The Ghost and the Goth by Stacey Kade

Alona Dare was the most popular girl in Groundsboro High School — that is until she met her untimely demise. Death by schoolbus aka, the loser cruiser. Lame, right? Alona sure thinks so. And now she’s stuck wearing red polyester gym shorts and a see-through white t-shirt for the rest of her life.. *ahem*afterlife. She’s quickly learning that while she may have been popular, she wasn’t actually very well-liked. Just when she thinks that her afterlife couldn’t possibly get any worse, the only person who can see and hear her is the freaky goth kid, Will Killian. Will has an extremely interesting ability — he can communicate with the dead and vice versa. The day following Alona’s death, he sees her crying and laughs at her before stuffing his earbuds back into his ears and walking away from her. This was all the confirmation she needed to know that he could see and hear her. Surely Will has the key to all of the answers allowing her to be sucked up into that big white light, right? Wrong. Alona unknowingly assigns herself to the task of being Will’s spirit guide and the two fall into an unexpected friendship.

This was a light, cute read. Pure fluff, feel-good pretty much. I enjoyed watching the relationship develop between Alona and Will, and the lessons that they taught one another and I was totally cool with the “lack of affection” as another reviewer described. It seemed more real and genuine the way things panned out in the end.

Be sure to add it to your TBR list, guys. You won’t be disappointed. =]

Final verdict? 4/5.

Lipstick Laws by Amy Holder

Here, we’re introduced to April “boobless” Bowers, a fifteen year old high school sophomore who’s only friend has been transplanted in another state, leaving April to fend for herself. When she catches the eye of beautiful, popular Britney in her gym class, she’s more than overjoyed. Soon, she becomes Britney’s protege and becomes initiated into her clique of mean girls. However, when April breaks the Lipstick Laws, she is promptly kicked out of the group and Britney vows to ruin her life. Not one to stand by idly, April discovers that there are other girls out there like her- girls who have been shunned by Britney and her group; and they all want revenge. While the characters each fit into the typical roles necessary for this type of story – mean girl and her devoted followers and nice but socially awkward girl – the author has made April charming, witty, sarcastic, awkward and insecure, but not without a spine — plus, there’s a lesson to be learned! I would absolutely recommend this for any preteen girl. 

This plot follows the film, Mean Girls almost verbatim (Britney being Regina George, and April being Cady Heron). It’s an overused story line, but Amy Holder does it in such a fun, refreshing way and really makes the story her own. 

Final verdict? 4/5 stars!

This book is due for release on April 4, 2011.

Here Lies Bridget by Paige Harbison

 “I want you to understand how people see you, and how your actions matter…You must learn that your place in the world is important. You’ve been given the power to affect people, just as we all have, and it’s important-no, vital-that you do the right thing with it” – Anna Judge

Bridget Duke is the byproduct of a semi-famous, barely-there father, an absent mother and a stepmother who spends entirely too much time decorating. And this infuriates Bridget. In fact, everything infuriates Bridget.  I blew through this in a matter of hours, because it was just that good. As ashamed as I am to say it, I saw a lot of the way I used to be in Bridget. She was catty, mean-spirited, manipulative, and selfish. However, she was not heartless, but  careless with the hearts of others.  Simply put, our heroine is a huge effing bitch, with a capital B. As she notices a dramatic decline in her popularity, she hops into her (used) 2007 BMW and drives too fast, getting into an accident and passes out. When she wakes up, she’s suddenly surrounded by all of the people closest to her watching her impassively. She is then encouraged to “walk in their shoes”. Literally.  Which was actually an interesting concept.Suffice to say, I enjoyed watching her turn over a new leaf as she was shown how her actions had a grenade-like effect on everyone around her.

It’s kind of Christmas Carol-esque, and I actually really enjoyed the ending.

Ms. Harbison did a wonderful job building incredibly likeable characters and describing their world, right down to the very end. Sequel? Maybe?