Rachel Rambles About Shadowland

Shadowland (The Mediator #1) by Meg Cabot
From Goodreads:

Suze is a mediator -- a liaison between the living and the dead. In other words, she sees dead people. And they won't leave her alone until she helps them resolve their unfinished business with the living. But Jesse, the hot ghost haunting her bedroom, doesn't seem to need her help. Which is a relief, because Suze has just moved to sunny California and plans to start fresh, with trips to the mall instead of the cemetery, and surfing instead of spectral visitations.

But the very first day at her new school, Suze realizes it's not that easy. There's a ghost with revenge on her mind ... and Suze happens to be in the way.

This is a series that Megan told me to read YEARS ago, but...I didn't. Until now. Sorry it took me so long, Megan!

I read Shadowland in one day. Actually, I read it in one sitting. When I was supposed to be doing homework...

It was so worth it! Let me tell you guys, this book is like CRACK. Fun and fast-paced, it was impossible to put down once I started reading. After being stressed out for an entire month (thanks NaNoWriMo!), this book was just what I needed to chill out and relax for a little bit.

The main character, Suze, is pretty badass. She's funny, sarcastic, bold, and a bit reckless. Which means she has pretty much everything I look for in a main character. So I absolutely loved reading from her point of view.

Also there's this cute boy named Jesse who is actually a ghost from like one hundred and fifty years ago who haunts Suze's bedroom. Like, she walks into her new bedroom and there's some dude sitting there so she's just like OH HI WHO ARE YOU. How awkward! Obviously Jesse becomes the love interest, and holy crap I LOVE HIM SO MUCH. He is officially my new book boyfriend. (Along with my 87 thousand other book boyfriends, but whatever.)

Suze's and Jesse's relationship is kind of nonexistent in the first book, but you can tell it's only a matter of time before they get together. I think they're adorable, and I am so excited to keep reading the series so I can see what happens between them.

The plot of this book is awesome. Suze's busy being a mediator and talking to ghosts and everything, and some of these ghosts become a bit of an issue. Suze ends up in quite a few dangerous situations, and I'm sitting there reading the book like "AHHHHHH! HOW THE HECK ARE YOU GOING TO GET OUT OF THIS ONE?!" and then she does something amazing and it turns out she's pretty freaking smart and she can come up with some genius plans.

Ghosts obviously aren't a very original idea, but I thought the way they were presented in this series was unique and intriguing. Ghosts aren't the bad guys, but they aren't the good guys here. They're just like regular people who happen to be dead, and they need Suze to help them get to where they're going next. They might need her to pass on a message to someone or find out who murdered them or something, and they hang around until they get some kind of closure. Sometimes the ghosts are really pleasant, and other times Suze has to kick some ghost butt. 

This book is fun and fast-paced and hilarious. If you're looking for a quick read to totally devour in one sitting, then you should definitely check this book out. Just to warn you, though, you'll probably get addicted to this series. I'm telling you, it's like freaking crack! :D

-Rachel