Charlotte Usher, the titular “ghostgirl” in the book ghostgirl, walks through life feeling like she’s invisible. She yearns to be one of the popular girls in high school and win the heart of the boy of her dreams, but she can’t even manage to get noticed.
Sound familiar? If you grew up a geek, it does. Being a ghost is the perfect metaphor for the status of those who cling to the fringe of society, looking in but not fitting in.
Charlotte, the poster girl for not fitting in, seems on the verge of finally attaining the popularity she obsesses over when she’s assigned to be the Physics tutor for the school’s star athlete, and her crush, Damen Dylan… but promptly chokes on a gummy bear and dies. Death doesn’t deter Charlotte from her quest, though, so with the help of Goth girl Scarlet, a fellow outcast and the only live person who can see Charlotte, she sets out to achieve in the afterlife what she couldn’t while still alive. Along the way, both girls learn to accept, and find acceptance for, who they really are and where they belong, popular or not.
The book itself is a work of art, its tall and narrow trim size reflecting the shape of a coffin and featuring a coffin die-cut with stamped acetate inlay on the black, silver, and pink hardcover. The cover’s colour scheme is continued throughout the book in the silhouette illustrations at the beginning of each chapter, the flowery designs in the margins, and the silver gilt applied to the page edges. Beneath each chapter illustration is a plot-relevant quote, usually in the form of song lyrics, that emphasizes the novel’s frequent use of music and pop culture references.
ghostgirl originated as a Web project in 2002, so fans can extend the book’s experience by visiting the beautifully designed ghostgirl.com. There’s lots to explore while waiting for the next book in the series, ghostgirl: Homecoming (July 2009), including a MySpace page for main character Charlotte Usher.
Recommended Reading Level: Young Adult (12+) for mild sexual content, Goth Chic-style violence, and occasional adult language.
Order now at Amazon.com:
ghostgirl
ghostgirl is distributed by Little, Brown and Company, an imprint of Hachette Book Group USA, and Headline Publishing (UK). For more information on the book and its author, visit ghostgirl.com and the website of Tonya Hurley.