that description might suggest, this plot--like the book itself--has a lot of potential. Sadly, a lot of that potential is squandered. Charlotte is painfully invisible to her classmates before her death. Unfortunately she remains equally aloof from readers. At points I feel like I can see Charlotte, but not once in the novel did I feel like I knew her. (This is, to a lesser extent, a problem for the other characters as well.) While her desires are obvious throughout the novel, her motivations never quite manifest.
The actual narrative has its own shaky points. Hurley has several characters mention that teen-aged ghosts are too self-absorbed to miss their families, which seemed like an easy (too easy) way to write out an entire part of Charlotte's life. It also leaves the question of why no one tried to help Charlotte make friends before her death unanswered.
Finally, the tone of the novel is slightly erratic. The novel alternates haphazardly between morbid and flippant at breakneck speeds making the characters seem cartoonish with their odd situations and reactions to them (I'm not even talking about Charlotte being a ghost here)
Yet, I still finished "ghostgirl" and I still did enjoy parts of it. If you can get past the erratic writing and underdeveloped characters, this is an okay book even if it doesn't live up to the hopes created by its design.
Almost in spite of herself, Charlotte does learn her lesson and find peace by the end of the story as she begins to understand that, sometimes, there's more to life than being seen--even in high school.
You can find this review and more on my blog Miss Print
meet_me_in_cognito's review against another edition
4.0
Really clever and at times very touching. The cover design is terrible and doesn't represent the book well at all, but don't let that deter you.
n1c0l3_1905's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
sissiya's review against another edition
2.0
No está mal para pasar un buen rato pero se me ha hecho demasiado largo. Hay demasiado humor negro como para estar destinado a un público infantil (si yo lo leí fue porqué de pequeña leí la segunda parte de la colección y sentía curiosidad por la primera, nada más).
ivy_the_snail's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
sad
medium-paced
5.0
kidmilhouse's review against another edition
4.0
Okay. I am trying to gather my thoughts. I’ll start with this: I love the concept of this book and I wish I had been able to read it in high school. I love all the amazing references (Delicatessen, Death Cab for Cutie, Panic at the Disco etc.) and all of the pre-chapter quotes. It reminds me of a fantasy story that I would have written in high school...what if I could make everything I want mine? I like the fact that it addresses kids who are offbeat and a little different. I found the book fun to read and I do plan to read the sequels. But...that being said...the writing wasn’t great as a whole (kind of amateurish in lots of parts) and filled with an excess of adverbs that were unnecessary. Also, there were lots of unnecessary untrue stereotypes (ex: all Hawthorne High cheerleaders are sluts) and I didn’t like the use of the word “retarded” or the fact that Sam was “pretending to be slow”. Charlotte was super-shallow and even after death only cared about getting the guy she had a crush on...her family was never even
mentioned. But, despite all this, I had fun reading it overall. Also, I was hesitant to even try it due to prior reviews so I wanted to be sure I shared my honest thoughts. I gave it four stars mostly because I enjoyed reading it...not so much for the quality of the writing.
mentioned. But, despite all this, I had fun reading it overall. Also, I was hesitant to even try it due to prior reviews so I wanted to be sure I shared my honest thoughts. I gave it four stars mostly because I enjoyed reading it...not so much for the quality of the writing.
brashknuckles's review against another edition
5.0
I really liked Scarlet. But the death by gummy bear is kind of funny, I mean gummy Bears, killing people.
alaidemo's review against another edition
1.0
No es una historia mala, es sólo un tanto absurda la forma de morir de Charlotte.
Creo que no es uno de mis géneros.
Y eso no quiere decir que haya odiado el libro, simplemente no me encantó, al grado de no querer leer los dos otros libros que hay.
Creo que no es uno de mis géneros.
Y eso no quiere decir que haya odiado el libro, simplemente no me encantó, al grado de no querer leer los dos otros libros que hay.