The Mediator #1: Shadowland

I ordered this and instead received Upstairs Downstairs by Terence Brady.

Then you'll LOVE this!! Sixteen year old Susannah Simon moves from New York to California joining her recently remarried mom and her three new stepbrothers. Ever since she was little, she's had the ability to not only see ghosts-ALL of them, but also is able to touch them-because some can get nasty, and Suze needs to be able to kick [...]. She's a Mediator-one who talks to ghosts that are still lingering about and helps them find peace or finish their unfinished business so that they can move on. There's also some romance with a dead guy on the cards-ahhh...so very Buffy...I'm guessing the author is such a BTVS fan, this is like an homage to her. It's realistic, it's intense, it's well written and it's the first of six so far. There is some mild swearing, and Meg avoids stronger language in much the same way as JK Rowling. There are also some pop cult references that younger readers (I'm about the author's age) might not get, but this in no way detracts or distracts from the prose, and for the most part the main character is totally hip and up to date and believable. The writing style is easy breezy conversational, and the action gets thrilling in places. This particular version is the UK cover with a different title-which I like, so I'm getting that AND it's original counterpart, Shadowland.

Ever since she saw her first ghost at the age of two, Susannah Simon has been a mediator - in other words, a contact person between the living and the dead. It's her responsibility to help troubled spirits move on to the next world. And it's a responsibility she has always resented. At sixteen, Susannah just wants to be a normal teenage girl, worried about clothes and boys, not dead people. And now that her mom's remarried, she's had to leave New York City, the only home she's ever known, to move all the way to northern California. Her new stepdad's not too bad, but her three stepbrothers are a pain, and on the first day of school, she's confronted by the angry ghost of Heather, a girl who committed suicide over Christmas break. Susannah figures it won't be too hard to get Heather to move on - until it becomes clear that she's the most violent spirit Susannah has ever encountered. Heather won't rest until she gets revenge on her ex-boyfriend for breaking up with her. This book starts off a great series by Meg Cabot that is one of my favorite series ever. The next five books are just as great. This series combines mystery, suspense, humor, and romance, and so will appeal to teens with various tastes in reading. I also highly recommend that all of Meg Cabot's fans give it a try - even though this series is very different than her other books, in my opinion, it's her best ever.

Susannah Simon is not your average 16 year old girl, although she would very much like to be. That is because Suze is a mediator, a contact person for people who have died with unfinished business. Having left Brooklyn, New York (her home) to move to Carmel, California to live with her mother, her new step-dad, and those stupid boys also known as her step-brothers Suze hopes to make a fresh start by putting up the facade of being a normal teenager. However Suze is not to get her wish because as soon as she steps into her bedroom she meets Jesse. Jesse is a ghost. A very HOT ghost. To top it off accompaning Suze's new locker is Heather, a very pissed ghost who committed suicide over the Christmas break. Heather is hell bent on getting revenge on her ex-boyfriend. On the up-side though Suze makes friends (a very rare occurance for her) and finds a fellow mediator in her principal.This series is AWESOME! READ IT!!! Suze is hilarious...

Sixteen-year-old Susannah is a mediator, meaning that she can see and talk to ghosts who, for one reason or another, have not passed on to the next world. Having been plagued by these spirits for the past fourteen years, Suze had hoped that moving from New York City to a quiet town in Northern California would offer her a fresh start. However, the moment she steps into her new bedroom, Suze knows that that isn't going to happen, because she finds herself sharing her room with a 150-year-old ghost of a boy named Jesse. Not only that, but the first day of school brings more trouble: Susannah's locker comes accompanied by the ghost of a girl who killed herself and who is now out for revenge on her ex-boyfriend. Suze is determined to persuade the girl to pass on, but when it seems the usual methods aren't working, will more unconventional action be required?Shadowland, the first book in the series, is one I really recommend as an ideal book for any teens into fiction with a supernatural theme. I found it impossible to put down and can't wait to get started on the next instalment in the series. Definitely worth five stars.~Jenna~

I enjoyed SHADOWLAND so much that I immediately ordered the second book and WHEN LIGHTNING STRIKES, a non-Mediator book by Jenny Carroll. Susannah doesn't just see dead people: she touches them, talks to them, and occasionally deals with them much more firmly. She's a mediator, someone who can set things right between the dead and those people still living the dead want to communicate with. For some reason this makes her life a little more difficult than most. People call the cops on her when she enters their yards to pass on messages, or when she damages property in her efforts to send a really troublesome spirit on its way (did I mention that being dead means you can learn to move, and throw, heavy objects?). Sh's just left her beloved New York and her best (and only) friend for California, a stepdad and three step brothers, and the very handsome ghost who haunts her bedroom. Susannah is definitely a grrl for the new century, trying to fit into a new family, a new school, and a new culture. She's believable in her struggles with dating, school, her old-fashioned roommate, and the death of her dad. And a number of the secondary characters are interesting, funny, and their own people: intellectual CeeCee, hormone boy Adam, Susannah's step-brothers, her mother and step-dad, Jesse the ghost. My favorite at the moment is Father Dominic, the head of Susannah's new high school, a priest who's kind, clever and idealistic without being syrupy. He's trying to teach Susannah that sometimes a gentler approach with people works far more efficiently than a right hook to the gut . . . He's got his work cut out for him! Great fun, a great read--now I just have to be patient and wait for the third Mediator book!