meh. ( )

This book has a pretty cover, but don't fall for it; this story was a waste of time. ( )

This book has a pretty cover, but don't fall for it; this story was a waste of time. ( )

I picked this up because I'd received an advance copy of the sequel, and I thought I should start the series at the beginning. I really, really wish I hadn't found the gilt edged pages and die cut cover so appealing. The book just looked so pretty I wanted to give it a chance, even though I had to force myself to make it through the first chapter.

The best thing I can say about ghostgirl is that it's a gorgeous physical object. But despite the fun little chapter headings and page decorations, the pretty endpapers and attractive cover sizing, this book was almost impossible to finish because Hurley made it so hard for me to like any of her characters.

Charlotte, the ghostgirl of the title, is a classic example of a negative teenage stereotype: whiny, self-absorbed, and shallow. Which wouldn't bother me too much, if Hurley did something to subvert the stereotype or add to it in a creative way, maybe even use it to comment on negative teen stereotypes. She does none of those. Charlotte is still an annoying, selfish, cut-out of a character at the end of the novel, despite the plot's climax that's meant to show how she's changed.

Also, I couldn't help thinking that if this were a book about a guy character who followed a girl character around the way Charlotte follows her crush Damen it wouldn't have gotten reviews calling it cute. I thought it was more than a little creepy how stalkerish Charlotte got once she could follow her crush unobserved.

Mostly, this book, from the characters to the plot to the overabundant pop culture references, annoyed me from beginning to end. Totally not worth the time.
( )

There were a lot of problems with Ghostgirl, and one might wonder why I’ve rated it 3 stars.
Problems:
· Hurley seems to be trying to include many, many themes and messages rather than focusing entirely on one or two main points.
· There are almost too many sub-plots to keep up with.
· The main character, Charlotte, is just pathetic. In life she was the ultimate wallflower, and longed to be popular (which is pathetic to begin with, especially given the way the popular crowd is portrayed in the book) but adding her selfishness into the equation makes her doubly pathetic. She learns her lessons in the end, but it takes her a long time to get there.
· The book is written as though high school is the whole universe. Not once in the entire book, while she’s alive or after she’s dead does the author or the character mention parents, siblings, or any loved ones. This struck me as off.
· There were occasionally somewhat jarring plot shifts. It felt like after she finished writing, the book was too long, and an editor just yanked out pages here and there, without sufficient rewriting to make the book read smoothly.
· Biggest problem: Logic. When a book involving supernatural things, magic, or fantasy is written, it is vital that the author determine what the rules of their world will be, communicate those rules to the reader, and stick to those rules rigidly. This is why J.K. Rowling’s magical world works so perfectly, it’s why Stephen King’s supernatural tales are so good. They stick to the rules they’ve created. But Hurley seems at times to just make up what can happen in her supernatural world based on where she wants the story to go in the end, without ever establishing the rules. The whole conclusion was a logical jumble. Much of what happens in the last couple of chapters simply makes no sense.
All that said, there were some things I liked, and I tend to be rather forgiving if there are some things I like.
What I liked:
· Scarlet was a great character. Comfortable in her own unpopular skin, even when she wasn’t in her body at all.
· The storyline involving the living Scarlet and the dead Charlotte switching places – Charlotte taking over Scarlett’s body while Scarlet gets to be an ethereal being for a while – created some fun, funny, and interesting episodes.
· Charlotte brings most of her problems on herself, both alive and after death, and indeed that’s one of the book’s themes. But even as I thought what a pathetic girl she was, I couldn’t help but root for her to learn her lessons and move on. I would have liked a more steady growth through the story, instead of a big, single revelation at the end, but I still enjoyed seeing her finally grow up and move along with her life (so to speak.)
· And kudos to the book designers too. Beautiful book. Die-cut cover with poly inlay, silver edges pages, and attractive art-nouveau borders on every page.
Hurley dropped in a lot of pop-culture references, which dates the book. Today’s 13-year-olds are going to react to the band names and websites mentioned far differently than the way the 13-year olds of 2008 did. Still, this would be an appealing book for the right audience, in spite of its many flaws. But if you’re not really into teen social issues and a tongue-in-cheek look at death and afterlife, then this is definitely not the tale for you. ( )