ghostgirl

ghostgirl

Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep. And if I should die before I awake, I pray the popular attend my wake. 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. In this satirical, yet heartfelt novel, Hurley explores the invisibility we all feel at some times and the lengths we'll go to be seen. Praise for ghostgirl: * Polished dark-and-deadpan humor, it's a natural fit with Gen Y, too." --Publishers Weekly (starred review) * "[Tonya] beats out witty teen-speak like a punk-band drummer, keeping the narrative fast-paced and fun yet thought-provokingly heartwarming. Goofy, ghastly, intelligent, electrifying." --Kirkus (starred review) *"Tim Burton and Edgar Allan Poe devotees will die for this fantastic, phantasmal read." --School Library Journal (starred review) * "Readers with a taste for black humor and satire will feast on Hurley's crisp, wise dialogue. Anticipate a well deserved cult following." -- VOYA (starred review) "Written with deadpan wit...this is a 'Wonderful Life'-like tale." - New York Post "A sincere (and humorous) exploration of how we all feel invisible at one time or another...perfect read." - CosmoGirl Starred Review. Grade 7 Up—Charlotte User, an invisible loser, dies just before enacting a plan to catch the cutest guy in school and achieve popularity. She refuses to accept her fate (death by gummy bear) and returns as a ghost with a mission: to go to the Fall Ball with Damen and get a midnight kiss. Hurley combines afterlife antics, gothic gore, and high school hell to produce an original, hilarious satire. Charlotte ambles through death's door and remains a pitiable, selfish, and somewhat annoying heroine. Readers root for her, but cringe at her blunders, too. She blows off her new dead-kid school and classmates, unable to give up her living, breathing crush. Hurley's pitch-perfect dialogue and clever names (Petula, Rotting Rita, Principal Styx) keep readers laughing. Dark, meditative song lyrics and poetry start each chapter while campy, Gothic illustrations frame the pages. Tim Burton and Edgar Allan Poe devotees will die for this fantastic, phantasmal read.— Shelley Huntington, New York Public Library Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. New York Times bestselling ghostgirl author, Tonya Hurley , has credits spanning all platforms of teen entertainment including: creating, writing and producing two hit TV series, writing and directing several acclaimed independent films, developing a ground-breaking collection of video games and board games and creating and providing content for award-winning websites. Ms. Hurley lives in New York with her husband and daughter. Her Web site is www.ghostgirl.com. Fiction Childrens Books