Girl and the Ghost - KT Tunstall

Girl vs. Ghost
Misdirected Magic Trilogy, Book 1

Author: Kate McMurry, Marie August
Pages: 242
Publisher: Blazing Star Press

Brief Summary:
Isabel has no interest in magic, just like she hasn't been too interested in her best friend Tripp's past obsessions. Like in the past, though, Isabel supports her, because that's what friends do, even if they do whine about it a little. Tripp performs a summoning spell and all of a sudden things are going crazy. There's a hot, male ghost who can't go more than five feet away from Isabel, who is also the only one who can see or hear him. Isabel just wants him to go away, he just wants to figure out who he is was, and Tripp just wants to do more magic. This is a recipe for trouble.

Review:
Girl vs. Ghost has some weaknesses, the most blatant of which is the cover art and the images between the chapters. While on some level I do think that one shouldn't judge books by their covers too much, I definitely do. Because of the cover art, I would not have picked this book up in the store.

The plot, too, has some disappointing spots, such as the fact that the female characters are both rather bumbling for most of the book, causing pretty much all of the trouble that they get themselves into and needing help from the boys to get themselves out again. Not to mention the fact that both guys are in perfect shape apparently, whereas Tripp nearly died when she ran a block. On the other hand, Isabel and Tripp both have promise; Isabel is delightfully grumpy and sarcastic (traits I very much relate to and appreciate), and Tripp might come into some serious witchy powers.

I occasionally found myself a bit confused by the changes of perspective, as the tale switches between Tripp and Isabel. Probably, were I to write this, I would have switched off at chapters or at least indicated whose section it was. Some other things clearly felt like setup, but did not come up again in this book, making them a bit out of place (see: demons at the school, ghost powers). Also, Finnegan's (Irish ghost) speaking annoyed me; this is a pet peeve, as I just cannot stand when characters are written in accents (a word here and there is fine, but let the reader do most of it in their head, please!).

All of that said, Girl vs. Ghost is definitely better than quite a few of the YA books I've read from well-respected publishers (such as Hereafter or the House of Night books by another mother/daughter writing team). And, should I happen across the sequel at some point, I would certainly be willing to give it a shot to see if it's better; I like the characters enough to be curious about what will become of them. So if you would like a quick, easy read and to give some new authors a chance, pick up the Kindle version for only 99 cents!

"The ghost and the girl
Commonly connected by something bigger
A phenomenal that sets off the eternal trigger
That lets the light through that usually goes
Around and around and around"